Another Exciting Adventure. Or, It Could Be Worse.

Sunday morning began so peacefully.

We slept in. I ran down to the local grocery store and got the paper, then ran home. The kids read books. So peaceful. 

(We went to church Saturday night, just in case you were wondering!)

The first hint at calamity came before we left on our hike. The Boy was suppose to take the dog(s) for a run. He thought it was a brilliant idea to get on his bike and run them while he rode.

Until the big dog saw a squirrel and decided to lunge. The Boy followed, but the bike did not. There was blood. And abrasions and open wounds.

But we patched him up and moved onward.

We drove quite a ways up into the coast range to a place called Valley of the Giants. Except we couldn't find it. There were so many 'roads' and the map and book we had was about 9 years old. We were finally frustrated enough that we stopped at 2 pm to just eat lunch.

We enjoyed the scenery and the river. Throwing rocks was one event.

And then another car came by, we talked with them and realized we were only a mile (!) away from our destination. Onward we went! We found the trail head and enjoyed a lovely hike with the kids

We found a tree over 250 years old! There were so many huge trees out there.

And we got a botany lesson in also.

 

 Little K had a good ride in the pack. The trail was pretty treacherous for her little feet in some places, so the pack worked well for us this time.

 

 

We managed to leave the trail head at a decent hour, thinking we would make it back in time to get to a meeting at church. But then, we heard a strange sound, and I got a sinking feeling inside.

Yep, flat tire. In the middle of nowhere. About 15 miles from a town. My cell phone had no service. G had to stand on top of the pickup cab to get one bar. Stress levels started to ratchet up. By then it was about 5.30 and we were hungry. 

We knew there was a family behind us on the trail, but we weren't sure when they would be by. And we couldn't get the spare tire down from our pickup because of a "key" that was needed and we didn't have. G and I discussed our options, and decided to try the phone one more time.

As G went up the road a little ways, I gathered the girls together and we prayed. Hard.

A minute later I heard G on the phone with his mom! Alleluia!

looking for service

The kids were so good this entire time. They didn't fight, they didn't whine or complain. I think I was more upset than any of them were. The little one decided to sing and needed a stage .... The Boy did what he often does

throwing rocks once again

 It just kept getting better.

So the girls and I went home with my mother in law when she arrived. My father in law stayed with G and the Boy, and then my brother came out to help with his pickup that is the exact same model.

While we were eating some burgers (it was about 8 pm by now) I got the phone call. When someone says, "Don't freak out, but there was an accident" what do you want to do? I stayed calm though my imagination ran wild. 

It seems while we were driving down the mountain, the Boy had an accident involving his (left!) hand, the tire jack and the wheel fender. So he was on his way to the ER with grandpa.

Thankfully by the time they got to town, the Boy was calmed down. Grandpa was calm. Mom was calm. The hand doesn't look broken, but it is quite swollen. The doc splinted it, and gave us some instructions on what to do next.

Our 5 hour plan for a nice Sunday hike turned into a 9 hour (11+ for the guys) ordeal. I don't know if I'll get them out on a hike again. G says we'll sit in the backyard next Sunday and enjoy some lemonade.