Friday, November 21, 2008

Yosemite By the #s: 7 months, 30 degrees, 1 bear


We camped in Yosemite this weekend. Some people were of the opinion that I was crazy for going camping and hiking while 7 months pregnant. I knew it would be awesome, though and I was right. It was the most fun I have had in a very long time.

Kelsey, Kirk, Shaun and I drove up on Friday. The first night, we were sitting around the campfire and a bear walked right up to us. It was in the 30s at night which, even with the extra heat generated by having another human being growing inside my body, is COLD. The first night Shaun and I slept on the ground, in sleeping bags in a tent. I wore boots and a jacket even to sleep. In the middle of the night, we heard a gun shot and a man yelling "Git!" and what sounded like a horse running just feet from our tent. I almost peed my pants it was so scary waking up to that. I think it was a park ranger chasing away the bear that had tried to join our fire earlier.

The second night we got smarter and we slept on two cots pushed together and zipped our sleeping bags together. I love everything about camping. I think it's because we camped so much with my pants when I was kid. In fact, the cots that Shaun and I slept on in Yosemite are the very ones, borrowed from my parents, that I slept on in Bryce and Zion and Sequoia as a kid. I love cooking over the fire, I love pumping water from the communal faucet, I love roasting marshmallows and walking in the dark with a flashlight to brush my teeth in the far off bathroom. Yosemite is, of course, insanely gorgeous. This isn't the best season to visit but it was still amazing. I wouldn't have been able to go on any of the really good hikes anyway as huge as I am right now. We did go on a few short hikes though which were amazing. Lower Yosemite Falls hasn't frozen over yet so we hiked there. I was pretty much able to keep up in every way except for the consumption of Jack and Cokes and Kahlua spiked hot chocolate around the fire. I was jealous about that part.

I can't wait to take Kaya camping someday. But, first things first- I can't wait to meet her! 2 months to go. Her baby shower is in a couple weeks and I am so excited. Papa-to-be has been so amazing, he goes to every single doctor's appointment and is fastidious about feeding me prenatal vitamins. When I get home from work at night and lie down in bed with him, my belly pushes up against his back and Kaya starts going crazy, kicking and flipping. As Shaun says "It feels like she's doing Tae Bo in there". I think it's because she can hear his heartbeat and his voice and she knows that we are with Papa again. She's gonna love him as much as I do, I just know it.

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