Well John is midway through another one of his fencing jobs for the summer and the end is in sight. Unfortunately he was working today when the kids and I decided to head to Waterton in celebration of National Parks Day. What can I say- I'm a succor for large crowds and limited parking;) The park was much busier then I expected it would be but that's to be expected when you combine free admission AND absolutely perfect weather. Not a breeze!
The kids had a great time at the splash park before we decided to have a picnic down by linnet lake. Prior to this - I had spent a large chunk of the afternoon trying to talk the kids into a hike - with little luck. They all flat out refused the notion of a hike because they were all afraid scared of running into a bear on the trail. (that might have something to do with the abundance of scary bear stories they told each other the last time we went to the mountains but whatever.) Anyways, by the time we had finished eating I had done a pretty good job of convincing the kids that a walk around Linnet Lake would be perfectly safe even without Daddy. Seeing as we are so close to the hustle and bustle of the town site-no bear would come miles within us.
So they agreed.
And we set out on a lovely Saturday afternoon walk. Linnet is actually one of my favorite walks, and it's easy peasy for young kids.
We sang songs, we saw a HUGE and beautiful butterfly that I suspect was actually a moth of the Imperialis variation (I just finished reading about Moths so I'm like totally an expert now), and we took lots of pictures as we went along our way.
We were having a lovely time despite the fact that every 15 seconds I had to reassure Jessica that we were NOT going to see a bear, when all of the sudden we rounded a corner only to come within feet of .... a BEAR! As soon as I realized what I was staring at - I froze. The bear looked up and stared straight at us probably wondering what we were going to do.
For a second I struggled to know what exactly it was that I should do. Play dead? Yell? Stop drop and roll? What exactly was it they tell us to do? I seriously wondered how I was possibly going to throw myself over top of ALL four of my children and protect each one of them. In the end, common sense returned and I simply grabbed Nathan into my arms and urged all the kids to follow me, walking backwards all the while speaking as calmly yet loudly as possible.
Textbook right?
I'd like to say that as soon as we were out of sight of that bear that we all calmed down, but nope- adrenaline continued to course through my veins the entire way back to the van. The kids will never forgive me either. In fact as we bravely ran away they kept insisting that they will NEVER go hiking with me alone AGAIN!!!
Oh so sorry - for keeping you ALIVE!!!! Good grief!
Perhaps the saddest moment of all though came when I got to the van and realized that my camera had been hanging around my neck the entire time!
NOW WHY DIDN'T I THINK TO TAKE A PICTURE??????
1 comment:
Likely story, but I don't believe it. Without proof, I just don't believe you.
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