Outdoor Adventures

My son had a week between having to be out of his apartment and his new place being ready to move into.  We decided some fun was in order so we went camping with my parents.  My husband stayed home as he had to work (and also because I think he prefers a real bed and hot running water)

We camped at Kings Canyon National Park, but each day we drove over to Hume Lake.  This is the view from Sandy Cove beach.  The weather was perfect: warm days with enough of a breeze to keep things pleasant.

My son was determined to spend as much time as possible hanging out in the hammock.  This is in the campsite where he was kept company by a very busy chipmunk.  Another hammock traveled each day to the lake with us for relaxation time reading in the shade at the beach.

We also decided to give geocaching a try.  My dad and son figured out how to use the gps and had found several sites near where we'd be camping.  We found this tin of goodies near the lake.  We had to poke under a lot of rocks before we found the right one.

Our second geocaching adventure the next day was not so successful.  We hunted and hunted but no success.  Even the lady sitting at the beach walked over to find out what in the world we were doing climbing around a giant granite rock.  She made several suggestions of places to hunt, but the prize was elusive.

On our last day, the Christian camp at the lake was having a "county fair" so we decided to visit. A woman had this great horned owl along with a hawk and a burrowing owl for people to see and learn about.  She said they had all been injured and could not be released back into the wild.  It was great to see these birds up close.

There were all kinds of things for sale at the fair.  We bought a berry pie for dessert that night and my parents bought a giant box of peaches.  My mom is probably still peeling and canning them!

After the fair it was off to a little beach on the other side of the lake.  It was a bit marshy on this side and there were four big frogs that we spotted.  They were happy to hang out and eat dragonflies.  

There was also a geocache site on the Christian camp property so after some relaxation at the beach we tried to find it.  The hike went up and up and up some rather steep hills!  The clue said it was on the way to the Little Brown Church.  We decided to hike all the way up to the church first and then try to find the buried treasure on the way back down.  As you can see, the church was very little.  Barbie doll sized in fact.  It was a really nice and well traveled trail so lots of people must make the trek up there to see it.

Success!  We found the right spot.  After signing the log book and returning things to their hiding spot it was very nice to hike down hill and back to camp for dinner!

-- marcella