Friday, July 18, 2008

DAY FIVE - Adventures Aplenty

On Wednesday I went for an early morning walk. The first part of the walk was with my wife and brother-in-law. When we got to the end of the paved road, they renturned to the condos but I continued on taking a walk on a cross-country trail through the woods. The views were breathtaking. About half-way through the long loop I met a mountain biker who told me he had seen a small black bear and suggested I keep my eyes open. You can bet I did. Just about 5 minutes later I saw the bear pictured below. The bear is hard to see, but I was not about to get any closer since it was large and brown, The bear is behind a tree in the upper left quarter of the picture and it is heading up the hill. My walk was at a much brisker pace following that sighting. My son Josh and I returned later that morning for a second walk but never saw the bear again.A large portion of the reunion group headed to Ft. Steele for part of the day. Ft. Steele is an historical site with life re-enacted from the early days in the Canadian west. There was far more to this than could be enjoyed in the time they alotted but most seemed to enjoy it. My son Robbie, and his wife Kelley, spent the day on a white water rafting trip.

After I returned from my two walks in the woods I took advantage of the hot tub on our deck.

Then it was time to transport a group of the younger reunion group members to a paintball field and take my granddaughter and daughter-in-law Jennifer for some ice cream. Now that is my idea of a good time. Let's hear it for Dairy Queen!
After our ice cream and some shopping for supplies, we returned to pick up the "Shaw malitia" following their war games at Echo Field.

When everyone got back from their respective adventures and excursions, it was time for the cousins and their spouses to prepare the meal. The kids did a great job putting on a Mexican feast. Food included 2 kinds of dip with tortilla chips, salad with salsa, and soft tacos made with the finest ingridients. David's Delight was the dessert for the evening.

Just before we ate dinner we shared in our traditional picture taking event and here is the group who attended this year's Shaw Family Reunion.


God has blessed me richly with a wonderful extended family and I thank him for the opportunity to have been able to share in this adventure with them. I wonder where our next reunion will be in two years, rumor has it, maybe in western North Carolina!

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