Another unbelievable experience!

A view of our camp in the middle of the mountains. Note the valley that we are in and the mountains behind in the haze... It's nestled near a reservior that the locals get their water from..

Kieran and Kellan hangin out after dinner on our camping trip at the Ranch.

Greetings all... Hope life is treating you well as you read this... Well, we've managed to have ourselves yet another meaningful adventure that is worthy of mention...

Yesterday, a group of people from ISB set out on an overnight camping trip up in the mountains to a place that I'm going to refer to as "the Ranch," since I cannot remember the actual name of this place. We met outside of our neighborhood (all 11 vehicles), and set off on our adventure that included a 2 hour trip from Shunyi into the mountains.

The drive was full of adventure in itself. Picture a bunch of high school students who are driving in a place where they believe that anything goes. Passing on the left going uphill and into oncoming traffic. Passing on the right everywhere... That's the reality of driving here. And, I'm actually getting used to it. You've gotta see it to believe it...

The weather was pretty mild, but there was plenty of fog/smog, which is also a common reality here.

We arrived at the Ranch around noon. Everyone arrived without incident, and we did not get lost once. Waiting for us was a golf cart and a small wagon that was hitched to a donkey. We loaded our camping gear onto these and walked about a quarter mile in to our campsite. On our way in, we walked by the houses of the person who either owns or leases the property. Unbelievable places that are nestled in the valley and on the banks of a peaceful reservior.

We made camp and quickly began to explore the surrounding area. Just up from camp was a road that ran between two ponds that are strategically landscaped to drain from to another. We later learned that this reservior water is the drinking water supply for the locals. The engineering behind this whole system is very interesting and must have taken a ton of sweat equity to make possible.

Anyway, where the water ran over the road between the two ponds turned into a playground for the kids... This water is really cold and clear. Definately spring water from the mountains. And water this clear and cool definately needs to be visited. A few of us ended up jumping in and freezing our tails off. Quite invigorating!!!

We later decided to take a short hike and find some of the animals that they had out here. The first ones Kieran and I found were the ostriches. One in particular seemed to be agressive and not really shy. In fact, it kept doing this dance in which it would sway its head back and forth as it dropped down on its knees. We speculated that this may have been the male protecting two females in the pen.

We walked up and also saw horses, chickens, cats, ducks, geese, and peacocks... The kids really liked this.

Upon return to camp, we hung out and played until dinner. Dinner was across one of the ponds on a beautiful outdoor patio that was huge. The view here is spectacular: mountains surrounding us, the sound of running water, and a beautiful pond dotted with lilly pads. However, to get there, you had to walk across a bunch of logs that are tied together over a flooded out bridge. To my amazement, not one of the thirty plus people fell in...

Dinner was a buffet of authentic Chinese food. This was the first time that I've ever eaten from a buffet while camping... But, it was a great time for fellowship with the staff members who were present. Plus, the group was full of children, who bonded really well. So, we were an active lot, full of laughing, chasing, and all the other noises that children having fun share.

The sun set quickly and the darkness settled in. We were told not to have a fire... But, how can you camp without a fire??? To me, that's like going to the fair and not getting cheese curds.. We ended up having a fire in on of the campers' little grill. Everyone gathered around and the talking began.

By the time it was all said n' done, the last of us who was awake turned in at about midnight. Laurie and I didn't really sleep soundly since each time we rolled over, we had to pull Kieran and Kellan back under the covers. They have this thing with wanting to kick all covers off themselves at night. Also note that Kellan probably puts in nearly a mile of exercise with his rolling, crawling, kicking, and swinging that he does on a nightly basis... But, we made it through.

I woke up at about 6:15 and set out for the hike that I had been thinking about since I'd heard about the old guard towers that connected pieces of The Wall. The weather was crystal clear and there was not even a hint of the haze that we had yesterday.

A teacher at ISB by the name of Jeff has brought groups of his students to the Ranch to do some studys for his Science class. They had a guide take them up and around, so he shared with me some things that only fueled my fire to get up there and explore... Things such as a small village that the government moved people out of in the mid 80's after an earthquake shook the area. Jeff also shared with me that there was one gorge that was basically the only place that the traders would pass through in the past...

So, I ended up stumbling onto the abandoned village by accident in my haste to climb to one of the guard towers that dotted the mountains. I didn't spend much time there as I really wanted to get up to a tower. But, if I go there again, I would love to do some exploring. Crumbling buildings and walls of bricks and stone now served as some sort of orchard of what looked like crab apples.

I continued up a trail that I believed would take me to what I was looking for. It ended up taking me through a mountain pass where I crossed paths with a local man who was out collecting nuts in the forest. I heard him walking and stopped cold in my tracks. I didn't know what was causing the noise, so it was a bit scary for a while. He ended up emerging and showing himself. I waited until he was turned away from me and quietly scooted back from which I came... I believe that he had no idea that I was even there...

Back on the trail again for me... I went further into the mountains and ended up finding a small trail that I figured was my last chance to get to one of these towers... I took it and soon had my heart pounding harder that I remember it pounding in recent memory. The trail up the mountainside zig zagged up the mountain. As I climbed, I began to make out remanants of The Great Wall on a mountain just across the gorge. I had no idea what this trail lead to, but had a hunch that it was going to be worth it... And worth it it was. However, I had to work to get there...

As I neared the top, I ran into The Wall. My first thought was " How could they have done this?" I cannot imagine how tough the effort was in building this... And, the fact that this part is still standing with original worksmanship is amazing!

Shortly after running into The Wall, I saw my prize... I needed this as I felt as if I was running out of gas... About 10 minutes of hustle and I was there... What an amazing feeling to walk into something like this.. I wish that the walls could talk. Can you imagine the stories that they could tell? And, what was life like for those who stood watch up here??? I sat up there, looking out of the windows and imagining myself one of these soldiers for some time. I also tried to gather myself for the trip down the mountain, which had me nervous. It's work climbing, but takes skill, patience, and good ankles to get down...

As I left, I definately felt that all the work that it took to get up to this was sure worth it. I was on The Great Wall, away from tourists, in the middle of nowhere, on a beautiful day... Amazing..

The trip back down the mountain was easier than I thought it would be. I made it to camp in good time, helped break camp, and load up. Our journey home went well. The kids were tuckered out and slept some, and we were back at our house by early afternoon... A great trip for the boys, for Laurie, and myself... Can't wait to do something like this again...

We have a few more days to regroup before we head back to school. Life is good, my legs, knees, and ankles are sore, and I'm heading to bed...

We hope all is well for you. Please drop us a line and tell us how things are...

All of our love,

The DuBois Clan