Hiking Dworshak

Labor Day Weekend

Not wanting to be fuddy-duddies by staying home the entire three-day weekend, we took a day trip, strapping on our hiking gear and heading up to Dworshak Dam, a short 45 minute drive into Idaho.

This is for you trivia buffs (here's lookin' at you, Steph):
At a height of 717 feet, Dworshak is the third tallest dam in the U.S., and is the tallest straight-axis concrete dam in the Western Hemisphere.

All together now: "Oooooooh...aaaahhhh."

The state park had a nice grassy area and playground that all three boys enjoyed.  On a side note, if Cohen doesn't tumble headfirst off playground equipment by the age of two I will be shocked.

We only hiked about 1.5 miles in/around the reservoir as it proved to have a lot more ups and downs than we anticipated, some of which proved a little tough for Kendry.  I'll admit I'm part to blame as I let him wear generic Walmart tennis shoes with zero tread - not exactly what you would call trail shoes. Lesson learned.

I don't know much about reservoirs but since there were boats all over I thought we would come across as least one flat, beach-like area where the babies could sit and play. Not so. Instead it was all stair-stepped rock. Kendry got to do lots of rock-throwing, but the babes remained confined to their packs.

After a short break on this jetty of rock we headed back to the park area for lunch - or rather our 'Ladybug Picnic'. We had spotted countless ladybugs all over the wood picnic table when we arrived at the park, but didn't think much of it other than Justin commenting, "There must be a nest nearby."

Huh.

"Do ladybugs nest?" I thought.  (You're wondering the same thing now, aren't you?)

After hiking back to the park area, I played a little game of peek-a-boo with Jack by hiding behind a large tree. After noticing how red the bark appeared I took a closer look.

Yikes!

Kendry loved it. I found it kinda creepy.  Ladybugs are cute and whimsical in small numbers, but throw a couple thousand at me and suddenly I'm smack in the middle of a Hitchcock movie.

{My subsequent research indicates that they, in fact, do not really nest but infest.}


In all it was a fun outing, particularly since I finally caught some genuine smiles from this five year old.