Things that I loved about Mill Hollow:
cabins with oodles of bunk beds to sleep in (and amazingly our parents would let us sleep in whichever cabin we wanted, without any adult supervision...boy how times have changed!)
the trading post (stocked with crafts and goodies)
the Indian TP that was always behind the lodge
the lodge (in which we could find cool air upstairs and the cafeteria down)
the wildflowers in the meadow outside the lodge
the freedom to wander and explore the grounds and the forest
my cousin Isabelle...we were inseparable
the sack races etc. that we'd have with all the cousins
But, first of all, BR and MC wanted to show us the stream, the river and a few other points of interest that they'd found in their explorations around the campground. We followed them to each place on their list; they felt very proud and important leading such an expedition which culminated in a trip across a "tree bridge" they'd found spanning the river. Well most of us crossed. I took pictures until my kids coaxed me into crossing. I took two steps and then I was paralyzed...I couldn't move another step. Despite all the encouragement my kids could give me, I just couldn't muster the courage to cross; so, with a little help, I backed off.
A little timid
Growing confidence
A little help from Daddy
Struttin' his stuff
Look at her go!!
"I'm stuck!" :/
No sweat!!!
Well we drove and drove looking for this place. Finally we found a sign that indicated Mill Hollow. We followed the little dirt road and ultimately came to a closed gate. However, there were no signs forbidding entrance so we each grabbed an apple, slathered on the sunscreen and hiked up the dusty road. I was not disappointed! We found the meadow with the wildflowers, and the lodge and the cabins. I would have loved to stay and re-live all my memories but they weren't shared by my family and so after indulging in seeing those places I promised we'd go find new places to make our own.
A little indulgence for Mom's nostalgia
We picked another dirt road with a sign touting a lake or reservoir in that direction so we decided to see where it took us. We stopped at the reservoir and admired it for a bit, the kids played and explored, but pretty soon we were in need of a bathroom so we were off. We didn't want to go back to civilization however so we decided to see if there was a bathroom to be found down another dirt road that we came upon. Pretty soon, MC, who was most in need, declared that she was fine with finding a bush instead. So we did. Then we just enjoyed the beautiful views of the place we'd ended up. We were sorely tempted, again, to go retrieve our tents and camp out there on our own!!
Instead:
we ate our lunch,
read some books,
played some football (just the boys),
and played in the snow (just the girls).
And let me tell you, snow will freeze your hands just as fast in the summer as it does in the winter...in case you were wondering.
At last we decided to move on (not before BR got his pants too dirty to wear in the car and he had to put on the only pair that was in the car...his dad's, with a rope tied around them to hold them up and the cuffs rolled up about 10 times!!) and we asked Tiggy (the GPS) to lead us home (back to camp that is). She found a new route for us to take, which was exciting and always good news! However, pretty soon we came to our first obstacle. It was a mound of snow, almost as tall as our car, covering the road. We got out, inspected it, and looked at all the tire marks over and around it, and then decided our best course would be to go around, (avoiding most of the mud as well...but going through some brush and weeds as a result). Without much ado we were soon past that obstruction and on our way. We patted ourselves on the back for being adventurous and not letting a little snow scare us until pretty soon we came upon a bigger mound of snow over the road and it went to the edge of a cliff!! Prudently, we decided a 40 point turn was the best option.
However, heading back to where we'd just been, led us straight to the first mound of snow. BR and MC yelled, "LET'S DRIVE OVER IT!!" GM and I looked at each other and stupidly thought "Why not?" You ask why stupidly? Or perhaps you are much smarter than we were and know "why stupidly"! We got stuck!! We couldn't even get to the middle of the mound! A few feet after our tires left contact with the road, we were stuck. And yes, after about 30 minutes of digging (with a little collapsible shovel, and branches, and hands) we knew we were horribly, miserably, inescapably stuck!!
You want to know how we're here to tell the story? It's the faith of a child! BR petitioned that we all pray. So we said a prayer and asked for help out of this situation, by our own means, or by sending somebody with means. (BR went off and said his own prayer too!) Not ten minutes later a truck arrived. Not only was it a truck, but it carried 2 able-bodied, strapping young men. Not only that, they had a REAL shovel, AND...a tow-strap and a hitch. Without hesitation they hopped out of their truck, grabbed their shovel and started assessing the situation. Pretty soon it was decided that the best means of extraction would be to pull their truck around behind us, (via the path into the brush that we should have returned on) hook up the tow strap and pull us back out. In a matter of minutes our car was free of its icy prison (nothing like the right tool for the job!) and we went the way we now knew was the best.
After expressing gratitude for our timely extraction, we unanimously opted for no more "adventuring" that day and headed back to camp.
As we were passing through Kamas I decided that I was too worn out to cook dinner so we stopped at the local grill. Evidently, it's the place to be for a "Kamas-ite" on a Saturday night!! It was packed!!
Back at camp GM built a fire and we sat around it while I read aloud some unusual fairy-tales. (You wouldn't guess it, not being about fighting, legos, or super heroes, but BR was very enthralled with the stories and spent most of his spare time the following day reading and re-reading my book.) :)
