Devil's Den

Monday marked the boys’ very first hiking trip at a state park.  We woke up to a clear blue sky and a temperature in the mid-eighties, so it was a perfect day to get outside.  Gage actually complained about it being too cold!  After a long drive to the park, Tamara dumped us out by the Devil’s Den self-guided trail and off we went.

The older one immediately assailed me with questions about how long it would take to get to the cave, but those were quickly silenced once we reached our first rock formation.  Griffin was all over the place, climbing and poking around the many crevices that lined the hillside.  Gage enjoyed his fair share of climbing too, but was more enthralled with the oversized acorns that dotted the ground.  After the first four, I declined to carry anymore, so he made due with stuffing them in the waistband of his shorts.  I’m certain that if he had pockets, his pants would’ve been dragging the ground by the end of the day.  EVERY acorn he came across got added to his collection.

At times, it was a nerve-wracking experience for me, watching a six year-old and a three year-old, with so many sheer drops and steep slopes.  I was constantly herding them by hand and by voice as we traveled through some of the more dangerous areas.  It was during one of those times that the following conversation ensued:

Griffin:  Did you see that big hole up there?

Me:  Yes, that’s really high up, isn’t it?

Griffin:  Yeah!  I know what this is called.

Me:  What’s that?

Griffin:  It’s a buffalo.

Me:  I think you mean a bluff.

Griffin:  Yeah, that’s it.

Then a little further down the trail, with Gage in the lead:

Me:  Gage, be careful.  Those stairs are steep.

Griffin:  Yeah, it’s a buff.

Gage (with all the indignation a 3 year-old can muster):  I KNOW WHAT A BUFFALO IS!!

Me:  It’s ‘b-luff’.  The word is ‘bluff’.

Griffin:  Yeah, that’s it.

Griffin next to his 'buffalo'

By the end of the trail, my boys were starting to get a little hungry.  We crossed the street and found a nice shaded picnic table to enjoy our meal on.  While we ate, we watched kids playing in the water and throwing rocks.  This proved to cause an insurmountable setback with the boys finishing their food, so I packed it all back up while they shed their socks and shoes and hit the water. 

It didn’t take way too long for the kids to find a snake happily making its way through the shallows, with a minnow in its mouth.  I came over and knelt down as we watched it struggle through the water, desperately looking for a place to make shore that wasn’t covered with people.  Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a large rock hurdled over my shoulder and slammed into the small reptile.  The fish was jolted loose, and the snake disappeared.  I looked to see who the assailant was, only to find my oldest son standing there.  “Griffin,” I said, “I know that Mammy doesn’t like snakes and kills every one she sees, but I don’t want you killing them unless they are trying to hurt you.”  He thought about this for a moment, then replied, “OK.  But it was hurting that fish.” 

“Yes,” I said, “But that snake has to eat something, and as long as it’s not you, I don’t want you trying to kill them.”  Then I added, “That was a really accurate shot, by the way.”

His reply:  “Of course it was.”

We walked to the store, had some ice cream, and then the boys wanted to hit the trail again.  So off we went to scramble about the hills until it was nearly time for Tamara to pick us up.  With nothing else to do, we found our way back to the picnic table and then down to the water for more rock throwing fun.  Griffin and Gage immediately went over and introduced themselves to two college guys and tried skipping rocks with them.  At one point I looked up to see my youngest pointing over at me and announcing, “That’s my daddy over there.  His name’s ‘Daddy’.”

Being thusly introduced, I made my way over and helped them skip rocks until our ride showed up.  It turned out to be a wonderful day!

Tired, Dirty, and Happy!