The Inspiration for it all

If you read our blog regularly, you'll notice I've changed the above photo in the header.  It's a picture of the view from the top of Chimney Rock, NC. Tim and I hiked up there in the beginning of August. I wrote a post about that here. Although I made it to the top where the flag is, I didn't go all the way up, there was a trail (and stairs) that went 1.2 miles further. It was hot that day and I knew I just couldn't do anymore. I sat on the stairs and waited while Tim hiked up and saw even more of what we had come to see. The more I thought about that later, the more determined I became to change it. I just wanted to able to make it as far as he did. To do it together.

I've never been athletic or "in shape". Tim has always been. He used to run 15 miles a day for training when he was on the wrestling team in high school. He was good. One of the very dedicated and self controlled types. He would go without food for days, all the while exercising, to lose a few lbs and fit into the weight class he wanted. He got up early to run, went to bed late after running. He lifted weights, ran stairs, in fact he could outrun his coach on those. Whatever it took to win, that's what he did.

Our youngest daughter Jayme took this picture of the mountains when she was visiting in Montana this summer. These mountains are behind the town of Paradise. Tim grew up there. When we were first married we lived there for two years, before moving to Arizona. We're still living in our own little piece of "paradise" here in Appalachia. After all, home is where the heart is. Right?


When he was a teenager he climbed all over those mountains and cliffs. Free climbing, no ropes or safety equipment. Some of those cliffs are what he would describe as moderately difficult to climb. (Or at least it seemed so to a self trained teen.) You can't climb them if you aren't physically fit. He did it just for the pure enjoyment and satisfaction of it. To sit at the top and look at the view, knowing how hard earned it was.
When we lived in Arizona he used to hike often in the Sonoran Desert with his friends. He found equal enjoyment out of this. Hunting and fishing were never a big part of his life . He doesn't watch sports, or play video games, in fact, he's never had much of a hobby of any kind. But, he does love hiking and exploring new places....and he does read a lot!

We moved back to Montana when our children were young. Soon after, we decided to home school and move out to the country. We lived way out....off grid for a while. That was not all it's cracked up to be. I like my electricity, running water and the other amenities of the modern world. In fact, that experience sort of "burned us out" on camping and hiking. We didn't do much of it for a long time.
Eventually, we moved to Tennessee. And yes, we love it here! But, unfortunately, we really haven't done much hiking and camping. Some here and there, but not nearly enough. We intend to change that.

Living on one income in a two income society was and still is hard. It was a choice we made and I don't believe we would change that. But, it did bring some financial difficulties, that also contributed to us not spending time as a family outdoors, as much as we would have liked. It is one of the things we regret.... Word of advice... "Find a way to get outdoors with your family while they are young, you will not be sorry!" I think there are ways to do that even on a very limited budget. I hope to explore some different ideas I have about that,  in a later post.

The fact that Tim worked so hard, would also be part of the reason we didn't do as much as we should have. He worked, so I could stay home and be a full time mom and home school teacher. It was something we both wanted to do for our children. Good things often require sacrifice and this did too. I would like somehow to repay Tim for all those years. It was not easy. He didn't have an office job, or even just a moderately strenuous job. He's worked in construction for over 25 years. From roofing in 115 and over in Arizona, to hanging drywall, painting, framing, pretty much all of it. You name it, he's probably done it.

I'd like to see him find some of that same enjoyment he used to get out of hiking. It's something we both want to do. Saturday, we spent the day in Cookeville at the fall festival. It was fun, but as we were walking around I noticed how oriented it was for children. They had a lot of fun things for them to do. Even a rock climbing wall. I was starting to get kind of melancholy that I didn't have any kids to take around to the different activities. But then, we turned up another street and a sporting goods store was having a sidewalk sale. We spotted the Osprey backpack at the same time. Without saying a word, we just turned and began walking toward it. We realized this and looked at each other and just smiled. Great minds think alike! We spent the next hour or so in the store looking things over and just generally dreaming of all we could do. It was the best part of the day.

This is why I'm working so hard to get in shape. Tim doesn't need to. He works hard everyday and is already there. There isn't an ounce of fat on him. If we want to do this together I have a lot of catching up to do. I'd tell you what I've been doing toward that goal, but that, is also, another post.
No, we'll never summit Everest. :)  But there are achievable summits.....maybe even MT Katahdin, I've always wanted to see Maine. Or maybe the highest peak in the Smokies via the Appalachian Trail. We already have a hike planned next time we make it to Montana with my sister and her husband. One particular trail we have in mind is Virgin Falls.

Chimney Rock and what happened there is not my inspiration, that was just a wake up call. My inspiration, is Tim. He worked hard, so we could realize one dream. Now I'm returning the favor, getting in shape and eating right, so we can tackle the next dream and make it happen. Isn't that what you would do?