Sunday Family Fun

Because it's not just for Fridays anymore!

Actually, Sunday used to be our dedicated Family Fun Day, many years ago when there were only four of us, and it looks as if we might be returning to that.

Anyway, yesterday we went to . . . can you guess? Yes, another canyon!

This canyon is the one closest to our house. It's only about two miles away, and the accessible part of it is owned by one of our neighbors in the village. Obviously, we asked him if we could look around there, and he kindly said yes.

We parked at his family's old homestead--no one lives there now--off a dirt road and hiked to the canyon. It was only about half a mile to the edge of the canyon. Poppy, of course, got to ride in the pack.

Charlie said wistfully as we were loading her into it, "I sure miss riding in the pack." It's been at least four years since he's ridden in it, but I guess it really leaves a lasting impression.

Just before the canyon, the dry stream bed we were following widened out into a large flat area of stone that would be a waterfall after a really good rain. We haven't had a good rain in awhile, so at the moment it's just the stone with a few shallow pools in the depressions. And what's in those pools?

Tadpoles. Which of course must be caught.

The canyon itself was bigger and deeper than I expected. There was a pool of water at the bottom that our neighbor told us has wild grapes growing all around it in the fall. His mother used to give him and his brother a 25-pound flour sack to fill with grapes every day during the season when they got home from school. She made jelly from them, of course.

I totally want some of those grapes. Bet our neighbor would be happy to let me pick some in exchange for some jelly.

A. and Poppy did some exploring, trying to find a way down, but nothing looked very promising.

Definitely a skeptical baby.

I was there too.

With no hat or sunglasses, because I gave the former to Poppy and the latter got broken by a certain boy who will remain nameless. I was wearing sunscreen, though.

We followed the rim around for a little ways and found a good flat spot on some rocks to have our admittedly lame picnic of crackers and walnuts. From there we could see a piece of old, rusted farm machinery that turned out to be a whole collection of old, rusted farm machinery.

Rusty junk is even more fun than tadpoles.

We headed back shortly after this because it looked as if it might rain. But we'll be back. Who can resist tadpoles and rusty machines? Certainly not this crew.