Sniper in the Trees

Airsoft sensation swept our home this year.  It started to creep in a little last year, then well....it grew.

First big event was Lance's birthday party at our house, thankfully our neighbors are not easily moved by a bunch of teenagers running around in camo, shooting each other with guns.

Lance graciously made sure all his brothers had the gear they needed to play, with each other or friends that came over.

Having a bunch of teenage boys over can be useful too; as this time I had them move the playset for me, while the girls played inside.

Then over the summer things took another uptick when the games moved to a friends wooded property.

The final match-up was today for Daniel's party.  Combining both day and evening competitions.  I find all all the different game scenarios the boys come up with very interesting, there's a lot of strategy and cooperation required; capture the flag, Terrorist vs. Police, and many more.  Love seeing boys be boys!

Refreshing Change

We took a much needed vacation with friends this week and it was all we hoped for and more.

Friday started out rather dreary and wet, we weren't sure how the day was going to turn out but we packed in the Beast and headed out to Grandfather Mountain.  Along the way the kids sang their favorite Veggie Tale Sing-a-longs and we listened to the audio book dramatization of "Teddy Buttons", by which time we were in Boone, NC.  As we continued on, we were thrilled to see the road was not nearly as curvy as we thought it might be and arrived at Grandfather Mountain in time to buy me a sweatshirt (mine was left at the house and it was cold) and join our group for the field trip.

What was unique about this trip, is that it was all planned out for us.  We decided to just go with the flow and often didn't really know what to expect; Grandfather Mountain fell into that category.

Half the group started with a class on Rocks & Minerals, the other half started by taking a tour of the animal habitats.  The rain made us a bit wet and the animals a bit elusive, except for the elk, eagles and otters.  They loved the weather and put on quite an entertaining show.  The rain stopped for the switch and the second group got to see the bears, cougars, elks and eagles on the move but not the otters.  One thing I found particularly interesting was that they were releasing elk back into the forest to help eat the invasive species, and cougars to keep their numbers in check.  Both groups also found the Rock & Mineral class very interesting.  I was in with the younger kids but the older ones said it was more entertaining and informative than they expected.  It probably helped that both instructors clearly had a joy for the material they taught and for sharing it with children.  After the tours were over we were free to enjoy the rest of the mountain by ourselves.

First stop was the restroom where I realized hand dryers make great clothes dryers as a dried my sweatshirt and Amber's coat.  Then we were ready to conquer the Mile High Swinging bridge!

Some kids were hesitant to cross but all made it over eventually.  The wind and fog made it exceptionally more intimidating I think, though we were a little disappointed to find out the bridge was only 80ft. off the ground at a mile high in altitude, not a mile high off the ground.  

After exploring the visitors center for a bit we went back out, the visibility was very little, then all of a sudden this strong wind came and blew all the clouds away.  The sky was clear, like God had just wiped the sky clean, now we could see really far away.  The older kids decided to go back down the mountain via the trail.  We adults, plus one, drove down to meet them and got to watch some black tail deer walk around.  Everyone made it down the mountain safely and we headed to meet the rest of the group at the arranged place for dinner.  

Dinner was a bit of disaster from a food standpoint but I must compliment the kids that no one lost it, despite waiting 90 min for their food to be delivered cold.

Everyone in the group stayed at the same hotel, which made for a fun evening of cards "Moose in the Hoose" and swimming for the kids (Lance was our official/unofficial lifeguard).

The hotel had a free full breakfast in the morning that everyone wandered down to enjoy and then we headed out to tour the Linville Caverns.

Once again we broke into two groups, due to our size this time.  The caves had beautiful limestone deposits down a narrow trail over an underground river.  The highlight for me was seeing a bat come in and fly by everyone, their numbers have dwindled dramatically in recent years due to a fungus.  Hopefully one returning this early was a sign of their come back.  Boys liked being in the "total darkness" and the story, with evidence, of how AWOL soldiers had tried to hide there and were found because the smoke worked through the crevices right up to the surface.  For us all it was truly a wonderful site to see.

After this tour we split from the big group to go hike Linville Falls with the Collins, what a great choice that turned out to be.  I have never seen colors and sites so beautiful in all the years Chris and I hiked the Smokey Mountains.  

As we hiked closer and farther from the falls to outlooks at different angles, the sight was more magnificent.  

The hike itself was an agreeable work-out 1.6 miles over some moderate terrain.  It was heart warming to watch Amber and Chris hop and "par-cor" their way back down the trail.  

When we returned to (what was left of) the visitor center, we took another short hike back to the car.  There were lots of people there enjoying the fall colors and as it turned out we parked so far out, our car was a the end another trail.  On the trail we saw a small waterfall, smelt a weasel of some kind and skipped some rocks in the pool at the end.

After Linville Falls the Collins headed home and we headed to tour the Historic Carson House, just a few miles from our hotel.  Our timing was perfect, it was only us, and we ended up getting a two hour private tour from a descendant of one of the families that had lived in the house.  She had so many interesting stories about the history of this house built in 1799 and the people who have occupied it over the years, we were all spell-bound.  The treasures in the house were amazing and we were privileged that she let us touch so many of them.  The crowning moment of the day was getting a great family picture and being told how incredible our kids are by our tour guide.  I would love to go back and take some professional pictures of the house, its contents and record the stories she told to so and put them in a book to save them for posterity, maybe some day.

We asked our kind guide to recommend someplace to eat with gluten-free options, she suggested "Jalapenos" (which Siri called Ja-lop-en-os).  It was just what our stomachs ordered, huge plates full of home made goodness enjoyed by all.  Kids played in pool for a bit, Chris soaked me by accident (stinker) and to bed we went.

"Looking Amazing"

Our check-out wasn't until noon so we ate breakfast and got in one more hike, this time to "Tom's Creek Falls".  We were the first ones on the trail.   

The trail started out as gravel path to the base of the falls, then it became a rather rustic off-trail hike to the top, a change much enjoyed by my children, especially Lance.  Lance's excitement over all the different types of moss and other items he deemed as treasures was contagious.  

On the off road part of the hike we discovered a mystery, two man-made structures that appeared to have once held a large water wheel.  

The wheel location was a short distance from the falls so we began to hypothesis how the water used to flow and what kind of mill it might have been.  On our walk back, I chanced to ask an older couple walking their dogs, (I thought might be locals) if they knew the history of the mill and the gentleman told me it used to be a mica mill; mystery solved!  What fun!

We got back to the hotel in time to clean-up, put on comfy driving clothes and head out.  Next stop the Catawba Science Center, on the road home.  

Our Science Center passes from home allowed us to visit the Catawba center for free, Bonus!  For a small center it was packed full with interactive exhibits.  The kids (old and young) enjoyed all the physics based hands (and feet) on exhibits.  

The final stop was the stingray petting and feeding, it had been many years since we'd had a chance to play with stingrays (Jared was soaked up to his shoulders). We closed out the center and headed home.  Tired, yet refreshed by a marvelous time with friends, as a family and enjoying God's creation.