Parker Falls
This past weekend we backpacked in to Parker Falls and stayed three days and two nights. It was such a fun, impromptu trip! And talk about cheap, the only things we were out of pocket for were a few cans of sterno, some batteries, and gas to get there. We bought wire lines for the dogs, a lighter weight camping skillet, and a few more flashlights -all items we will reuse, and of course groceries. Our splurge? Dehydrated ice cream sandwiches. I thought they were cool, but the kids didn't really like them! Back to our trip - we went to Parker Falls last August (before my blogging days) just for a couple of hours and fell in love with the place. Since it has been raining so much, we were so excited to see what the waterfalls would look like with all this rain. There are several waterfalls scattered out among the cliffs, and one substantial one that is great to play in. Check out the pictures in the slideshow.
Rappelling
Speaking of cliffs, we brought our rappelling gear that Mark has had since before we were married, and the kids and I (minus Cameron) all went rappelling for the first time. The kids all did great! I tried the low cliff, the one we all went on, which was around 30 feet high. Mark started at the top, which was around 60 feet high or more. The next day we all went rappelling again and I started at the top. All I can say is that I should have had more practice and I wish we had it on video - it had to be hilarious! On the 30 foot cliff which has a good landing, where we started the day before, I stopped to rest a minute. When I started again, somehow my feet stayed on the ledge and I went down so my butt was hanging down just swaying and my feet were above my head! So I kept going down till they came unstuck. Next time I will practice more! Mark missed seeing the whole thing as he was up at the top and couldn't see over the edge of the cliff.
Hiking In and Out
To get to waterfalls and the place we like to camp, it is a mile hike in. Downhill in, uphill out. Since it was so close, I will admit we didn't leave a few luxuries behind. We thought the extra two miles walking would be worth it. We were right. I am glad we didn't give up the air mattress and cooler! On the way back out, though, we played so long that we were ready to GO and decided to try to fit it all in. Raeley actually ran ahead with some backpacks and sleeping rolls while the boys were rappelling and we each carried something extra. Mark and I carried our packs up the steepest parts without carrying anything extra earlier in the day. That was a great call by Mark because there was no way I could have worn the pack and carried something! CJ even had a pack but he was so tired on the way out, that after Mark put the pack on him, he refused to MOVE. Then he got scared climbing up, but I can't blame him. Everyone except Buster carried two things out, even Cameron. To get her to walk faster, Raeley let her lead Buster out on his leash. What a great idea! The only time we say anyone was when we were walking out. We passed a couple walking in.
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