Natalie Black:  

Summer 2003 - My two youngest sons and I tagged along with my husband's 3 week summer geology field course. We backpacked 30 miles through the Tetons and saw the most beautiful display of wildflowers ever! (I wasn't as interested in the rocks as he was.) Gorgeous country! We would all love to go back. Summer 2004 - Sent the kids to my parents and I joined my husband on another one of his summer courses, only I didn't drive. I flew this time. We backpacked 40 miles roundtrip from Mineral King Valley in Sequoia National Park down to the Kern River and back. It was KILLER. Been there, done that, don't want to do it again, but at least I met my goal to make it back! 2006 - The year from hell. Don't even want to recall it. Summer 2007 - Spent a short 2 weeks with my family in California. We celebrated my parent's 50th wedding anniversary and spent 4 nights in chalets up at Silver City in Mineral King (Sequoia National Park). Had the BEST time. It was the first time my entire family had vacationed together since we were kids! My sisiter and her husband even came in from Guam. We spent the remaining part of our vacation in Gilroy and took a couple of day trips to Sea Cliff beach and Santa Cruz. Workplace I graduated from college and taught P.E. for 3 years at a middle school in Wasco. The summer after teaching my third year, I worked at Silver City Resort (very rustic at the time) near Mineral King, outside of Three Rivers, CA. I met my future husband, Jim while living in Bakersfield. He was working on a seismic crew in town at the time. I married in August of 1986 and Jim and I moved to Delano. My husband went back to school and worked on his teaching credential while I taught one more year in Wasco. After the school year ended and Jim got his credential, we moved to Visalia, CA and took teaching positions. Jim taught junior high science and I taught P.E. and science at a continuation high school. Six months into the school year, we bought a home in Three Rivers, just outside Sequoia National Park and settled there for the next 6 years. We continued to work summers at Silver City and got in lots of great hiking in Sequoia National Park. I was beginning my 2nd year at the continuation high school when our first son was born. I had planned on taking leave and then returning to work, but when my leave was up, decided to retire and raise a family. In 1990, our second son was born. It took me nearly 2 years to get used to being a stay at home mom. I then took a couple of part time jobs just to get out of the house, like substitute teaching (which I disliked very much), cleaning rooms at a resort, and finally working at a local shop (Reimer's Candy and Ice Cream), making all the chocolate covered nut candies by hand. I was afraid I'd grow to hate chocolate, but that never happened! I had to quit that job in 1994 because we were expecting our third child. Jim had gone back to school to get his masters in geology and he landed a job at his old junior college in Fort Worth, TX! I had to leave my beloved CA, my family, my friends, my church, my home, my mountains.!!!...Expand for more