On Thursday morning we woke up with plans to go hiking. Now the Fachko's and Henderson's are definite "hikers" with all of the necessary supplies needed - walking sticks and backpacks. Adam and Raymond have even hiked the Grand Canyon so they have earned the badge of a true hiker.
The big joke was that we were not much of the hiker type of people. Jason and I discussed this and realized we had been on plenty of "walks" to see waterfalls and such. We just didn't call them hikes and have all of the hiking supplies - sticks, snacks and water, but we still felt that we had done our fair share of "walks" and were ready for whatever they had in store for us.
Stephanie had scoped out all of the surrounding trails to find the right one for all of us seeing that there were 3 little ones with us. She decided the 4.9 mile Boone Fork Trail would be perfect with waterfalls and streams - much more exciting for the kids than just looking at the mountains. The kids were pretty excited and ready for their hike - don't think they realized how far 4.9 miles is.
Jason is checking out our trip and he found a staff leaning against the sign. He was our "Moses" for the trip.
We are on our way.
It didn't take long for Raymond to be hiking guide and be the one to answer ALL of Brody's questions.
Trevor had his walking stick and thought he was so big and did so well with our hike.
One of the critters the kids saw on our hike. Brody got brave and let him crawl on him. He became quite the outdoors type while on our hike.
This was our first stop along the way - about 1 mile into our hike. The kids took their shoes and socks off and splashed around in the water and of course it was snack time.
Showing off some dance moves and/or balancing skills.
I love this picture. Hard to believe these 2 will be starting Kindergarten next year. Oh my for the teacher if they are in the same class.
Yeah, he got a little deep and got his shorts wet - but thankfully he didn't mind.
All I can say is - Trevor!!
Taking in God's beauty
Shortly after we got back on our hike, Brody decided to take a little detour - down the moutainside. His foot slipped and down he went. He was holding onto the ledge for dear life as he yelled out "help". Raymond was quickly over to rescue him and as soon as we knew the situation was under control, Stephanie yelled out "take a picture". Glad she did so we have the memento.
About 1/2 mile up the trail we stopped at Hebron Falls for of course another snack and a few pictures.
Trevor's turn to play Moses with the staff.
After Hebron Falls, we had to make a decision whether to turn around and go back the 1.5 to our car or continue on for the remaining 3.4 miles. Debbie thought we should go back for the kids' sake. She didn't want them to get extremely tired and I think she was a little nervous about the weather. However, Jason was determined to go the entire 4.9 miles so off we went.
The second part of our hike was more interesting. It involved crossing a lot of streams. This was Trevor's favorite part. He would get pretty tired just walking the normal trail but as soon as we came to something different like streams or logs going down the mountain, he perked up and was able to keep going. Of course none of us didn't want our shoes wet but as soon as they hit the water the first time - it made it easier especially for the kids.
This was another memorable place on our hike. Stephanie decided to be the adult to help the kids cross the stream. As Stephanie was helping Ava across, Stephanie slipped and went into the water knee down. Needless to say, both her and Ava were pretty wet, but thankfully neither were too hurt just a little bruised.
As we neared the end of our hike, the kids were getting a little tired but we kept telling them we would go to the candy barrell at the end of our hike, so that kept them going for awhile. Trevor had to stop quite a bit more than the rest of us, so Jason and Raymond stayed back with him. Brody did so great through the majority of the hike and loved to be in front (imagine that). He didn't really complain until the very end (last 1/4 mile) We were trying to go as fast as we could because we knew the weather wasn't looking good. We came to this meadow with about 1 mile remaining.
Shortly after the meadow, we came upon a few yorkie dogs and they were quite hyper. As they were bouncing all around along the trail with their owner, Debbie saw them jumping over what she at first thought was a stick but then asked the owner "is that a snake?". Why yes it is. Debbie and Brody were about 1 step from this snake and then Ava and Stephanie were next. As all this was going on, I saw the "stick" and realized what it was and I jumped so quickly behind Adam - almost jumped on his back. Yeah, I CANNOT stand them and they are ALL bad - even though it was just a black snake.
Well on our last 1/2 mile the thunder came and the rain started pouring. Brody had not complained, griped, whined or cried until this point in the hike and at this point he was doing all of them. Ava wasn't happy either and we hadn't seen Trevor, Jason and Raymond for the last mile so no telling what was going on with them. Shortly after the heavy rain, it started to hail and not just little pieces but large pieces that didn't feel too good as they hit my shoulder. This did not make Brody and Ava any happier and it probably didn't help that Stephanie and I were singing or talking about the memories we were making. This was the longest half mile of our life and we were soaking wet when we arrived to the end - but hey we made a memory
We didn't have a change of clothes in the car but thankfully I did have towels. The boys stripped their clothes and wrapped in a towel as we drove back to Grammy's and Big Paw Paw's.
Once we changed into dry clothes, the kids did not forget about the Candy Barrel, so off we went. The boys were in heaven with all of the choices.
What a wonderful, busy and memorable day. The kids were definitely exhausted at the end which I think was our plan so they would sleep really good.
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