Allegany State Park Weekend!

Last weekend (May 30, 31, and June 1), our family went to Allegany State Park for their annual nature pilgrimage thing. It was a nice, pretty place, but I wouldn't recommend the event because of the very prevelant new-age mindset. However, I did learn a lot of stuff and met a lot of nice people. The Wilderness Survival Hike with Jim Bruchac was worth the bugs :) Anyhow, here are some pictures and a short narrative of our weekend.

Friday:

Pretty self explanatory, those pictures. We got there and we registered. Then, Jessica, Annetta, Lydia, and I were dropped off to go on a 5-mile hike, while the rest of them went to our cabin

to unload the overlooaded van. I though that maybe the hike would take an hour and a half, but I didn't count on the break, or our trail guides having ADOT ("attention deficit-oh tree!"), ADOP ("attn. deficit--oh plant!)", ADOB ("attn. deficit--oh bird"), et cetera :). This meant that it took us a really long time to get back to our cabin. And when we did, we found that the cabin was locked, our things (which we wanted) were inside, and the key was with Mamma and the little kids. Thankfully, they had left a window open, so we were able to "break in." After supper, Jessica and I took the two littlest kids, Joshua and Katrina, down to see a DVD on Presque Isle. It was well done. Then we met up with everyone else in the Big Tent (aka "Camp Allegany") for some opening speeches. Those of you who have camped know that getting back to your campsite at bedtime means that you still have to Get Ready For Bed!! ***Not fall dramatically into bed and fall asleep instantly, to awaken refreshed and anewed just as the sun's rays kiss your georgeous face, like what happens it the movies (and don't even think about morning breath!)***. We hiked down to the bathrooms, past our partying neighbors, and then back up. And then we had to get everyone in bed, comfortable, and *then* fall asleep, or try to :)

(^The bathrooms were our only civilized comfort^)

Saturday: Getting up involved trekking down to the bathroom (with a halo of bugs), and back up (with a halo of bugs.)

And then breakfast, and then clean-up. And brushing teeth. Several Snells went on a 9 o'clock event, and Jessica and I joined them at 10 for a "short" hike to Bridal Falls. Daddy drove down that morning; he didn't stay nights because of chores, but he came up and stayed all day Saturday and most of the time we were there on Sunday. It would have been a short hike if the trail guide hadn't been so long-winded :) Bridal Falls was pretty, though. After our hike, we had lunch at our cabin. The next class was the highlight of the trip, for me. It was a Wilderness Survival Hike with Jim Bruchac. He taught us about navigating without a compass or GPS, survival shelters, and he demonstrated ways of starting fires without matches, which was way cool. But all good things have to come to an end, and plus, it started raining (random fact: did you know that you can start a fire with paper birch bark, even when it's raining?), so when it ended, we went back to our cabin. Around 5'ish, we all went to the Big Tent for a chicken barbeque dinner. Mamma and several other kids went on a Salamander Walk, Animal Stories, and a Bugs by Night event Saturday evening. Daddy left to go back and do chores, and Jessica decided to go back early with him. So, I got to be 2nd in command.

Sunday: Sunday morning, aside from the normal getting-up routine, we went, ourselves, to Bridal Falls.

^ Hosanna and Lydia ^Hosanna, Lydia, Joanna, Annetta
^ Mamma and Katrina

Then all the kids but Josh and Katrina went to do nature games. I went with them, but sat at a picnic table, froze, and read my Civil Air Patrol Aerospace Education Module 4. Daddy had come up at about 10 (without Jessica), and so at noon, we all crowded back into the van (loaded with all our stuff), returned the cabin key and went to:

There was a little island in the lake. Below, you see the brave Robinson Crusoe:
And the fearless Friday:

And the fearful Friday:

After we got done, we gathered for a shot of our lovely bracelets before heading for home.

Josh is the little hand without the bracelet, and clockwise from him: Annetta, Erika, Daddy, Lydia, Joanna, Hosanna, Mamma. She took the photo, because we all had our bracelets on our right hands, and she, being left handed, had her right hand free to snap the picture.

So that was a brief synopsis of our trip. I hope you enjoyed it!