Camelback Park - An Unintentional Tradition

Still pretending.  This is my pretend November 2nd post.

Maybe I have a little bit of hawk or eagle or, gulp, vulture in my blood, or maybe it is that thin thread of old royalty that runs through my blood, but I like to get up above it all and be able to survey my surroundings.  THE place to do that in Boise is Camelback Park.  It is set into the foothills and has lots of ups and downs like a camel's humps.  I can't even remember when the first time was I went there, but I know I have dragged Lucas there several times.  I remember being very unfit and hauling babies up it, and me being pregnant and hiking around.  We even tried to watch fireworks from up there one year.  It wasn't THAT cool, but I do love it there, and my kids (who used to just complain when I told them we had to hike up the hill and back down before they could play on the playground) now pretty much love hiking around too.  Somehow hiking there in the fall to check out Le Bois is a definite tradition, even though, if the weather cooperates, we have done it in March, January, all summer long, etc.  Fall has been super late this year, so not very many trees had changed, but it was still a perfectly beautiful day... and the first time DG did a lot of walking rather than being carried.  Oh how she loves to run FREEEEE!  She also likes stink bugs...a lot...as we learned on this hike.  The kids always look forward to near the end when we reach a nice steep sandy hill leading up to some sandstone where they can crawl and carve and have a generally awesome time.  It reminds me a bit of my young childhood as we had some sand hills around the ranch.

Simple play is the best!  Playing in nature is even better.  Tech stinks.  (My mantra...which is not appreciated by many people) :)

Lily, looking back at DG and I, noticed the artsy looking framing of the trees, so we had to have some fun with that.

 Shawn carried his little card with a pic of Jesus that he had found in the car the entire hike with him, even climbing up and down the slightly dangerous sand hill.

Ah, yes, many excellent views from all over the park.  It felt so wonderful to sit at the top of the sand hill watching the kids play.  I enjoyed it extra because minutes before some punk kid (who needed punched) was blasting really, really obscene music as he walked hand in hand with his girlfriend, desperately seeking attention, I guess.  As a mom I felt bad, but with my quick, although absurd thinking, I just started talking really loudly to the kids, having them cheer Daphne up the hill, etc, and they didn't even notice the gross music.  Seriously, how much does a girl have to hate herself to walk proudly around with a guy that listens to music that demeans all women, including her?  People love yourselves!  Love each other!  Don't be morons.

Thus, when the crappy music was silenced and it was just the sounds of contented children playing, happy dogs, and the occasional bike whizzing by, with the beautiful surroundings below, I had a heavenly few moments.  Yippee!