We made it up the canyon once this Fall. Once! I'm sad we didn't manage to find more opportunities, but it's been that kind of year…we didn't do our wildflower hike this summer either. Ah, well. We are so blessed to have had even one morning under the beautiful yellow trees! We had to take a small break in the middle for piano lessons, and then we zipped back up for the last precious hour or two of sunlight before evening fell.
We considered leaving the younger kids home with Malachi, who had too much homework to come with us (that's too often the case these days!). But when it came down to it, no one wanted to go anywhere without Clementine and Gus the Good. So we brought them along!
Hero pose
Grinning Gus
Gorgeous Goldie
Clementine was the busiest little body that ever lived. She was up, down, in, out, over, under; copying everything everyone else did with an air of decisiveness and authority.
She ran ahead of me along the path and kept making me gasp in alarm as she stumbled her way with (completely unjustified) confidence over the uneven ground.
A ladybug landed on her, to her utter interest and delight
At least I think it was a ladybug. They were all over, and all spot-less like this one.
Come back, Clementine! She ran so far and so fast!
I love it when the wind blows and the yellow leaves fall down like rain!
Clementine trying to keep up with Zig…
…but not quite managing it!
(Thank you orthodontist for making my children into walking advertisements 🙄)
Junie found a cute fuzzy caterpillar
Daisy organized a Scavenger Hunt for various woods-y objects, so everyone was going around hunting for pinecones and snail shells and beetles and so forth.
Goldie is right out of Girl of the Limberlost. I can totally see her as Elnora, out collecting luna moths. She is the perfect mix of old-fashioned and spunky.
So many different variations of yellow
Gus was off in his own world, playing some dump truck or backhoe game. He was so happy.
He got a bit charcoal-y after moving around some rocks from the firepit!
The scavenger-hunters tallying up their treasures
Pause for piano lessons! Our teacher lives relatively close by in American Fork. Junie and Goldie made up games to play at the church next door for the kids who weren't being taught at the moment.
They do make up the best games!
After piano, we went back up the canyon—farther up toward Tibble Fork Reservoir
This area was particularly rocky, and all the rocks were under the leaves so you couldn't see them. I think Clementine tripped and fell approximately five times a minute! I tried so hard to get her to slow down and hold someone's hand, but she wouldn't! So instead she just kept falling and falling, getting more and more hurt and grumpy each time.
SO sad
In between falls, she seemed to enjoy herself? Sort of?
Gus had his share of falls too, poor lamb. This is so familiar to me; it happens every year and with every baby. But do we learn from it? We do not. We keep coming here. Maybe their falls build character?
Anyway, at least Gus cheered up soon enough. Not without his share of scrapes and bruises, though!
After another fall
Comforted by Goldie
Ziggy demonstrating how he catches a "fish" on his "fishing pole"
More scrapes
Another fall. Comforted by Daisy this time.
Goldie attempting to forestall additional falls
I loved the "fire" Daisy and Junie built with red leaves!
After that Gus diligently went about collecting rocks for his own fire and fire ring.
Such a cheerful little worker!
What a good fire he made!
Then Teddy and Goldie joined him and made it even better
So good!
On the way out, we had Clementine sit in the spot where we took these pictures the last two years:
She forced a smile, but her heart wasn't in it
She seemed dubious about the whole thing. But that was okay. It was time to go home, anyway!
So, go home we did. But we were so happy to have spent such a good day out in the beautiful world!
I wish I had been there! We need to head up into the mountains for this type of adventure more often, because the adventure is worth the scrapes.
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