Well I guess this is what happens when your whole stake and area fast for rain. . . you actually get a Monsoon season! We've had quite a bit of rain and thunderstorms here - the mountains have had a ton.
Emmy and her friends had talked at girls' camp about going on a backpacking trip. So I had planned one out with my kids (I was making my boys come since Ben's not around!) plus a few of their friends (one of the boys' friend, two of Emmy's friend, and one of Lucy's). One of the moms, a good friend of mine, also decided to join us. We were going to do Powderhorn lakes as it's a good intro-to-backpacking area.
Well I kept watching the weather for that week and it just got worse and worse. Thunderstorms not only at evening/nighttime, but for most of the day as well (90% chance!). Flash-flood warnings all over our state, etc. Being wet and stuck inside a tent, with lightning and thunder all around, didn't seem like a great time nor a safe time. So, sadly, the day before we were to go, I had to call it off. Emmy was in tears . . . Plus maybe one of her friends. :( We watched a Marco Polo video one of the friends had made and it was so sad - she was laying out all her stuff for the trip, getting all packed up, was "SO EXCITED," etc. I kept telling the girls that backpacking isn't necessarily fun . . . but they were just excited to go together on an adventure, I think. :)
So, to make up for it, I asked the other moms if it was okay to have a tent sleepover at our home on Friday. None of us moms do sleepovers with our kids and so it was a big deal. Luckily they all agreed and so Friday turned out to be a fun day. The girls all got together at Taviwach (the little pond in our town) and paddle-boarded and played in the water. They then went bowling. Chilled. Set up their tents. Ate dinner. Chilled. Watched a movie. Played games. Ate food. (Bella ate tons of their cookies she somehow got from their zipped-up tent.) And finally went to bed - not too late, maybe around 11:30.
Part of the deal was having to go on a hike early Saturday morning. For my sakes. :) So I got the girls up at 6:15 and by 7:00 we were driving to hike Courthouse. Heather, one of the other moms, joined us.
The hike was awesome and strenuous. Holly, one of the friends, wasn't feeling good and so she and her mom, Heather, didn't go very far before turning back and just hanging out at the trailhead until we came back.
I forgot how steep of a hike it is, but the girls all did great. We got to the summit before the clouds began rolling in. It was a fun hike and I think the girls had a really great mini-weekend trip.
Looks like we'll try another backpacking trip mid-August. I think the weather will be better by then! Cross our fingers and say our prayers. :)
1 comment:
I don't know why, but I'm constantly surprised at how different our forests are. Yours feels so familiar, of course, but it's still so different. When I look at your pics, I can almost *smell* it. :)
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