I'm not sure if I've mentioned that JR has, for all intents and purposes, abandoned his family. He claims it hasn't been on purpose, then later will make some snarky remark about how delightful I can be. Being that I'm the better person, I've decided to ignore the comments. He has only been home for about five random days in June. Therefore, it was my request that we do something family related over the holiday weekend. I have been pushing for camping, and JR just laughed. He finds humor in that I can't get off the couch, and yet want to sleep on the ground.
We 'compromised' on a day trip. I woke Amelia up, and asked her if she wanted to go on a trip. She said yes, but didn't really wake up. I left, and about five minutes later she came out fully dressed. It typically takes her a full hour to put clothes on.
There is a road that JR has been interested in exploring for several years. There is an old abandoned coal mine at the end. Turns out, where there is coal there are also fossils. Whoda-thunk? We turned off the highway, and traveled down this supposed 7.3 mile road. Longest 7.3 miles we've ever driven. We finally arrived at the end, and found quite a bit of large equipment just sitting there, waiting to be played upon.
This kid is always smiling!
I found the equipment fascinating. I was trying to take all these cool shots, mainly for my own pleasure. I then decided to include this picture, as my toes (of which I have not seen in a while) became the only proof that I was actually on this trip. Other than that, one might think this was a Daddy-daughter day.
Daddy gave Mila a hammer that she was in charge of. She held onto that thing was an iron grip.
We didn't do too badly. Coal typically is trees and such, so we found quite a few sticks from 'millions and millions of years ago'. This became our catch phrase. Mila would find something, and proceed to explain what it was. She has some pretty clever interpretations. I felt that the best score were flecks of amber.
It was an exquisite day. It started off brisk, then moved into perfection. The views were amazing in every direction, and our spot was just fun to explore. I took a picture, but truly it sucks compared to being there. Sorry. Amelia was up and down the scree, bouldering, throwing stuff in the water, and digging. She couldn't have been happier.
However, she was promised a little fishing in her day. Dad told her to hold onto her lures, and not lose them. About five minutes after we left the site, this is what we found. Snoring, but still holding on to those dang lures!
We agreed on a fishing pond. JR had brought his little ice fishing pole for Amelia. There was only one problem.
JR doesn't fish with lures. The Lafleur family has several colorful terms for bait fishing, one being 'metal chuckin' honky'. JR did one cast to show Amelia how it's done, and the line just fell off the reel. I had to remind him that his daughters ears were near, and please limit his thoughts. I felt that I should take over and teach Amelia. A cast or two in, I went to throw the line and snagged my own cheekies. JR tried to pry the hook from my butt, but couldn't stop laughing long enough to focus. Mila finally told us she could do it herself, and did not need our help. She was probably right, she wasn't going to do worse! Can't wait for the time to come that she has enough coordination to handle a fly rod. She'll get to do a lot more fishin'.
Daddy caught a fish, and let Amelia real it in. And touch it. Now all she wants to do is fish.
On our way back, we stopped at Rika's Roadhouse in the Big Delta State Historical Park. It used to be a stop off for travelers on their way to Fairbanks in the early 1900's. An essential musta done, apparently. We checked out the old barns, sleds, telegraphic equipment, etc.
This is a pic of the back of the roadhouse. Amelia is convinced that one day she will be able to sneak up on a bird and pet it. It did not happen on this day.
This was our last stop. The troops were exhausted. Except for Amelia, of course.
Checked out the urinating sheep,
Did a couple impressions of the chickens,
and then made the long trek home to the constant request of 'I want to go fishing'! It was very nice to spend the day together. We haven't done that in quite a while, and now we want to do it again!
No comments:
Post a Comment