"Our Hike" for Bone Marrow Disease 2009

The 5th Annual "Our Hike" for Bone Marrow Disease!

On September 12, 2009, we held our 5th Annual "Our Hike" for Bone Marrow Disease. It was another great time! My mom and I always get super-stressed out and worry ourselves crazy that nobody will come -- but people always do! And we have quite a few dedicated faces we see year after year, and it's always WONDERFUL to see new friends join the "Our Hike" family, too!

Don't miss out on any fun next year!! Mark your calendars now -- September 11, 2010!

So first - a GREAT BIG THANK YOU to all those that came along and hiked with us! Thanks to all those that joined us at the Corner Connection for the registration, meat raffle, lunch and backpack raffle (congrats to Linda Lou who won the backpack full of camping goodies). It was great to see such a big turnout for our spaghetti dinner and raffles at Lost Vega's, too. We had lots of people come out just to hike, just to get in on the dinner special, just the evening music and raffles, or for all of it! That's what is so fun about this event -- you can kind of choose your adventure! Of course, I recommend getting in on all of the fun... you just never know what you're going to miss (see picture of Keith in the burning boat below! tee-hee)

I will also mention a big THANK YOU to all of our volunteers and helpers... to those like Josh, who showed up at my parents house Friday night and helped load raffle baskets into the car, the local businesses that participated (Corner Connection and Lost Vega's for the start and finish), Adam for MC'ing, Orien (I work with him at 4imprint) for borrowing us his time and equipment to put together some awesome radio ads, Kenny for driving the haywagon, Karen for donating so many huge baskets to raffle, Lee for helping with organizing and money-handling, Sarah for helping sell paddles, all of our outstanding family and friends that helped with odds and ends along the way, all those that donated prizes for raffles... the list could go on! Just know we appreciate each and every one of you -- and on behalf of all Bone Marrow Disease patients, their friends and their families -- we couldn't do all this without you!

"Our Hike" hikers on the new Georgetown ATV trail)

A quick recap of the day --

It turned out to be a really nice day in the Northwoods along the newest section of the Georgetown ATV trail. We had about 30 hikers, I think... and some gorgeous late-summer/early-fall weather. Slightly cool, but still warm enough to wear shorts -- and the only place I ran into skeeters was in the woods when I snuck out to "use the facilities." There were a few leaves starting to turn, so vibrant reds, yellows and oranges JUST started to sprinkle the woods. The trail we hiked was complete this year (last year we had to bushwhack across Carpenter Creek!), so we had a nice huge bridge to walk across.

Participants sporting their "Our Hike" goodies. Bandannas and Sport packs!

This is the new bridge across Carpenter Creek.

Once hikers reached Lost Vega's after a wonderful 7-mile hike, we all rested and rehydrated. Then dinner was served! We all enjoyed some yummy spaghetti and meatballs while Mom, Lee, Adam, Sarah and I started running some raffles! The night fun continued with more and more raffles -- we had huge themed baskets of guy stuff like tools and car kits, girl stuff like holiday-themed decorations and kitchen stuff, kids baskets full of toys, baskets full of baby stuff, and a bunch more! We had grandma's homemade breads, Holly's chocolate pies, a homemade cribbage board, Mom's ginormous crocheted sock monkey, my original monoprints, gift cards... just a whole slew of different stuff! There's always something for everyone!!

Later in the evening, the band Spitfire set up and started to play some music. We had a fun time visiting, dancing and we even ran more raffles during the band's breaks! The fun normally goes late into the night. :)

Jake, me and Pam having a good time at Lost Vega's!

Thank you, volunteers, donors and participants. We hope to see you next year on September 11, 2010! And keep your eyes open -- we might be changing things up a bit! It's going to be a blast!

Oh, did I mention something about Keith (my dad) sitting in a burning boat?! As promised:

If you were there and would like to add any tidbits from the day's events -- funny things that happened, someone you'd like to thank (especially if I missed someone with my memory-less pea brain!), go ahead and add a comment to the bottom of the entry!) Thanks for reading! :)