The View From Elyse

The Anderson family piled into a van this morning to climb Longonot, a dormant volcano about 20 minutes away. We were privileged to drive on the newly "paved" road down into the valley.

Apprehension building as I see Longonot from a distance...

After getting to the base, we began trudging through the ash that covered the ground. The upward hike took about 2 hours, and, according to my dad, we climbed around 120 stories. We were all pretty beat the time we got to the top, even with the rests we took during the hike.

Family picture showing us covered with dirt (apparently I won the dirtiest award - I'll let you judge though.)

We stopped to take this picture; balancing my camera on a tree kind of posed a problem, resulting in a tumble to the ground, forever ending its life. There was an option to walk all the way around the rim, but since it would take another 2 hours we decided not to. The way down was fun, composed mainly of running down and the occasional wipe out (which may have contributed to me being the dirtiest). Now that I'm showered and I don't look like Pigpen - complete with the cloud of dust following me - and have finally caught my breath (I blame the altitude), I can say it was a fun experience. But- I am definitely glad we vetoed the Mount Kenya climb!