There's a large canyon we've been itching to see so we loaded Scott in the backpack carrier and went for a walk.
There are several springs feeding into the canyon so finding water was not a problem. In fact, finding dry passage was often the bigger problem! This spring begins up higher then takes a break in a pool before falling into the canyon floor in front of Susan and Scott.
We hiked a few miles up the canyon then took a break. Scott was getting restless so we let him walk a bit. You've never really examined new terrain until you see it through the eyes of a two-year-old! He stopped to examine every rock, plant, flower and sand-dune (even the mini ones!).
We went about as far as time allowed then stopped to play in the sand and water before heading back. Scott was adept at entertaining himself no matter where we were. He nearly wore this puddle out jumping in it. He loved the soft, sand bottom and the water was clear before he stirred it up. Susan happened to catch him in mid-air on this jump.
This is one of the most interesting rock formations we encountered. It's about six feet high and looks like the softer rock eroded at the base, leaving the boulder perched on top of the harder rock that's holding it up.
On the way to Echo Bay we stopped at the spring. They have a trailer there to recycle plastic and aluminum cans and bottles. They took the tires off of it which delighted Scott. Now he can use the hubs for steering wheels.
At Echo Bay we spent some time on the dock feeding bread to ducks, gulls and carp. The carp scared Scott at first because they kind of came to the surface and just inhaled the chunks of bread. I guess he though he'd be next.
This is our new campsite. We wanted to get closer to the water and this spot has been in use since the time we got here. It opened up and we immediately moved in.
We might be on vacation but some things have to be done even then. Here, Susan is going through receipts to get our taxes figured and sent in. We didn't have to pay anything this year but will probably have to next year if the book sales stay where they are.
Scott's decided he wants his own paddle. Unfortunately he thinks that Susan's paddle is his paddle. We didn't bring one for him this time (but did the next time) so when Susan insisted on getting her paddle back Scott did some protesting. I think they heard him in Las Vegas. He doesn't like the "no" word much. We seldom post photos of him when he's mad but he's two-years-old and there're some good reasons it's called the "terrible-twos."
Overton had their annual community yard sale and we spent that Friday yard saling. One of the things Susan got was the bright, yellow jacket that Scott is wearing. He put it on as soon as he saw it that morning and wore it all day. We're on our morning bike ride. We like to ride out to the pavement in the mornings to get our day started right. It's only about five miles round-trip from where we're camped. It's mostly uphill going and mostly downhill coming back.
We still have laundry and dishes to wash. Susan tackled the laundry while I washed dishes. Everything dries very quickly out here.
Another day kayaking on the lake. This was in the afternoon and Scott zonked out pretty quickly. His paddle is behind him so I stowed it in my kayak and Susan got him in a more comfortable position while we paddled around the lake a bit.
One day we were treated to a show by our boys in green. These poor guys got dropped in the lake by parachute. They only had one tiny life raft and were doing drills getting out and in most of the afternoon. They finally got extracted by helicopter after several hours. There were a couple of "real" boats standing by in case they had problems. We could hear the guys on the boats giving the guys in the water a hard time! Scott was overjoyed with all the military planes, boats and helicopters in view. He nearly waved his little arm off every time one flew over.
We bought some hamburger when the local grocery store had it on sale. I love cooking over coals and they came out great.
We stop at the park nearly every time we go through town so that Scott can play. This time there were a group of older kids there and Scott learned a few new tricks from them. One was that he could slide in circles around the pole if he sat on the bars. In typical toddler fashion he did it about fifty times before he was satisfied.
The "World Atlatl Contest" was held last weekend at the Valley of Fire State Park. This is one of the display tables where people sell their merchandise.
These guys were from Arkansas and Missouri. Every item there is a historical replica of an early period tool.
This girl had never used an atlatl before. She and her brother bought an atlatl and two darts each and entered the competition. They didn't win against the more experienced contestants but they had a lot of fun and you could see the improvement they made just from the time they were competing. Of course they had lots of able coaches to help them out.
The wind was "challenging" to put it mildly. Some of the darts hit the targets sideways due to the crosswinds. The course was set up like a field archery range with 3D targets. The ranges varied from 10 to about 30 yards. There were few restrictions on equipment. The atlatls were traditional but darts were made from cane, wood, fiberglass, carbon, and aluminum.
I've been playing with a sling made from para-cord with a pouch made from material I cut from a dog food bag. I like using it. You can really chuck rocks a long way with it. The little Island is about 50 yards away and I could easily hit it with rocks. I need to find the ball the dog likes to fetch. She'll finally get a good workout!
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