August was an eventful month at Michael Delving, to say the least. The short version of the month is summed up with these two pictures.
At the beginning of the month, Boookie got the Uruk-Hai Army LEGO set for his birthday:
At the end of the month, the Mayor got the Battle of Helm's Deep LEGO set (which attaches to the smaller set) to celebrate his rescue from the wilderness:
The residents of Michael Delving spent several lovely days down at the Cabbage, visiting with GranDma, Apu and Great Grandma Ruth.
And here are some pictures of the hobbitlings enjoying their summer
Of course, an account of August wouldn't be complete without mentioning the harrowing experience at the end of the month. The Mayor went on a 38-mile solo hike in Olympic National Park, with the goal of hiking along the ridge on the north and east sides of the North Fork Sol Duc Valley, then hiking down to the river and back out. Here is a view of the valley, taken from the ridge.
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With less than a mile left to go down to the river, the Mayor slid 150 feet down a steep slope into a creek ravine, shattering his ankle. He was trapped down there for five days before searchers heard his gunshots and sent out a search helicopter. Here is a picture of the camp that the Mayor built in the ravine. The flags above were cut from the tent. The Mayor also used pieces of the tent for rope and used the padding from his backpack to create a splint for his broken ankle.
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A Coast Guard Dolphin rescue helicopter airlifted the Mayor out of the ravine and took him to the hospital.
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