Final countdown

In 24 hours I will be probably riding in the car of my trail angel who will be shuttling me to the trailhead for segment 3.  I will have a headache and feel light headed due to the change in altitude.  It always happens and it's nothing that drinking a boatload of water doesn't help. 

It will be nice to leave the humidity.  Today isn't bad.   It's actually pretty decent outside humidity wise.  But it hasn't been nice and this has made it hard for me to train.  If you know me, you know how it affects me. 
Looking forward to the mountains and the arid temps!

My new purchase is an Inreach.
I will now be able to communicate two ways.
That will be helpful.  

This represents months of work. 
The gummy bear and smores duct tape are so I can identify my box easily among the other hiker boxes.
I have heard there are quite a few hiker boxes.  I can only imagine.  I hope to take a pic of the multitudes.

Yesterday I helped set up for the Omaha Quilt Guild show.
You submit a quit, you have to help.  That's ok, they need help and it was fun.

My quilt is the one with the black ravens on it.
Waiting with anticipation to see how it does.
The judging is all done.  They just have to kick us out so they can award ribbons.
BTW, I love the floral one on the right.  I intend to use my CO wildflower photos and design something similar.

I was able to come back that evening to see how my quilt did.
Judges Choice?!!!  AAAUUGGHH!!  I was blown away.
And first place!  Wow!  I didn't expect all of this. 
What a wonderful way to start my big adventure.

Here is a rather blurry pic of the ribbons.
Pretty cool ribbons.  Someone must have an embroidery machine.

I have this pattern.  I have the fabric to make this quilt.
Mine will be all purple, black and golden brown.
I really want to get it going when I get back from my trip.
It's at the top of my list under getting the scrap quilt done for our bed.
The JC Penny quilt we have been using is literally falling apart.

Some friends of mine made this quilt. 
The mom did the embroidery, the daughter did the piecing and assembling and another friend did the quilting.
After it was put up several of the workers were admiring it and had really nice comments about it.
I'm so glad it won two ribbons as well!

This is another quilt that inspired me.
I'd like to get the pattern and do it the same way but change it up to reflect the pond in our back yard.

The images are colored with crayons, set with heat and then embroidered.
What a nice job!

I did take time to check out this longarm.
I plan to take a class at their shop this winter to try out their longarms.

I wish they had classes so you could do a quilt on this longarm.
It's a sit down version.
This Bernina chair would look nice under our Christmas tree.....

One of the small groups did projects using old embroidered items, doilies and handkerchiefs.
I thought this pillow which was done in linen turned out very cool.
Old fashioned but modern at the same time.
Hmmmm......I have a drawer full of doiles and embroidered stuff.

The flowers in our herb garden are blooming about a week early.
This is the peak season for them.  Always around the 4th of July.
Then it gets super hot, the gardens get full of spiders, the gnats and biting flies come out and Betty doesn't work in the yard anymore.  If it's not super windy and humid I will go out and ride but that's about it.

Our cactus have acclimated to the outdoors and are growing well.
(this is just some of them)

This one is cool.  It is two plants spliced together.
It has such a funky shape.

I will have to ask Alan if he can make something like this.
He doesn't do inlaid wood though. Darn it.
This holds something like 250 spools of Valdani floss!!!  Yikes!
I will never own that much.
I will need a much smaller cabinet.

This is kind of cool.  These are the "ping" points shown on the map for the CT trip we did in May.
It shows our route through the mountains.

I was able to zoom in to see the fire station.
It shows we were by the outside corner (where the water spigot was) and then inside.

This shows where we stopped for water on the second day. 
I had my pack sitting on the rocks so I could easily back into it and put it back on.

Today I took all of my stuff out and sprayed it with permetherin. 
Took a shower right away to get the over spray off.  It is poison.
This is to help keep bugs and TICKS off me and my gear.

I belong to a facebook group for people who are hiking the trail like me.
This weekend is when quite a few people are starting their hike.
I saw this pic and the guy who posted it said he and his 10 year old son start Saturday.
I love the little Yoda head hanging off the kids pack.
(This guy has some bucks if he is buying these brands for both of them!!)

Here is another post by a gal who has the same pack as me!
A lot of gals have this pack and in this color.
I can identify mine by the bag I hang on the front, my water tube and the bandana I hang on the back.

Wow!  This is a gargantuan bag.  52 pounds!!  I wouldn't be able to lift it off the ground.
I would roll around like a turtle on it's back.

Here is another cute pic.  I will have to look for this couple and their dog.
I guess I can't bitch about the price to mail my boxes. 
I bet those huge boxes aren't cheap.  But they are re-supplying for 2 (3 with the dog).

The excitement everyone is sharing is tangible.
This is a nice photo. 
And she has a nice pack!
I looked at her pack but it doesn't have hip belt pockets.  I suppose you could add them.

In the meantime, I have been paying bills and finishing up things here.
I have also been trying to drink a lot of water.
Want to make sure I am hydrated BEFORE I go to the mountains.
Where there is a drought.

And I just saw this.
Hooray!
This is a load off my mind since all the resupply locations requested we use UPS.
One less thing to think about.
Now I am off to pull all my stuff off the porch and pack it up.
My flight leaves around noon.
Denver here I come!
I will post pics as I can.
Who knows, you do sometimes get reception at the top of mountains.