Today was another fun one, but flipping through the photos reminds me that some of the best moments were the non-events ... like watching three ten-year old boys having a blast being silly while washing the breakfast dishes... or seeing all ten kids' jackets hung across the playground and listening to them play a game together. We did have a few eventful hours today, too, but the kids have ALL made it clear it is the unstructured playing and unplanned fun that they like best.
After breakfast, the kids all played at the playground until we all decided to finish the hike we started the first full day. We did the back part of the trail that led to a natural bridge, and the kids all enjoyed climbing through the cave-like feature.
After lunch, we all talked about taking a long hike, but several of the younger kids didn't like the idea, and I wasn't crazy about hiking with several complaining kids. The best plan was the one we went with: I took Maddie, Ben, and Benjo (also in first-grade) on an adventure while the other five adults did the big, steep hike with the big kids and Jon (who doesn't back down from ANYthing the big kids do). So... I don't have any photos from the others' adventure, but I got several from the one I was on.
The three littles and I headed on a smaller hike with the naturalist backpack. First we headed over to some metal statues of bison that were near an amphitheater and right next to a letterbox (that we DID find!) We stamped our letterbox book, then spread out on the pavement and some benches at the amphitheater and painted and colored pictures of the canyon around us.
After we were ready for more walking, we headed down to the prairie dog area and playground. Before I took Maddie in for a restroom break, I explained to Ben and Benjo that they were to wait at the corner of the restroom for us. When we came out, the boys were gone... but not far. My Ben had his arm in a prairie dog hole all the way to his shoulder! NOT a happy mama. I sat and watched the kids play on the playground for awhile, then we slowly made our way back to camp.
The other kids all had a great time on their adventure. Ben, Benjo, and Maddie told me they loved the one we did, so I think everyone was happy... and exhausted! After dinner, Allen and I took five of the boys on a night hike with the park ranger. Since it was open to everyone in the park, it was pretty crowded and it didn't have the magic that I usually love about nighthikes. Nonetheless, the boys thought walking around in the dark listening to coyotes and watching for snakes and bats was pretty cool.
Saturday morning, we got up, had breakfast, and started packing up. While I was loading the car (a great puzzle in itself) Ben brought me a few paddles of a prickly-pear cactus. He was SO proud of his "catch," but as he tried to hand them to me, he asked if I would help him get the new splinters out of his hands. That cactus put up a good fight, and I pulled out nearly two dozen pricklies. We eventually got everything back in the car and headed to the ranger station to check out. A lone bison was right there in the grassy area next to the door, so I got some closer photos.
As we backed the car out to head for the exit, the sky opened up and poured on us most of the way across Texas. We were several hours behind our expected schedule, and the rain was just getting worse, so we stopped at Allen's parents' for the night and had a nice, but short, visit with them before heading home Sunday morning.
