RYLA
RYLA was an amazing experience! I was nominated and sponsored by the Columbia Day Break Rotary Club here in Kennewick, WA. It was for boys and girls aged 18-25 and it was held in Castlegar, British Columbia at Selkirk College. All the staff members volunteer their time for the leadership/motivational camp. I learned so many things by speakers who volunteered their time for us. I learned about leadership skills, types of leaders, suicide, photography, self-defense, family, and so many other topics. I got so close to my group and I will never forget the stuff I learned from the people I meet there. I'm so thankful our paths crossed.
This is a picture of all the girls at RYLA.
This is my Group E! Our junior staff leader is on the far right. This was our winning tower made of straws and tape. We had to have the tallest tower and be able to balance a tennis ball on the top for over 10 seconds. Our group was the best!
This is the whole RYLA group at the beach in Nelson, British Columbia which by the way is an awesome little town.
I met so many new amazing people and became so close to them in the one week that we had. I was able to present my amazing adventure to the rotary club that sponsored me the week after I returned.Mt. St. Helens
This last weekend I was able to climb up Mt. St. Helens. Awhile back, I played an intense game of ping-pong with my Grandpa and we decided to make a bet. We decided that if I won, he had to pay for my most expensive text book at school and if he won I had to climb Mt. St. Helens. Well he won but it was a win-win situation for me. I was so stoked to climb Mt. St. Helens! He had to reserve a spot for us a couple months in advance because a certain amount of people can climb every day and it costs about 25 dollars per person. We were originally going to go with my Mom, Dad, and Uncle Jon but they all backed out when they ended up going out of town. We ended up inviting my Aunt Suzy and two cousins Dion and Kyra. It was such a fun hike but it was pretty intense! I was so proud of my Aunt and cousin Kyra when they made it up all the way! Here are some pics to show you the crazy climb I am so proud of completing!
This was the very beginning of the climb. We started with a 2 mile hike through the forest.
We quickly got up past the first layer of clouds.
After we got out of the forest, we came to the the boulder section of the climb which was really fun but very intense. This was only the beginning of the boulders.
This shows the steepness of how the rocks just kept going and going straight down.
The last mile or so was very ashy and two steps up was one step back. It was the hardest part of the whole hike. The altitude didn't make it any easier. We were almost there!!!
We finally got to the very top and this was the inside of the crater. It was huge and the the dome was at the very bottom and was letting out tons of steam!
The other group who came up shortly after us let us borrow their cute little sign. Kyra is asleep in the background. haha!
By the end of the hike everyone was exhausted and our legs were felt like jello. We got back to our cars around 8:30 and after driving for a few hours and stopping to eat a very late dinner, my Grandpa and I got home around 3 am (and we both had to work the next morning at 7). Kyra ended up coming home with us as well for a short visit. The climb was so worth all the effort that went into it and I probably will do it again sometime. But first I want to explore some of the other stuff around the area like Ape Caves!
My family just got home last night from a week and a half trip to California. I was sort of jealous because I have never been to Cali but they brought me back some super cool nail-polish and earrings so it was all good :) Plus I didn't have to miss the climb up Mt. St. Helens. I ended up playing another game of ping-pong with my Grandpa 2 days ago and we of course made a random bet up. If he won I had to clean all 67 window panes in Grandmas house and I won, he had to hang up Grandmas shelf that she had been asking him to do for a few weeks. Well I lost again so I ended up cleaning all the windows for her yesterday with a sore body. Hopefully someday I will learn not to make ping-pong bets with my Grandpa. (He's obviously a better player than me)
