Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Cub Scout Hike

Nate and I took our Bears on a hike on Saturday morning. Only two boys ended up going (not a terrible turnout considering we only have four in our den and one was on a camping trip). We hiked the same trail we took the kids on a couple of years ago. I don’t remember it being so difficult then, but it pretty much kicked my butt this time around. Even Nate was feeling it by the time we got to the top. I guess we need to start working these old bodies of ours a bit more so a wimpy three mile hike doesn’t do us in.

Besides the aching muscles and the heat, it was a good hike. We ate some wild raspberries on the trail and saw some cool wildlife. The most notable part of the trip is that I got up close and personal with a rattlesnake. We had just started down from the ridge, and Nate and I had stopped to take a couple of pictures of our house. Ben and Chase had gone a little ways down the trail with Chase’s dad. We started down after them, and after a couple of steps I heard the rattle. I looked down and there was a rattlesnake crossing the trail about two feet in front of me. That will make a girl stop in her tracks. Luckily the encounter was fairly uneventful. We watched it cross the trail, took a couple of pictures, and headed down the hill while Mr. Snake slithered up the hill. Still, I’ll be okay if the only time I am that close to a venomous snake again is at the zoo.



This was our view from the top.

We called the girls and told them to go outside so Nate could take a picture. This is what he got with 20X zoom:


If you look really closely you can see three white rectangles on the porch. Those are our girls. If we were on CSI (or some other lame TV show), they would be able to digitally enhance that enough to see the freckles on their cheeks.


After we got home and cleaned up, Grandma Reatha and I took Emily on a special date to pick out her baptism dress. She tried on seven different dresses and picked the one she loved. I was very proud of myself for letting her decide all by herself and I was happy when her favorite was the same as my favorite (even though I didn’t let on that I had a favorite). It was a bit emotional for me to see her looking so grown up in all of those fancy dresses. It’s hard to believe my little girl is old enough to be getting baptized! We made a few more shopping stops and finished up the day by going to Golden Corral (Emily’s choice) for dinner. Emily loved being the guest of honor with Mom and Grandma and we had some quality bonding time. I loved it.

8 comments:

dcscrivy said...

Ok, I am not sure what it is with you and attracting snakes, but I am pretty sure that I can't hang out with you in the outdoors because I really HATE snakes, especially rattlers! I am glad that it was uneventful (as you say, to me that is very eventful)! I know what you mean about how hard it is to let the girls just pick, I always want Addy to pick what I want, so good job!

Claudy said...

This is the second time you have had a snake encounter this summer. Is this normal???
I'm exited for you guys to hike Ben Lomond. Don't follow my lead and get all teary eyed while hiking. Only losers do that:). We'll watch the kids when you decide to go. Maybe you can do it this year with the Scrivner's. I think she mentioned she wants to do it. That would be sweet.

Malinda said...

Don't worry Crystal. We won't ask to hike Ben Lomond with you guys. Professional hikers like you and Dan would go insane waiting for a slow poke like me! I think I need a full year of training before I attempt it, so maybe next year. :)

Katie Jason said...

Wait . . where is the picture of the rattlesnake :) I love that you called your girls so they would be outside when you took the picture from so far away!

Malinda said...

Katie, you are kidding right? It is kind of camoflagued, but it's definitely there! Do people ever bring in pet snakes for you to work on?

Hilary said...

I noticed that Nate hasn't been wearing a tie on random outings lately. Does this mean the ward water fight is over??

Malinda said...

The water fight is still going. Let's just say that Nate has temporary immunity, so he has lost some of his paranoia.

Heidi said...

I can't believe you were that close to a rattle snake, I would have peed! Your outing with Emily sounds like so much fun, it almost makes me want to have a girl, almost.
You should call us to hike Ben Lomond. I loved your story of Nate's temporary immunity.:)