Escaping the Heat

 We've had a long stretch of hot, which leaves three natural options to escape it: go to water, go underground, or go up high. We decided to rise above the heat this last weekend and drove up to 10,000 feet. When we left the house it was 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Two miles above sea level it was a very comfortable 75 degrees.

Our basic plan was to meet some friends from a nearby town (nearby being relative in our remote part of the high desert) and camp out together. Lots of other people had the same idea of escaping the heat; we arrived at the campground at 2 and by 2:15 it was full. Whew, just in time!


Despite the temperatures, what Desert Boy wanted to do most was make a campfire with his flint. We both tried for a long time but eventually had to use a lighter.

 Then the fun was to make a torch and watch the smoke.

 Desert Girl managed to get filthy. Imagine that.

Our friends arrived and the girls played dress up. It was pretty funny.


After dinner we went to the campfire program.


The kids were all excited, but alas only Desert Boy lasted the whole presentation.


He even volunteered to be a helper. I enjoyed the campfire program, it's fun to see a topic be explored in a creative way.

Afterwards we meandered back to the campsite. When we got there it was clear to me that the kids needed to go to bed. We all slept well. I woke up really early and wandered around taking some photos.

 Then I went back to sleep until the kids woke me up. I told them to get up, be quiet, and feed themselves. Instead they wandered over to our friends. At least they managed the get up and be quiet near mom part. I guess I've trained them well!

Desert Girl decided to be a fashionista. I so loved it that it was cool enough for a winter coat (in the 50s)! I knew we were heading back down the mountain later in the day, but I was really wishing we could stay a lot longer.

 We were back to trying to start a fire with a flint and magnesium shavings, and although three of us adults tried it and got some good sparks, we couldn't keep a fire going. I've watched a YouTube video about how to do it, but I guess I need to watch some more!

 In the meantime, Desert Girl played with the baby.

 Then it was time for THE HIKE. The kids were ready, the adults were ready (with patience), and off we went. The first stop was the bridge, where Desert Girl spotted fish. Or maybe not, since fish don't live there. But we went along with the fish idea.

 We had to stop for a Bandaid moment. Dr. Desert Girl helped her friend. It was a charming moment.

 We had plenty of logs to balance on. And a good-humored Dad who didn't mind wearing his daughter's pink hat.

 We eventually had to limit the girls to how many logs they could walk on.

We arrived at the paltry Teresa Lake. Desert Boy called it a pond, which is about right. Nevertheless, it was water, and water means fun!

We promptly rolled up pants legs and went wading. Our friends were geniuses and brought water guns, which made the kids very happy.

Eventually Desert Boy fell in. Then Desert Girl did, too. My kids are somehow good at that.

We decided we didn't want to to the whole sub-alpine lakes loop, but we did want a little shade, so we went to the other end of Teresa Lake.

The Parry's primrose was blooming and beautiful.

I challenged Desert Boy to make a shelter with his emergency poncho. That kept him busy for awhile.

The girls liked it too. We had our picnic lunch, except Desert Girl wasn't eating or drinking well. So I told her to go have a tea party.

That worked well. The girls found a quiet place where they could talk and drink their "tea" and "cookies."

Eventually we decided it was time to head back.

But instead of rushing we dawdled, especially at the bridge, where Desert Boy did his Bear Gryll's impersonations and started jumping off the bridge and pretending he was on a huge adventure while I filmed him. It's so wonderful how their minds grow in the great outdoors. It's also so wonderful to put your feet in a cold mountain stream on a hot summer day. I look forward to heading back up high in the near future!