Vacation Days with Drew: Hiking the River

Because of work schedules, vacation schedules, and by default, I got to spend a lot of time with Drew on my most recent vacation. He's turning 7 this week, so we may end up with 7 entries all about Drew.

One sunny December day, we went out to explore one of the trails that Grumpa and Drew had previously "discovered." Due to the record floods of 2010, this walking trail along the Virgin River has been "closed" because of severe damage. A year later, the logjam debris is still wedged under bridges, and is still stuck up along the riverbanks. The river channel is also considerably wider that it used to be.

That hasn't stopped the denizens of southern Utah from exploring, and helping to monitor the pathways. All you need is some youthful energy, some supplies, and an imagination.

Are those your tracks from your last trip down the road, or dinosaur tracks?

Being a cautiously fastidious sort, Drew does not appreciate it when Mother Nature sends tumbleweeds down the trails to muck things up. (HEY! Who put this here?) He also adheres to some of the warning signs. So what if the sign says the trail is closed? Just don't bring a bike down the path. He pointed this sign out to me after we saw a bunch of bikers.

Drew's pretty fearless too. Look at him blazing away down this ... well, path isn't exactly the right term. This is where you can really see the damage from the floods. The current undercut the bank enough that the concrete trails collapsed. There's a little sliver of solid ground left, but you could slide down and go right into the water. No matter for a feckless and fearless kiddo.

Oddly though, for a kid who would be prefer to be out, about, and on the move -- he hates dirt, and REALLY hates sand in his shoes. I would spend a lot of time waiting for him to take his shoes off, try to get the sand and stuff out of his shoes and socks, and then to put them back on. At least he can tie them now -- which is excellent when I didn't want to bend over to do my own.

Like I said, he hates disorder -- and spent time clearing the tumbleweeds -- when he wasn't picking on his crazy auntie.

Me and my shadow