Little did she know...

I remember when my class and I were getting ready to graduate from Bible school. We were a tight group of students, and the thought of impending, "permanent" separation was causing a little bit of anxiety and sadness. I remember writing something in my journal about a couple of classmates to the effect of wishing I could keep them in my back pocket because of their ability to make me die laughing, take me outside my comfort zone, and generally cause life to be much more enjoyable. One of those people was Dustin DeFord.  Today, June 30, marks four years since the fire in Arizona that took his life.  I remember the last time I saw him as he drove to his new hotshot job with the Granite Mountain Hotshots. He showed up unexpectedly with an incredible amount of belongings both inside and outside of his Jeep. He explained his bald head and bushy facial hair, "I have to be clean shaven for my job". #classic  We only got to visit for a short time before he he...

I'm pretty sure I've already been on more hikes with Amos this year than I did in the entirety of last year #shameshame.  1. Little Devil's Tower: probably wouldn't have done this one solo because of all of the climbing up and down rocks. Thankfully I had a team of very helpful friends. Also, true to form, the BH gave us rain and sleet/hail for the last bit of our hike. Amos was over it. 2. Off-roading in Wind Cave NPS: it was earth day and we wanted to check out the sunset, so we did a quick solo hike around the Beaver Creak Bridge area. P.S. Amos' face when he got handed a pine cone for the first time -ded. 3. Sunday Gulch Trail: also probably wouldn't have done this one solo for the first half because of all of the boulders/stairs in the water. That's why I bring my husband along ;)   4. Devil's Bathtub in Spearfish Canyon: I got plenty wet. Amos stayed dry. Win. 5. Cold Brook Canyon trail in Wind Cave NPS: we ...