Mud and fruit at E.E. Wilson

In the morning last Sunday, Ewan dressed himself for our hike--with Mama's sports bra over his shirt. He wore it like that for most of the day!
On our way to E.E. Wilson State Wildlife Area for a hike, Eli asks why we have to go hiking.
Michael: "Because we owe it to our bodies."
Eli: "No!"
Michael: "Because we love it."
Eli: "No! Because you are so bad parents!"
For the record, Eli had a blast. So did the rest of the family.
There was frog and turtle hunting, but no catching. A huge muddy area proved to be an instant draw for Eli and Ewan who spent a good 45 minutes stomping in it up to their thighs!
Next to the muddy area, Eli kept asking about a sweet smell and Michael and I explored and found that the ground was covered in lemon thyme. Everywhere!
As we hiked back to the car along an abandoned road (this site used to be a military base during WWII), we found plum trees, blackberry vines, and apple and pear trees. We loaded a bag with apples and pears. That night Michael made a delicious pie!

On being a firefighter and a Daddy

When talking about people who work the night shift, Eli said, "Firefighters work at night."
Daddy said, "Yes, firefighter shifts are usually for an entire day--24 hours."
Eli said, "So you could be a Daddy and a firefighter...but it would be really hard on the Mama."

A funny photo

I love this photo. That's all.

It's difficult to sleep in a life vest

After our recent canoe trip, in which the importance of wearing a life vest was emphasized many times, Eli asks me about house boats.
Eli: "People who live in house boats, you know where their house is actually on the water?!?, they have to wear their life vests, like, ALL THE TIME?...Even when they are sleeping?"

A paddle, a hike, a ferry boat and...an adventure!

It was a day of high adventure for the Casper family who took a tippy, made-for-whitewater canoe down the Luckiamute River in search of turtles.

Alas, no turtles were to be found, but it turns out that a paddle/hike/ferry boat ride/apple picking Sunday makes for quite the long adventure! We spotted a crayfish with one claw, tadpoles (which Eli caught and let go more times than the tadpoles would like to remember) and a blue heron who guided our last mile to the confluence with the Willamette River.

There, we parked the canoe and bushwhacked our way through a quarter-mile of blackberry bushes to find the Luckiamute Landing Willamette River Trail campground.

We hiked two miles to the trailhead, ate blackberries while Michael ran the last mile to our car, and then headed to the Buena Vista ferry. (Michael hiked the 2 miles back to our canoe to float the Willamette River to the ferry landing.)

While waiting for the ferry, Eli spotted two bountiful apple trees and we enjoyed a healthy treat while riding back-and-forth across the Willamette River.

Our last stop of the day: Rogue hopyard and farm, where we ate a delicious dinner next to the roaming turkeys and hens.