First time for everything

For a time, I had a fantasy that Moriah and I would enjoy all sorts of outdoor activities together once we were married. Looking back now, I'm not sure what I was smoking.

I thought Moriah might want to go mountain biking, so I gave her one. Now I think how made she would be with me if I dragged her out to the trails. Then I thought, maybe a tandem bike. I could do most of the work and she could just go along for the ride. My pitch never seemed to get much traction. I could write an entire essay on my struggle to get Moriah interested in running. I purchased cute running gear, new shoes, iPods. Nothing worked.

I gave up a couple of years ago, and we're both the happier for it.

But this weekend, there was a first - a 20-hour overnight outing in the woods. I mentioned the idea of going camping over the weekend and was shocked to get a yes. Before she could back out, I locked in the deal. We drove up to Savage Gulf Friday night. We pitched the tent at the Savage Falls ranger station and started a fire for some S'mores. There's really no way to get Moriah near a campfire without involving chocolate. Saturday morning, we rose early and hit the trail for a five mile day hike to Savage Falls. Moriah is pictured here carefully stepping from rock to rock below the falls.

We were done by about 10:15, so we headed home.

Moriah was very concerned about bug bites before leaving. I told her to stop being a baby. In a twist of fate, I must have disturbed some friendly chiggers on my hunt for firewood. I have some crazy bites going on. I'm actually going to stop so I can spend some time scratching my ankles off.

-Blake