Of course, when we got there, we discovered that what was a nice, shallow, wadeable spot in June is much further under water in the Spring. And so we headed back up the creek until we finally found a less accessible but shallower place where we could hand all the kids down.
The water was icy cold, the current in some areas was downright dangerous, and the footing was treacherous - which meant, of course, that the kids ended up having a blast.
The highlight for me was when I found the molted shell of a crawdad. Daniel and Micah decided what the thing needed was a proper funeral, complete with a tomb. As Todd was mournfully singing Taps, and Josh and I stood at attention, Daniel carefully arranged stones around the floating shell...and in the process found the very much alive owner. Fortunately, I'd brought a bucket for just that sort of thing, and the crawdad was ultimately scooped up for the kids to marvel over. That plan worked great until Micah decided the critter needed another rock to hide under, and dropped a small boulder into the bucket, directly on top of the crawdad. The crawdad survived, narrowly, and we quickly set him free before one of the kids managed to kill him with kindness.
Shortly afterward, Micah dropped a large rock he was attempting to chuck on my foot. Then Alex decided he was tired of not drowning or bashing his head open on a rock, and doubled his efforts to accomplish one or both. Presented with these difficulties, the womenfolk decided it was time head home (the menfolk would likely have stayed until sundown, I think). There was much wailing and many protests (from ALL the boys), and since Sunday, Micah has asked to "go swim in the water" every morning.
I've promised him we will definitely go back.
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