Summer Adventures 2015, Part 1

We have just returned from our first trip for the summer. I am going to attempt to review our adventures over a few posts so our family and you other readers can see what all went on. First, on the 10th, Jackson said good-bye to the large, full-arm cast and said hello to a new forearm cast that is waterproof!

On the 11th, we were packed and headed out to TN-to camp at the Ocoee River (Thunder Rock Campground-our favorite camping spot).

Once we arrived, we set up our camp while the boys rode their bikes and played in the hammocks. This is our first trip in which we intended to stay solely in hammocks the entire time. Of course, a few days before we left was when the boy got attacked in his hammock by a bear near one of the areas we were going to be visiting. However, we had no plans of setting them up in the back country-only in camp grounds. 

While Johnny finished setting up camp, the boys and I took a little bike ride. We picked up the cutest hitchhiker ever.

John Gannon tested his skills climbing the large flume that carries the water into the electricity generator/savor thing. He always wants to be timed to see if he can beat it. He started trying to balance on different parts of it. Jackson picked up various materials to see which ones rolled down the flume the fasted. The rock won.

We then returned to camp and picked up Johnny. The boys wanted to jump rocks in the river while it was not running. We laughed so many times at JG this weekend--he would be walking around and not realize he still had his bike helmet on.

So many times I cherished seeing our boys smiling at each other. 

John Gannon was in full safety mode. I have so many pictures in which he was helping his brother. And I cannot count the number of times he told his dad to slow down or that he was driving crazy. I am pretty sure we never even got over 50 anywhere we traveled while we were there. When Johnny wasn't with us, he was quick to offer positive reinforcement to me while I was driving. "Mom, you are a safe driver. You should drive more often."

Have I ever told you all how much I love this guy?

We returned to camp and cooked dinner.  Jackson took a cross he found at church and wanted it hanging over his hammock.

We finished the first night with some guitar and harmonica music around the fire.

June 12th

We began the morning with some creature identification. Yes, it is what you think it is! JG was super excited about his find.

We then hit the trails on our bikes. This was Jackson's first attempt at riding his bike on a trail. He rode the entire round trip-3 miles. He was so determined to make it up hills!

And of course, we had to stop to look at lots of things he discovered.

And when we made it to the center, he was glad. He was ready for the trail to end! John Gannon was waiting for us there. He and his friend Blaze rode ahead of us.

What better way to celebrate than with ice cream, right?

When we got back to the camp, the boys had their first problem solving exercise...how do you get 3 boats and 3 paddles to the river put-in in one trip? It was a little trickier than it appears!

They put the boats in the Ocoee at the campground and paddled to the dam to help Blaze begin the process of learning to roll his kayak.

When we got to dam, Johnny decided someone needed baptizing so he grabbed some random stranger. I am kidding--that is Blaze!

The boys let their imaginations run and came up with all kinds of scenes.

They even tried towing & hitching!

After roll practice, Johnny headed on down for his first trip down the river. They boys and I went to our favorite spot for some rock climbing, rock sliding, and creek wading! 

We had such a great time, we lost track of time and left Johnny waiting for us on side of the road for about an hour! He didn't mind a bit. He was just glad we were having fun! After we returned to camp, we loaded the bikes and John Gannon and I headed down this trail.

The plan was for us to ride the trail and Johnny and Jackson were going to hike. Jackson had other plans.

John and I hit the trail. It wasn't long before John Gannon started questioning my trail navigating skills.

As you can see, we ended up in the bushes and not on the trail. Instead of turning around, we decided to see what we could find. It turned out, it was pretty cool!

After our exploration, we navigated back to the trail and rode for about 8-10 miles. Here we are after the ride. He was adamant that his armpit was going on top!

If I had taken a picture of Jackson after our ride, it would have looked the same as above-he was still out-almost 2 hours later! When we returned to camp, we had our first strange creature sighting. We ended up having several of these over the course of our trip.

When we returned to camp, the boys explored the rock bluffs at our site and we called it a night!

June 13th

The morning started with one of those strange creature sightings!

 And just a moment of relaxing...

 Another creature sighting...

And then we were off for a morning hike up the mountain! As our legs burned we took the opportunity to talk to the boys about discipline and perseverance. 

We made it to the end and the walk down the road back to camp was much easier than the trek up!

 The boys know that I love moss.  Jackson often brings me a pile as a gift. I wish our entire yard was moss--it is so soft and beautiful.  Have you ever looked at it up close? It is amazing! They noticed that part of the trail was covered completely in moss. We took our shoes off and walked on the squishy goodness.

After the hike, we took Johnny and let him take a ride down the upper part of the river (the Olympic section). The boys and I waited at one of the largest rapids for him. We like watching all the rafters going down at this spot. About 1 in every 6 or so get dumped. The rescuing is always exciting to watch. This time, we watched a raft guide start to panic when his boat was dumped. He started screaming and completely forgot about the girl caught in the rapid. A person beside us had to scream at him to get the girl out of the rapid. It made for a hands on lesson about trying to remain calm in adverse situations with the boys! Johnny made it down with no problems.

 After lunch, Johnny was ready to take the ducky down for the maiden voyage down the Ocoee. Roxy, the campground host volunteered to go with him. Right before they put it the river Roxy looked at me and asked, "Now tell me why you won't go with him?" "Roxy, we have been coming here for many years, and I have yet to see a ducky go down." Needless to say, they had a flawless run! And I have since seen a few ducks go down!

The boys and I waited at the last rapid (Hell's Hole) for them. While there, the boys set up some percussion and played!

And very shortly, the crew went right through Hell's Hole!

Back at the campground, Jackson helped Roxy trim some limbs.

Then the boys wanted to jump in the river while it was running, float down, and swim against the current to the bank. I was impressed with their skills. It is great training for them in case they ever accidentally get swept in a current. We had to throw the rope to Jackson once because he went a little too far on the other side. Other times, he just hitched a ride on Blaze (he's 15--and is Roxy's son). And there were a few times, he made it to the bank alone.

Are you tired yet? We aren't! I'll post part 2 of our adventures in the next day or so!

Live a Meaningful Life!!!