Picnic Saturday

Last Saturday Dustin actually had off work, and nothing pressing to do, so we at the Little House loaded up to spend the day back in Hell’s Canyon. We drove back the windy road and went first to Hell’s Canyon Park, which is a lovely spot that wasn’t too busy.

There were a lot of campers, but we had the day use area pretty much to ourselves. Very family friendly, with all this expanse of green lawn, enormous shade trees, and a roped off section of river for children to play in.

Dustin went snorkeling, and Davy happily played in the edge of the river, wading out up to his knees, and throwing a million rocks to watch them “sploosh” in the water.

Betsy and I sat up by the picnic table. She crawled around and played happily, while I did some crocheting.

After a while it started to sprinkle rain, so we loaded up and headed back to McCormick Park where Dustin’s parents were camping with friends for the weekend.

We hung out with them the rest of the afternoon, talking and fishing and enjoying the children.

This park was a lot more crowded, but still a lovely place. Also it’s closer to home.

Dustin surprised Davy with a little plastic fishing rod, and Davy was obsessed. He figured out quickly how to cast (more or less) and spent the rest of the day fishing for “halibut”. After his grandpa caught a little bass, he switched to fishing for bass too.

“I’m going to catch a bass for tonight’s supper,” he explained to me. And when the boy standing a few yards away caught a bigger bass, Davy wanted to go see it, and said, “I love your fish!” even though he’s usually shy with strangers.

He would have sat on this rock all the rest of the day, playing fishing, and did not like the idea of heading home when it was time to go.

Betsy crawled around playing and trying to put rocks in her mouth.

By this time things had cleared off and the sun was out. It was hot! The overcast skies may not have been as picturesque, but it was much more comfortable.

However, the sunshine made for some lovely scenery on the way home. This canyon is so stunning.

You have to wonder why it would be called “Hell’s Canyon” when it’s so beautiful.

This is the least rugged end of it. If you follow the river far enough, the road stops and it’s just boat access from there on up. And the mountains are much taller. It’s actually deeper than the Grand Canyon, though it’s much less famous.

It was a lovely relaxing day that everyone enjoyed, just the thing after so little family time. We’re quite blessed to live so close to this remarkable place.

Have a great week!