As you can see by the photos, our camping trip to Smith Falls State Park (east of Valentine, Nebraska) was full of sunshine, family, friends, and fun. Not to mention 100 degree heat every day.
Other contenders during the trip? Ticks, (Lars had the most), biting flies (Sarah took the prize here), gnats (Al is definitely allergic and swelled up like a boy scout at camp), heat (Samson took to the shade under the picnic table, and mud, which made setting up camp Wednesday evening somewhat challenging. Thankfully, there were not a lot of people in camp in the middle of the week, so we had lots of space to spread out to get done what we needed to.
After we made camp & Allen cooked chicken on the grill, it was too late to walk over the bridge, so instead we took to a campfire with S'mores and a whole lot of relaxing. The kids went to bed without a hitch, and the adults sat up and enjoyed the quiet crackle of a camp-fire.
Thursday started out with sausage & egg burritos, followed by a walking trip to the Falls, in which the intent of taking shoes and socks off to get our feet wet was met by a full fledged climb all over the rocks and half way down the falls, being completely soaked for the walk back. And, oh, was it worth it! Allen was the photographer this time. Even Samson had fun.
After a quick bite to eat, we loaded up the Ford and went to town, stopping at a hat shop before renting canoes for a 16.2 mile float down the Niobrara River, stopping once to eat and twice to swim in the rushing water. Lars was a bit of a crab after the 1st half hour, then fell asleep for a good duration, only to wake up and drop his pacifier overboard. It went downhill from there for him. Elia enjoyed standing up on the edge of the canoe and dragging her hand in the river, sucking the water off it and repeating the process over and over and over. With a bit of nursing, she, too, took a good nap, making the trip bearable for all. Eden sat in the middle of the canoe pretty well, but did try to tip us over a few times by trying to reach the water. A 35 pound shift in weight can be the beginning of the end when you're in a canoe! She was a little bored after lunch, and tried her hand at paddling, only to realize she was too short and was happier to sit and look at the scenery. By the end of the float, I think everybody had been in a canoe with everybody else at some point, and nobody capsized or got stuck in a log (there were none), stuck to the bottom (too deep), had to portage or get pulled from the weeds, so we considered it success!
Came back to camp for pizza pockets & S'mores over the campfire. The sky was clear and the stars were out in great numbers. I was pointing out different constellations to the kids, I forget how much you can't see them where we live in town with the street lights.
Friday after pancakes, we headed back to play in the falls. This time, Allen joined in the fun, getting drenched under the pouring water between the rocks. Samson tried to climb the falls, which didn't work so well for him, and the kids all played in base, with the water slapping off the rocks and sand below, moving them from their place with the rush of the water. After a while, we started down the falls into the dripping falls that led to the Niobrara. The water from the falls was cold, and it felt good in the already hot day. Eden & Daddy had to turn around just before they reached the bottom, due to a lack of shoes and sharp rocks on the bottom. The rest of us continued down the 8 foot drop off and into the mouth of the river, where the water went from cold to warm in a matter of about 12 inches. Samson's leash got tangled in a log and he about hung himself, but waited until I could untangle him, and all was well. At 8 years old, he still has a bit of adventure in him. We then floated down to the campsite, but not before Lars lost his hat and it sank to the bottom as it floated downstream at a high rate of speed...
Went back to camp, had a snack to tide us over, then a long hike on a nature trail, picking up a couple loads of firewood on the way. Naps were in order after this, and Elia was the only one who didn't comply, so I took off for another hike in the woods with her. Thankfully, the generator worked to run the AC in the camper and Allen & kids crammed in there to rest, which made for a much more peaceful evening. After a supper of Hobo dinners, Allen & I took a walk to the water, spotting a nanny goat down stream, which made for an interesting discussion of what exactly he was doing there on the bank. I never did find out.
Saturday was a breakfast of bacon & eggs, then time to break camp. We were out of there by noon, and headed to Crawford for a picnic lunch in the beautiful City Park, and an intended hike around Toadstool Park, 20 miles into the hills on country roads. Once we got to Toadstool, we realized we were w/o bug spray. Not that it mattered much...about 100 yards into the hike, one of the children was literally picked up by a swarm of mozzies and carried away. We decided, before we lost any more of them, we'd run back to the Ford, swatting gnats and mosquitoes all the way. I've never seen so many of them in my life in one place. Hundreds on each limb of each body that was there. We all itched all the way out to Douthit's Ranch 12 miles away, where we enjoyed a few minutes of the view there before the rain came down in torrents and we ran back to the Ford once again to get out of there. Anybody who knows anything about life in that part of the world knows that if you want to get out, do it when it's dry or be prepared to stay for a week.
The long ride home to Bridgeport ended with a bang as Al got the kids into the bath tub, only to find out we had no hot water again. After 4 days of no running water, and church in the morning, this made for an interesting evening. We borrowed a bathtub in town, returned the kids to the house and into bed and called it a night.
All in all, we crammed a lot of fun into a short amount of time, enjoyed the beauty of God's creation, had a few laughs, a few drinks, a few smiles and a LOT of sun. My back is still peeling because of that last one!
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