Sue's AT Journal


2013 HIKING, CYCLING, & RV TRAVEL ADVENTURES Pond below Windsor Lake in the Mt. Massive Wilderness, CO

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TOPIC or DESTINATION	DATE
(Note: entries with a date in the right-hand column are the only ones uploaded yet; scroll down farther to see our current location. The most recent entries are in red. I spent a lot of time in 2013 working on entries from our epic Summer 2012 Alaska/Canada trip and finally finished that journal at the end of this year. I'll finish more of the 2013 entries later so check back periodically to see what's new.) (I didn't get around to any more entries until late 2015, when Jim wrote up his training for the LT100 bike race. We posted that in December, 2015. Scroll down to August 12 for that entry.)

Welcome to Our Website & 2013 Journal!	January 18
Our Tentative 2013 Travel, Hiking, & Cycling Plans	January 18

Savannah, GA (Jan. 8 - 25)
Sunshine, Palm Trees, and Warm Weather: Camping at Lott's Island Campground, Hunter Army Airfield	January 19
Touring Historic Savannah: Houses, Other Buildings, Public Squares, Parks, the Riverfront, etc.	January 21
A 1730s Tabby House & More at Wormsloe State Historic Site	January 23
Fort Pulaski: The Illusiveness of Invincibility	January 24

Jacksonville, FL (Jan. 25 - 31)
Camping at Pelican Roost RV Park, Mayport Naval Station + Watching the Navy & Commercial Ships Pass By	January 27
Life's a Beach On the First Coast	January 28
Where the Waters Meet: the Timucuan Ecological & Historic Preserve	January 29
Fun on the Ferry: A Scenic Day Trip North to Amelia Island	January 31

St. Marys, GA (Feb. 1 - 28)
Lakeside Camping at Eagle Hammock RV Park, Kings Bay Submarine Base	February 7
Spring Scenes of Kings Bay Sub Base from Our Hikes & Bike Rides	February 8
Mardi Gras & More in Historic St. Marys, GA	February 9
Exploring Cumberland Island National Seashore	February 15
Day Trip to the Golden Isles: Jekyll & St. Simons Islands	February 17
Touring Fort Frederica National Monument
Okefenokee Swamp Tours on Land & Water
Photos of the McIntosh Sugar Mill Tabby Ruins

Jacksonville, FL (March 1 - 16)
Back at Pelican Roost RV Park, Mayport Naval Station (an impressive dredging and beach rebuilding project to watch, and lots more ships coming and going)
Exploring St. Augustine, Huguenot Memorial Park, and Kingsley Plantation

St. Marys, GA (March 16 - 27)
Eagle Hammock CG, Kings Bay Submarine Base: Take Two
Another Trip to Cumberland Island National Seashore
Trip Notes: Scenic Drive from St. Marys, GA to Roanoke, VA

Virginia (March 28 - June 15)
A Late Spring in Virginia (shoulda stayed farther south longer!)
Answering Our Annual Spring Question: To Sell or Not to Try to Sell Our Property and RV Full-Time (very busy with the house, yard, and woods; we were unable to get the price we wanted so we still have the place)
Jim's Training for the Leadville Trail 100-Mile Bike Race (lots of miles in flat GA and FL, and now lots of hills in SW Virginia)
Photos from Sue's Hikes & Rides in the Roanoke Valley & Blue Ridge Mountains
Casey-Pup: From Rambunctious Toddler to Precocious Teen in Eight Short Months (Cody's glad she's a little more grown up now; he's been taking one for the team since we got the little squirt last fall)
Jim's Thunder Ridge Century Ride in the Blue Ridge Mountains
Eventful Last Two Days at the House (another derecho hit our property)

Leadville, Colorado (June 15 - August 19)
Trip Notes: Dodging Storms from Virginia to Colorado
Back in Our Favorite Camping Spot at 6th & McWethy
Acclimating to the 10,200-foot Altitude in Leadville (photos from our initial hikes & bike rides as we train to get up to 14,400+ feet)
Jim's Training for the LT100 Bike Race on Aug. 10 (see Aug. 12 entry)
Volunteering for the Lifetime Race Series Events (marathon, bike camps, Silver Rush 50-mile bike and foot races, LT100-mile bike and foot races)
Sue's Hikes in the Mountains (Colorado Trail, Continental Divide Trail, Hope Pass, Mts. Elbert and Massive, Highline and other Leadville Fish Hatchery trails, Turquoise Lake, Timberline Lake, Twin Lakes, Windsor Lake, Native Lake, Colorado Midland Centennial Trail and rail bed, Opal and Hagerman Lakes, Hagerman Pass, Hagerman Tunnel, etc.)
Leadville's Two Big Summer Parties: 4th of July and Boom Days (a celebration of the area's mining heritage)
August 7: Very "cool" -- fresh snow on all the 14ers visible from the valley in/near Leadville!
Rider & Crew Perspective of the LT100-Mile Mountain Bike Race (Jim finished his first major mountain bike race on Aug. 10 in 12:44 hours!)	August 12
Our Volunteer Perspective of the LT100-Mile Foot Race on Aug. 17

Grand Teton Mountains, Wyoming (Aug. 20 - Sept. 12)
Road Trip: Gorgeous Mountain Scenery from Leadville to Teton Canyon
Camping in Teton Canyon (5th time in our favorite national forest campsite on the west side of the Teton Range)
Hikes & Bike Rides on both sides of the Teton Range: Teton Canyon, Packsaddle, Devil's Staircase, Teton Shelf, Teton Crest, Alaska Basin, Table Mountain, Hurricane Ridge, Schoolroom Glacier, Cascade Canyon, Death Canyon, Paintbrush Canyon/Divide, and various alpine lakes
Jim's Long Bike Loop Around the Teton Range

Rapid City, South Dakota & Beyond (Sept. 15 - Oct. 7)
Road Trip: Tetons to Black Hills via Yellowstone National Park, Billings, MT, and Rapid City, SD
Happy to Be Back at Ellsworth AFB (hikes, bike rides, and other activities in/near Rapid City)
Hiking & Cycling in Wind Cave NP and Custer SP
*Scenic Underground Tour at Jewel Cave Natl. Monument (the day before* the govt. shut down the national parks during "sequestration")**
Autumn Leaf-Peeping at Roughlock Falls & Spearfish Canyon
*Yikes! Got Outta There* Just in Time! (epic snowfall of 3-4+ feet in Rapid City and northern Black Hills area Oct. 4-5)**

Virginia (Oct. 7 - Nov. 17)
Road Trip from South Dakota to Virginia (dodging heavy rain, big hail, flooding, and high winds/tornadoes through the Plains, Midwest, and Mid-Atlantic -- same storm that buried the Black Hills in snow)
Back at the "Big House" for a Bit
Hamming It Up: Jim's New Multiband Transceiver Project (he's been a ham operator since his teen years; this is his first ham radio with world-wide range; he had fun assembling all the teeny, tiny parts himself and now he's communicating with other hams all around the globe)

Southeast Winter 2013-2014 Trip (Nov. 17 to Spring, 2014)
In Search of Palm Trees and Warmth Again (we liked our trip to GA and FL so much earlier this year that we're going back to some of the same places)
First Stop: Historic Charleston, SC (Nov. 17 - Dec. 1)
Camping at Air Base Charleston
Second Stop: Balmy Jacksonville, FL (Dec. 1 - 15)
Camping at Pelican Roost RV Park, Mayport Naval Base
Last Stop: St. Mary's, GA (Dec. 15 - 31 and into the new year)
Camping at Eagle Hammock RV Park, Kings Bay Submarine Base

MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY, HEALTHY 2014 TO YOU! Someday I'll get around to finishing some of these entries. I've been busy all year working on the entries for our grand Alaska Adventure in 2012 and finally got it done.

You can find additional photos of our travels from previous years on our Picasa site.

"Runtrails & Company" - Sue Norwood, Jim O'Neil, Cody the ultra Lab, and Casey-pup

� 2013 Sue Norwood and Jim O'Neil