Desert Boy Walks in the Woods

I decided that it was time for Desert Boy to hike an entire trail, so we went to a half-mile long nature trail with an easy surface for him to walk on. He was excited to walk, and started out jauntily. He didn't want to hold my hand or be too close to me, he just wanted to walk.

Except that didn't last long. After a couple dozen steps, Desert Boy was ready to explore what was off the trail, especially if it involved water. He doesn't have much fear, or much common sense, so he will go off in a flash. 

Fortunately I was able to entice him to come back to the trail. And then he made a great find--a boulder next to the trail with a pool of water still on top of it. He immediately put his hand in it, even though his hand was already cold and the water was colder.

He splashed more vigorously, even getting his face wet. Mama made sure to be far enough away to escape the flying water. 

Apparently just splashing wasn't good enough, because in about a nanosecond Desert Boy was up on top of the boulder. I was telling him not to crawl in it and not to slurp it up. Yes, I have to tell him these things because they are favorite activities when water is around.

This time Desert Boy just wanted to do a little dance in the puddle. I figured it might help clean off the mud from yesterday when he did a little dance in a mud puddle.

And then it was time to go to the edge of the boulder and contemplate jumping. Except Desert Boy doesn't know how to jump, he just kind of leans forward and hopes you will catch him. Sometimes his timing is a little off and he goes splat. Still, the next time he will do the same thing, so I don't think he's gotten any sense knocked into him yet. Or perhaps he is just an eternal optimist. After getting off the boulder, it was time to move down the trail.

This twisted aspen made for a great game of peek-a-boo. It wasn't far then until we reached the stroller, completing Desert Boy's first hike that he did by himself.