Learning to Hike with the Littles

Can you believe October is almost over!?  I know I do this every month, but WOW!  We have just been enjoying every moment to the max and I think that makes time move at a quicker clip.  One of the highlights of this week was doing an apple u-pick across the road and getting a TON more apples!  Such a great time made even better by sharing the experience with friends (a few more photos on my Instagram growwildmychild).  I bring this up to let you know I’ve added (and will likely soon add more) recipes to my apple round up post from earlier this season including apple scones and apple sauce!

 

Our second great adventure happened this week when my beloved got an extra day off work and took us to the mountains!!!  Oh man, the mountains are my place.  Do you have somewhere that, just by being there, you can literally feel yourself recharging and being inspired!  I think it’s different for everyone, but for me it comes from the majesty of the mountains. 

And I think this little one and I are like minded

 

I think it’s important to get to these places as often as possible (maybe through mental imagery if not physically?) and that we need these moments of getting away to refocus and remember the Almighty Creator.  He knew we would need these wild spaces to discover!  I love how several times in the Bible (Matthew 5:8, 14:23, 15:29, 17:1) it mentions how even Jesus took time to go out into the wilderness alone or just with his closest friends.  Of all the things Jesus exemplified to us, I don’t think this seemingly small act should be overlooked.  Nature proclaims the glory of God!

 

Now, hiking with little wildlings may not always be such a rejuvenating experience.  What I’m about to write is mostly my learned-the-hard-way lessons!   But when we started having children, I began to wonder if our bush-whacking, mountain climbing, woods-wandering days were on hold until they were much older.  And to be honest, we did cut back for a bit (partially because of the Alaskan winters), but I’ve learned some ways to get out with the little ones in ways that everyone can have a wonderful time, do some exploring, soak up the grandeur, learn so many new things that we might not at home, and make memories together.

 

1.       Getting there:  before I had children, I just thought that all little ones would just fall asleep in the car.  Boy, was I wrong!  Both our children HATED car rides and would often scream. The.  Entire.  Drive…  Needless to say, this is quite stressful and does not make for  a refreshing day for anyone.  Honestly, we did everything to keep our car rides to a minimum those first years (life got better with forward facing car seats).  So, I’m just going to be real and let you know that we tried to find things that were as close as possible and went just because we knew we needed to!   There are many great resources to keep little ones entertained in the car (several in this list), but I think a CD of silly songs we put together was the best remedy for our babies.  And any snacks or drinks possible, especially if you’re doing any elevation change and ear-popping needs to happen.  I kept thinking they must get car sick and now I wonder if there’s any way to diffuse peppermint or something that might help with that?  Hm, just a thought.

 

2.       Tiny Legs:  we’ve been trying to keep to the trails that are pretty short (less than 3 miles) partially for their little legs trying to keep up and also just knowing ahead of time that we’re probably going to be carrying them for portions, depending on their ages.  If you go in expecting that, you can be better prepared.  Think about what shoes they wear, if they can ride in a back pack or carrier or just your arms?

 

3.       Realistic Hikes: you know your kids and what they’re going to be capable of.  Or if you’re not sure, start with shorter paths and work your way up.  Trail heads should all have a sign that the start that will give you an idea of the trail’s length and difficulty.  Or check out everytrail.com  It lists all the trails in your area and gives these details as well. 

 

4.       Permit Rests:  Depending on the age of your little ones, frequent rest (or just distraction) breaks should be expected.  When hiking alone, I tend to want to see the sights on the way, but basically keep moving and get to where I’m going.  I think this is where it is beneficial to have children with you because they make you stop and notice things differently.  Give yourself permission to take breaks with them and really observe things that they find interesting.  This is where so much spontaneous education can occur!  We found a bouncing branch and a tree root slide that never would have caught our attention had we been walking alone! =)

 

5.       Bare necessities: exploring can be hard work, especially if your legs are barely a foot long!  Don’t forget to pack a few snacks (for sustenance and incentive!) and plenty of water.  Dress in (or pack in) layers.  Even if it feels fine at the trailhead, some areas can be windy or cooler (near flowing water or ice?)  And a couple band-aids (yeah, wish I had brought those!)

 

6.       If cries happen, it’s okay.  It keeps the bears away.  We ended up reaching our first hike right about nap time and our little one had about 15 minutes of bellowing.  I figured she’d either fall asleep or get over it (it was one  of those cries) and she decided to keep on trucking and see one more waterfall!

 

Then just soak it all in and enjoy your time together!  Actually, on our way home, the kids were crashed in the back seat as the sun was setting and we came upon a waterfall just off the road.  Josh and I took turns running down the hill to experience it while the other waited with the tuckered tykes.  For all the joys of hiking with the littles, I must say, if you get a moment to yourself among a sight like this, TAKE IT!   There’s something powerful and calming about being alone in nature, even just for a minute.  Then go back to enjoying those with you and treasure the moments in your heart!

 

“For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.”  Isaiah 55:12

Happy adventuring!

Happy Hiker!

 

Spontaneous Adventures: Pros, Cons, and Tips

A friend and I were just laughing earlier this week about being spontaneous when it comes to planning outings.  Instead of specifically setting aside a time in the future to do a specific thing I’ve researched and want to do, I tend to just be going along with life and happen across a patch of time.  Time that maybe should be used doing something productive, but, sometimes we just need to get out there and adventure!  So I’ll say, “Hey!  Let’s go somewhere!” And I’ll either quickly google what’s close or pile the kids in the car and just see where the road takes us.

 

Usually this ends up with awesomeness.  But sometimes we strike out.

We had several strike outs this week as we traveled the central section of the Oregon Coast.  But also had a whole lot of awesome!  While my husband was working out there, we got to join up with him and at least share evenings together.  My parents came down for those couple days, too, and we had such a great time just being together, despite any surrounding circumstances. 

Pros:

1.       Unexpected Treasures: this is how I felt the first day of our trip when we had a little extra time and randomly pulled off at a botanical area.  It turned out that right off the highway was a cobra-lilly (pitcher plant) bog!  The concept of an insect-eating plant was so foreign to the little ones and our eldest thought these gorgeous plants a highlight of our trip!  We also accidently found a great rocky beach, Whale and marine life museum, and pirate village!

2.       Save time planning

3.       No pressure to keep a rigid schedule (Unless that’s your thing.  Then this might be a con!  =))

Eaten by a shark at the Whale Museum in Depoe Bay

Cons:

1.       Really, the main down-side and that is that sometimes things don’t work out.  We drove for miles down a road for there to be nothing there.  My parents nearly couldn’t find a campsite one night. The map apps for phones are great, but often have inaccurate information.  We didn’t make it to a couple places until after they had closed or simply ran out of time to cram all the sights in.

What was down that path?

2.       Wondering what you might have possibly missed

My advice from our experiences would be to plan out where you will be sleeping each night and make reservations if possible for multiple-day trips.  That takes the pressure off so you can just explore the day away.  Look for the brown signs (parks, natural or cultural areas) or quirky shops for a more unique experience.  If you have time, look up what might be around, or grab a tourist map once there.  If there’s something that’s really important for you to see, plan how and when it will fit into your adventures. Veer off the main highways as much as possible.  Don’t stress about what you might have missed and focus on all the good things that you got to experience as well as just the time together.  Even on our dud detours we saw things we’d never seen before and traveled roads we’d never been on before! 

In some ways I feel that spontaneous adventures are more difficult than in the past.  So much has been regulated with specific hours and tolls.  Certain places have become so popular you have to fight the crowds.  As far as camping, you can’t just pull off any old place to stop, it has to be designated and paid for.  But then, there are many benefits to exploring today.  Especially having the internet at our fingertips (so long as you have signal!) and well-marked interest areas.

Hollow log slide at the falls

Can I just share with you what we did end up doing?  Then if you ever get a chance to visit the area, you might remember some things you might want to check out!

1.       Sweet Creek Falls: about 10 miles off the highway on an ever narrowing road.  Perhaps a mile hike in to a lovely little falls.  There are many more surrounding, but we chose to only go to the one. 

2.       Darlingtonia Botanical Area: This was right off 101 and was a very short walk to the carnivorous plant bog.

3.       Bob Creek: small, sandy beach I loved because of how misty it was.  Rocky tide pools to the south were void of much sea life.

4.       Newport Pirate Village: We arrived in town too late for the aquarium, but this pirate village next door was right up our little ones’ alley.

5.       Newport Docks: Our son had been asking to see boats, and I knew we’d find some when I saw the docks sign past the aquarium.  So fun to explore, read ship names, and learn about the different types of boats.  Once (on a past adventure) the captain of a fishing boat let my husband and son on board to explore!  There are often many marine birds around, too.

6.       Echo Falls Detour: this was our major strike out.  Even when we circled back a couple times to see if we could find what the map was trying to show us, the falls (or any type of trailhead) was nowhere to be found.  So we just followed to road to 10 miles to see what was there.  Lovely drive in the fog.

7.       Depoe Bay Whale Museum:  I was surprised how much my kids enjoyed this!  We were the only ones there and the hostess totally catered to the little ones, asked them questions and really got them involved.

8.       Yaquina Head Light House and Tide Pool Beach: this is the only place we ended up going to that had a fee ($7 for a vehicle) to get in.  They have a nice interpretive center, but we moved through there rather quickly since it was nearing nap time.  Before we explored, we parked where we could look out over the ocean while we ate a quick lunch.  While we were sitting there, a pod of grey whales swam past! It was so amazing and the kids were so excited!  Our little guy was trying to tell everyone and exclaimed to me incredulously, “Mom!  All those people over there don’t even see the whales!  They’re not looking around!  They don’t even know what a wonderful thing they’re missing!”  I love it when he just gets it like that!

All this to say, I highly recommend the spontaneous exploration mentality!  I hope this will encourage you to give it a try sometime and take a chance that might result in you discovering a hidden treasure of a location!

 

Tiny Creatures of the Deep Woods

~Mollusks and Millipedes and More (Oh My!)~

How was your Labor Day weekend?  We just returned from camping a few hours ago and I’m so excited to hammer out this post now that the tiny tykes are tuckered out and tucked in!  Sorry, sometimes the alliterations just slip out!  They’re so fun, I just can’t help myself!  This long weekend was spent with some new-found (to me and the kids) family from the area at the peaceful Indian Creek.  I love the Pacific Northwest’s towering trees that are drenched in moss and wading through ferns!  I do believe we got to pitch our tent amongst one of the loveliest scenes on God’s gorgeous planet, and that’s saying something! Many hours were spent wading in the water, hiking to waterfalls and talking around the camp fire, but I really love how my children got to study new creatures they’d never seen before!  Oh, the wonder!

The most numerous was the millipede!  I have rarely seen these creatures in my life, but there was an abundance this weekend!  There literally must have been thousands along our first hike; so many that you nearly couldn’t take a step without stepping on one!  Josh told our little guy that they may be poisonous, so he tried to rid the world of as many as possible, “so they won’t hurt anyone!”  But then we thought about how they would make a lovely bird feast, so he didn’t feel like he had to carry that responsibility himself! 

Still, at least the first couple were fascinating to all of us, especially how they moved their legs in waves down their bodies.  We talked about how the name described the creature (mili means thousand, pede means foot).  One of the little girls gathered some in a jar and we learned that they secrete a horrible odor when they feel threatened!  I was curious to learn more and found a little about these interesting creatures from A to Z animals.  They are invertebrates with 80-400 legs (not a thousand) but they only start out with 6!  As they grow, they shed layers and gain legs.  They are omnivores and some are indeed poisonous, though the only non-vegetarian dish the largest ones (they can get up to 15 inches) would eat would be small insects. 

A few caterpillars caught the attention of curious eyes for a while as well.  We stopped our little protector from his stomping rampage to remind him how caterpillars grow up to be butterflies and we need not be concerned with that creature!  There is a ton of information out there about the caterpillar's life process so I’m not going to rehash it here, but if you’re looking for good recources, kids butterfly is a good place to start or the butterfly site. 

 

At night, the kids and I sat on the bank of the creek and I watched them discover bats for the first time!  And while we were watching, a great blue heron flew right over our heads as it followed the creek bed!  We also found some fascinating spiders the next morning!

But the creature that enthralled my children the most was the humble snail!  We discovered a few over the course of the weekend and these little ones would just crouch down and watch.  It was amazing to see children so small gaze intently and be so still for so long!  I love that they are learning the benefits of being still from time to time.  I guess I want to learn how to do that better, too.  To just stop and watch.  To take it all in and learn and grow in that still time.  Hm, didn’t I just write myself a reminder card to be still? 

Anyway, we grew up with plenty of snails and slugs in our lives, but I wanted to see if we could learn anything new about them, too.  I found some great  information at Snail World.  Did you know snails can live up to 25 years old, or that they can see and smell, but not hear?  They are nocturnal and so strong they can lift ten times their body weight.  Snail World also has a kids page where I learned they like to eat calcium for a strong shell and that they actually have microscopic teeth.  The page has a print out and lots more info for my homeschooling  friends out there.  Although we didn’t want to transport one in the car, we’re considering keeping a snail or two in a jar in the house for a bit and the above mentioned page also has some great ideas for snail pet care. 

So much of our weekend was spent looking at tiny things.  Then we stumble across the great majesty of the ancient trees and the depths to which the waterfalls plummet!  Does this remind anyone else of the multiple facets of God?  So often I get so focused on what I can see of Him here and what I can see Him doing now that I forget that He is so much more than we can imagine!  Dad always used to explain it by stabbing a pencil through a piece of paper and showing us how we can be like two dimensional paper so that all we see of God (parablized by the pencil) in our little world is a circle, when in reality, there is depth and understanding to Him that we can’t begin to imagine!  Wow!  That’s my Jesus in whom I can trust!  Creator of the largest and tiniest wonders…