View from the top. Either side is a long way down.



Crevice to fit through on the left...and yes, this is part of the hike.
I opted to stay with the little kids.


Not sure if I would fit through here. Did I mention this is a
one way hike...and once you start you have to finish.



Top of one of the peaks.

On Father's day, Matt did the Phoenix Mountain hike in Dandong, but I personally would refer to it as the "don't slip and fall or you will plummet thousands of feet to your death and we don't want you to die because we love you and it's Father's day" hike. I don't think pictures do it justice. This hike involved, going through a dark cave, fitting through narrow crevices, pulling yourself up stairs on the cliff side of the mountain and walking across a balance beam tip of a mountain holding onto railings, that who knows how are attached to the mountain. It was a 4 hour hike that he will always remember. I think he is amazing and I am very proud of him for not only attempting it, but finishing it. I am also very thankful he didn't slip and fall off the mountain.

Our first weekend trip

The right side of the river is Dandong, China, and the left side is N. Korea.

The half of the bridge leading to N. Korea that was destroyed. You can see the ferris wheel that never turns on the other side.

Portion of the great wall in Dandong that we hiked.

The boat we rode back to the beginning of our hike. The other side of the river is N. Korea.

The bridge connecting China and N. Korea that the U.S. bombed. We are at the very edge of it where it is all twisted.

If you visit or live in China, the one thing you have to see is what China is most famous for...the Great Wall. So we took our first weekend trip to see a portion of the Great Wall in Dandong, which is about 3 hours north of us on the China/North Korea border. Dandong not only boasts the Great Wall, but it also has a lot of history, including the Korean War. A part of this war included the U.S. bombing a bridge over a river that connected North Korea to China. China and North Korea were allies during this war, and Americans were not. Now there is a musuem in Dandong and the name of this musuem is really easy to remember. It is called "Museum Commemorating the War to Resist American Agression and Aid Korea" Needless to say, it probably isn't the wisest thing to admit that your an American in this particular area. Not that anything bad would happen, but with a museum commemerating American Aggression, I wouldn't mind being associated with, oh let's say, Canada, for the weekend. Our friend's driver said if we were asked where we were from, we shouldn't say America. The thing is, one of the first questions Chinese people learn to ask in English is "Where are you from?" The first night there, we are out walking near the bridge, speaking English, and people stop to watch us. One man then asks Matt, in English, "Where are you from?" Matt, not wanting to say he is American, replies in Chinese "Wo ting bu dong," meaning, "I don't understand." The one question people learn how to say perfectly in English, and Matt replied in Chinese that he doesn't understand the question. I think they thought it strange that Matt wouldn't understand ...but, it gave us a good laugh.

The contrast between the two countries today is amazing. The China side shows big city buildings with bustling night life and lights...and across the river is North Korea, with few buildings and going completely black after the sun goes down. North Korea does have a ferris wheel, we have been told has never turned.

After hiking the Great Wall, we took a return path on the ground, which we didn't know lead to stairs going up the cliff side of a mountain and across a suspension bridge. So with little ones in tow, we took the option of getting on a little boat on the river bordering North Korea. The boat didn't appear to be the most sturdy, but the 13 of us piled on. Eli wasn't getting on and when I told him to get on, he said he wanted to be the last one. I asked him why and he said he wanted everyone else to get on first because he wanted to make sure it wasn't going to sink. Letting other people go first to make sure it safe... now that sounds oddly familiar to me.

Have you ever fed a leopard through a chain link fence?

Zoos are universally fun, especially when you can see the animals up close and personal. We were able to buy food and feed brown bears, polar bears, wolves, leopards, and black leopards. All in all we bought 2 cups of dead fish, 1 live fish, 1 cup of fruit, and 3 dead chickens, well worth the $9.The only thing between us and the wild cats was a chain link fence. We heard a black leopard purr from inches away. I don't know of a zoo in the states that would let us get this close...granted if fingers went through the fence, they may be bitten off...so the safety standard is a little different. The worker shoved the chickens through the fence, so we were well out of dangers way. The bears danced for their food. The kids threw the fruit and dead fish to the bears, but unfortunately not all the food made it across the chasm. All 3 kids also got to sit on an elephant's trunk as it went onto its 2 back feet. Matt and I could have as well, but we opted to let the kids go first...just to make sure it was safe. After our eventful time at the zoo we continued to explore the City of Dalian and went to a beautiful scenic road by the ocean. We saw some very Chinesee pagodas on a cliff right on the ocean, and thought we would hike to it. We pull off the road to the park, which ended up being a "wedding park." It was a good thing Eden wore her beautiful fancy dress. She also wore knee high purple socks and tennis shoes, but a fancy dress worthy of wedding pictures none the less. Wedding parties wanted her in their photos, purples socks and all.