Last weekend, Mike & I brought Joshua on his first camping trip. What a wonderful time! Joshua was grinning in anticipation even before he enjoyed the first step: watching us set up camp. He is able to sit up unassisted to play now, so he joyfully played with his stacked rings (a current favorite toy) on a blanket while we worked. Then, a marvelous thing happened: Joshua discovered grass. Throughout the weekend, Joshua would pull aside the blanket on which he was sitting to pick grass, meditate on it, and thoughfully place a blade or two into his mouth. He didn't eat the grass, he just tasted it.
We all enjoyed the hiking and wildlife during the day. I am amazed at Mike's ability to carry Joshua in the backpack carrier for a two hour hike without any seeming effort. We saw lots of wildlife, including deer, bunnies, cardinals, bluebirds, a giant brazen racoon, and big tadpoles. I hadn't seen tadpoles since I was little. At night, we loved watching the campfire and making music. The stars were extra plentiful above our heads.
This trip we even went on a guided hike to learn about the history of Clifty Falls. It was so well done. Mike was particularly good at reading the landscape for evidence of the historical use of each site: he even spotted evidence of an old fenceline near the ancient railroad bed that the ranger hadn't noticed before!
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