August 13th – The day after and coming back was better than yesterday

This is our last full day in Krasnoyarsk. It began with a lazy morning and at 11 everyone met at the Rotoban amusement park. This is where the downhill bobsled run is that we saw on the Amazing Race TV show. The ride did not open until 12 so we all hung out in the café until then. At 12 we all did the ride twice. You get in a little car with very little protection other than a seat belt. You are pulled to the top of the hill be a cable and then it is a freefall of twisting turns and bumps on the way down with the only thing controlling your spped is a hand break. It was wild and fun and we all did it twice. We than ate lunch back at the café and then went to the zoo. It was a nice lazy walk and we saw some unusual animals but nothing spectacular.

After the zoo we returned to the playground to see goodbye and reflect on our accomplishments. Arriving was quite the scene. All the TV cameras and hoopula was gone – it was just a very crowded space of fun and laughter. There were between 35-50 kids playing along with all their parents. It gave all of us who traveled to Krasnoyarsk a wonderful feeling tp see it being used so heavily. Everyone there was running squee;ing with delight or laughing. We just sttod there and watched all this for a long time, soaking it all in. The boys took their share of turns playing and then Mr. Dave called everyone together for reflections – each of us took a turning describing roses – good things, thorns – bad things and buds – things we were looking forward to. It was very emotional for all of us and we had much to say but watching the children play was at the top of the list  for roses and looking forward to returning one dsy to Krasnoyarsk was a bud. The thorn was not finding Alex’s parents. A lot of people tried and he gpt some more information but he did not get to meet them. The people in Krasnoyarsk who have been helping are going to continue the search and maybe they can find them and send a picture. We sure hope so.

We had also hoped to visit Victor today but he was having a second surgery. Alina left him one of our troop 809 shirts and later that evening he called her to pass along his thanks snd to wish us well. We all then went to our homes to pack and spend the evening with our host families.

The last 12 days have been a whirlwind of activity, hard work and emotions. We could not have done more while we were in Krasnoyarsk. We came to build a little playground for some children which turned into an international event of goodwill and friendship. This simple act touched the lives of people around the world in ways we never could have imagined. We are left with the fondest memories of all the kind Russian people who came out to help or just stopped by to be there, to see or to say thanks. At the same time all of us who traveled here also had the most wonderful personal experiences, truly a trip of a lifetime. When we weren’y working, our kind host were showing us all there was to see and do in Krasnoyarsk – from hiking in the Stolby nature reserve, to guided tours, barbeques, hanging at the dachas and so much more. Our host families took us into their homes, stopped their lives for two weeks to do everything they could to help us. They went far and beyond our wildest expectations. All of this was made possible by Tatiana Khegay and Alina Tvorgova. Tatiana organized everything pulling together all the members of her Krasnoyarsk Rotary Club to provide us with housing, transportation, tools and equipment. Alina did the same rousting up her many friends who in turn provide the labor support we need to achieve our goal. THANK YOU Tatiana and Alina – we will never forget what you have done for us and your kindness and friendship.

The pictures below intentional do not have captions – they speak for themselves.