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The Family
We finally got our mini-van, and we are SO happy! It's nice having the extra room and the boys really enjoy having dvd players for long and short trips. We better be happy, it will be the vehicle we will be driving for the next ten years. The 4-runner has 250,000 miles on her and the Altima has 140,000 miles on it, and they are both '98's ( Of course that's mainly highway miles).

We have enjoyed having the boys' best friend Walker staying with us. Walker flew in from New Orleans (It was his first flight ever). We consider him our long lost son. Of course we wanted to show him the all the cool things to do in South Carolina so we decided to take him to the mountains to hike to a couple of waterfalls and to the other side of the state to the beach. So, Saturday, July 30th we decided to go hiking. We had a 20% chance of rain (which we took to mean no rain) and of course it rained softly and steadily most of the day. We wanted to go to Lee Falls, but it was a 45 minute hike and with the rain we decided to take Walker to a no hike waterfall, Whitewater Falls. Because of the rain it was so foggy we could only see the lower portion of the falls. Then, it started to clear up and the sun started to peek out and after driving 3 hours to get there we were determined to see a waterfall! So we thought that maybe it hadn't rained at Lee Falls and took the short drive from Whitewater Falls to Lee Falls. Lee Falls is truly a hidden treasure and is not visited much by tourists (i.e. it is not easy to find). There is no parking lot and there is not even an official trail. Fortunately Mark has been there by himself twice and knows the way. At the start of the trail there are four open fields, surrounded by woods, and in between each field you cross over a stream or through a small amount of trees. After hiking through the open fields for about 20 minutes, we were about to enter into the woods and finish our hike to the falls. The boys were so excited and were acting like they were in the "Lord of the Rings" movie. We hadn't been very quiet and everyone was talking (that's what you are supposed to do when you are hiking so you don't surprise wildlife). Mark was in front, Tina in back with Ethan in tow in a snugli, and the boys in between. We were entering the last field, when all of a sudden.......we hear a LOUD, DEEP, GUTTURAL roar coming from behind us. Tina turns around to the right and says "What was that?”, Colby yelled back "We're surrounded by wolves!" Mark says, "I see bears!!" Two black bear cubs were in front of us! All we could think of was the 6 year old little girl that was killed by a black bear in Tennessee in April. She was also at a waterfall with her family! We gathered all together in a huddle and quickly, but did not run, headed back to the car. We never did see the mama bear, but we did see two baby bears escaping quickly into the forest. Either mama bear was warning her babies, warning us, or more than likely warning ALL of us. If you have never heard the sound of a black bear roar, go to your local zoo and check it out! Then imagine that bear, outside of its cage, between you and your car, and trying to protect her babies! The fear we felt when we heard that growl was beyond description. It was the most helpless feeling any of us has ever had. Basically, we are alive today because the mama bear decided it was not our time! After doing some internet research we learned that females weigh up to 300 lbs and males up to 500 lbs. When we were safely in the van, the "smack" talking began. Mark informed us that he took out his leatherman knife, and as he was trying to get the 3-inch knife out he accidentally took out the file instead. "I thought I could file her teeth down." Walker thought he was taking out pepper spray, which was actually a good idea and has been proven as defense for bears. The boys said they would have given them the ole' one, two to the jaws and put them in a "bear hug" (no pun intended). The only thing the boys manage to kill that day was a tick. Walker said he saw the glaring eyes of mama bear and her snarling teeth in the forest. As you can image, the bear story is getting bigger.

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