Mount St. Helens

If you've been checking in regularly, you know Nikki has been preparing for an attempt at summiting Mount St. Helens over the last few months. Well, the weekend finally arrived! We were fortunate that someone dropped out at the last minute, and Nikki's mom Renee was able to join the climb at the last minute.

Thank goodness Renee has lots of mountaineering experience and is still in shape from all of her and Sipke's recent adventures. (You can check out her and Sipke's blog here: http://bbbtour08.blogspot.com/)

Below: Setting up camp at Marble Mountain sno-park. Both Nikki, Renee and Terese wimped out on sleeping in the snow and spent the weekend sleeping in 15 passenger vans instead. Much more comfy and warm!

Below: Marble Mountain sno-park was our base camp for the weekend.

Below: The MWR staff planned us meals using Dutch Ovens. It was very tasty, but a lot of work. Nikki votes for good old fashioned grilling instead!

Below: Renee ready to start our climb, just before dawn.


Below: Our first view of the mountain, just after dawn. At this point we still had all 21 climbers in one spot.

Below: The Climbing Permit on Nikki's pack. You had to have this to go above 4800 feet.

Below: Coming up out of the clouds, around 6000 feet. You can see here how steep the mountain was...it only got worse as we kept going!

Nikki's feet in the snow just after we came out of the clouds. At this point Nikki and Renee were exhausted, but we still had a few hours to go! Above the clouds, the sun was brutal. Several people were very sunburned the next day. Renee of course was fine as she's used to lots of sun, and has good sunscreen habits...Nikki did ok. She put on SPF 70 each time we stopped, and managed to escape with only having burns on her hands, inside the ears and on her tongue. (Yes, you can sunburn your tongue! The snow reflects the sun back up to your face and inside your mouth. It feels similar to a coffee burn on the inside of your mouth, but doesn't go away for several days. Yuck!)

Below: Finally made it! It took close to 10 hours, but we made it to the summit of Mount St. Helens!

Below: Nikki and Renee at the crater rim. What you see behind them is not just clouds, but steam from the volcano.

Below: Looking down into the crater at the steam and ash vents. You could also hear boiling water.

Renee pouring pomegranate and ash margarita shots for the 11 successful summiters. And yes, she carried that ALL THE WAY UP.

Below: 10 of the 11 successful summiters in our group, toasting our success!

(Not pictured is Mike who abstained and kindly took the picture, and our guide, Louie who was off doing some exploring at the rim.)

You'll notice in earlier pictures that we started with 21 climbers at dawn. At 3pm, this was all that was left. We lost folks due to blisters, sunburn, shin splints and lack of cardiovascular ability. Our guide would later tell us that this climb was "not what I'd usually do with beginners." Ha!

Below: Nikki suited up again and ready to glissade back down the mountain. (Check back later for some awesome video!)

In all, it was 13 hours, 12 miles, 2-3 liters of water per person, 5,600 vertical feet, several bottles of sunscreen and AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE!

Picture of Prowler Fly-By

This picture of a Prowler Michael was flying in on April 27th, 2009 was taken from a F/A-18F Super Hornet while it was sitting on the flight deck of the USS Eisenhower. Michael is in the right-font seat of the Prowler.

Now I'm not gonna sit here and blow sunshine up your a$$, Lieutenant...

Michael promoted to Lieutenant on April 1st, 2009

(And no, this isn't an April Fools Joke.)

I, [name], do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God. (Or something like that.)

LT Michael Craig with LT Dick and CDR Murphy (Commanding Officer of VAQ-140)

Sorry to bother you on a Sunday, Sir, but thank you very much for your time.

Operation Enduring Freedom needs a refill

Some pictures that Commander Ben Hewlett, Executive Officer of VFA-131, took of the VAQ-140 Patriots while they refueled... (Thanks for passing them on VFA-131!)

Whidbey Island (Half) Marathon

Nikki ran the Whidbey Island Half Marathon this last weekend.

(As her camera is still in limbo, you'll have to wait a few more days for more pictures.)

Above: crossing the finish, exhausted from running in the crazy Whidbey Island wind and cold. At least it was sunny. (6 minutes faster than last time!)

Our friend Janine ran Whidbey as her first Marathon....and had time along the way to fix the blown over mileage signs. She's always so thoughtful!

Janine's husband Jason is deployed, so we made a poster making sure she saw him cheering for her. (Of course, she ran so fast she missed it!)

Above: Nikki's Dad and Maya cheering. (Apparently Don thought it was quite cold.)

Finishing

France and the Suez Canal

Michael sent some pictures of his time in France, and while the ship was travelling through the Suez Canal:

Above: The flight deck of the U.S.S. Eisenhower off the coast of France.

Above: Michael in France next to some fountain that he apparently VERY fond of. Nikki got two postcards with this fountain on them. (And yes, Michael has been informed that dress shirts and backpacks don't mix.)

Above, either the entrance or exit to the Suez Canal. Don't know for sure since Michael doesn't know how to work the caption function on his laptop.

Above, Michael on the flight deck of the U.S.S. Eisenhower while it travelled through the Suez Canal.



Above: patrols guarding the U.S.S. Eisenhower in the Suez Canal. This picture was taken from the flight deck and shows exactly how narrow the Suez Canal is.



Above: A Prowler taped up to prevent sand from entering/damaging the airplane while the U.S.S. Eisenhower transited the Suez Canal.