Finally I had a day off from work on a weekend. We wanted to do something adventurous so I did some research on the internet and found the “secret tunnels of Kauai”, also known as “Kaapoko Tunnels”. What I found out about them was they were old irrigation tunnels that were used to divert 28 million gallons of water a day which was used to water the sugar cane in the valleys below. The main tunnel is 1 mile long with 2 more tunnels that are ¼ mile, and 1/8 of a mile (these are considered tunnel 1). Supposedly there is a 2nd tunnel but we ran out of time to find it. We left the trail head at 10:30am and began down the muddy trail. We were prepared and brought the proper footwear for the hike (I had a pair of Merrell water shoes and the rest of the fam had tabis). We made it to the first tunnel after some extreme route finding, bamboo bushwacking and several stream crossings.
The first tunnel was tall enough that I could stand and wide enough to walk side by side. It did have shin deep water the whole way and the last ¼ of the tunnel had old rail track in the bottom. When you start you can see a faint pin hole at the other end which grows larger every step.
Approaching the other end of the tunnel there was a split, we headed up the 2nd tunnel and ran into the truss system. The trusses were placed at what looks like a collapse years ago. This tunnel winds around and eventually leads you to the irrigation canal. From here you get to the 3rd tunnel. This tunnel is a little more difficult, It has a low ceiling that you have to bend over the entire way and to make things worse, you are walking through shin deep mud. When you get to the end of the tunnel, you have to crawl through a small opening to get out. Once out, we were awarded by a river and waterfall all to ourselves.
This adventure was 4 miles one way and took 7 ½ hours from beginning to end. I am planning to go back some day to get to the last tunnel, one of these days.

Not much going on since the last post. We went to the ocean again on Sunday and did a little snorkeling. The surf was pretty rough so Quentin and Jennifer stayed on shore. We went with a couple friends who took me out to check out the sharks again. They were not there but a baby turtle was. We also took spear guns but were unsuccessful catching anything, maybe next time.

Where has the time gone? Not much has happened in the last month besides Quentin and I turning 1 year older.
Quentin is doing very well at school. He is still at Kula Elementary which is a private school close to my work. The class size is 10 students and he has excelled academically since enrolling in this school. Q is a water bug and every waking minute he is not at school, he is itching to go to the beach. During spring break, Jennifer and Q spent almost every day hanging out at the beach.
Jennifer is doing very well here. She is spending time at the beach and researching recipes on the Internet. She has made some incredible meals lately (not that any of her meals were ever bad to begin with). She has been working part time for our land lord at her dog boutique in Kapaa. She likes it and it keeps here satisfied with dogs until our arrives. That is the other big news, we finally found a Akita breeder on Oahu whose dog just got pregnant. Their dog is a show dog which means we should get an outstanding bloodline. The down side is the $$$$ it will take to procure one of the dogs, OUCH!.
Work has been going very well despite long hours. I got a promotion this last month which took effect on April 1st. I am now a Job Superintendent with the Kiewit, which in a nutshell means I can run jobs that are up to 50 million in value. Not too shabby. You cannot beat the location of my office and the views I have while driving home every night.
We did secure permits for the Na Pali Coast this July. The Na Pali coast is ranked as the number 1 beach camping in the world. After the trip, I will post the trip report like usual.
Take care, and remember, the door is always open.













Pictures top to bottom:




Q at Costco enjoying Pizza



After pizza, he got to go to Fun Factory (island version of Chuck E Cheese, just a little more ghetto)



What Q won (check out not only the boxes of boogers, but the pimp hat is the best).

On my Bday my Engineer took us fishing on his boat, this is Q just as we are taking off.



My foreman was washing off and made the mistake asking Q to hose him down. Q has a little too much Calvin and Hobbs in him.



And finally, this is my office. Do let the lush tropical setting fool you, walk on the deck and you will have 5 mosquito bites in 30 seconds

Surprise, surprise, we spent another day in the water. This time we wanted to try a different spot. Perry and the family headed to a reef where white tip reef sharks have been seen before. We headed out to the reef, and within minutes we were swimming with the sharks. We were all a little in awe with our first sighting, but when we realized they would go after us, we warmed up a little. After seeing the sharks, we continued around the reef and viewed many cool fish. I am sure we will be out next weekend for another adventure.

The house is about put together. Jennifer has done a great job getting the house looking good. Jennifer has a couple friends, Perry and Becca, that live on the Island and are from Apsen Valley, CO. She grew up with them years ago and had no clue they were on Island. Perry is an avid snorkeller and tries to get out as much as possible. He suggested we go Sunday afternoon. This would be the perfect test for my new waterproof case for my digital camera I just bought. With gear in hand, we hiked to a little cove along the coast. The cove, pictured here, is where some of the movie Six Days, Seven Nights with Harrison Ford was filmed. We dove in and explored the reefs in the area for about an hour and half. It was amazing and saw all kinds of marine life. As we were getting out of the water, we saw a baby Monk Seal sleeping. We kept our distance and observed for awhile. We grabbed our gear and headed home. We are looking forward to doing this again next weekend. WE LOVE HAWAII!

We have made it safely back from Africa. The trip was amazing and we definitely have some incredible memories. Since we have posted so many pictures, we had to make 2 pages to explain the trip. Start with the Kilimanjaro tab and then move into the Safari. We are slowly getting the trip posted, so be patient if it is not all there.
The day we got back, the movers were in Vancouver and started to load the truck (Thanks to Bob and Claudia for helping with this stressful part). Everything went real smooth and the flights to Hawaii were good. We got here last Sunday and started the stressful house hunting. We were told by numerous people it would be really hard to find a place. We looked in the paper and on craigslist for places. We found 9 potentials and one caught our eye on craigslist because it had pictures attached. We emailed and long story short, first place we looked at, we took. The yard is amazing, very tropical and they allow dogs. The house is on ¾ of an acre (yard service included), lush, 2 car garage (very rare on Kauai) and a big, spacious eating area (perfect for our new table from IKEA which is still in the box). Best thing - 3 bedrooms. Let the influx of visitors begin.

HOME SWEET HOME

Almost there. We are that much closer to getting to Hawaii. I am temporarily working on Kauai and I have been here for a week. I am over there over here for another month or so. I get to go home December 12th. Jennifer and Quentin are coming over for Thanksgiving next week. We are going to explore the island a little more. The island we are on is quite small and it shouldn’t take long to explore it, end to end. Here are some pictures I took this last weekend. The island is called the garden island, and I know why. It is very green and lush. This Island is where the movie Jurrasic Park was filmed.

Pictures top to bottom:

Kapaa - the town where we will be looking for a place.

The lush green valleys. This picture was taken near the North shore of the island

The next two are beachs up on the North shore

Gear for the Trip

We finally have completed getting all the gear to climb Kilimanjaro. It took a while and a couple of dollars, but it was wrapped up last night with one final trip to REI. This is the gear that will have to be carried up the mountain. Hurray for porters!!!

I was in Omaha for two weeks going to training for Kiewit. On my way back out, I took a pit stop in Colorado and saw some friends and family. While out there, TJ, Dave and I decided to go camping. We picked Mee canyon due to its impressive Alcove. The trip was three quick days, out and back. It was nice to get a way and relax.

The top picture is Dave stay on an outcrop inside the Alcove.

The bottom picture is camp on the first night. We setup camp under the alcove.

Well, if you have not heard, I have been transferred again with Kiewit. This time the desitnation is Hawaii. We are moving to the island of Kauai. I am leaving on November 11th and will return on December 12th to go to Africa. After we get back from Africa we will be moving. We will be living in the town of Lihue and I will be working on a bridge outside of the town of Kilauea. We will keep everyone posted and our phone numbers will not change.

The job is progressing along just fine. I am on the East Side Combined Sewer Outfall (ESCSO) here in Portland. In a nutshell we are building a 22 ft. inside diameter tunnel 7 miles long. Once complete, it will carry sewage to the treatment plant. We have now tunneled 250 feet. This was our first milestone, we now have dropped all the trailing gear (the rest of the tunnel boring machine) into the hole and the long task of hooking it up is on its way.

There are 7 shafts that are spread throughout the 7 miles of tunnels. These shafts range in diameter from 85 ft to 45ft. They are vertical shafts and will allow the sewer to go from the surface down into the tunnel.

My job is to plan and supervise the setup of the shaft sites and get them ready for our subcontractor to sink the shafts.