Day one got off to a rough start. Abby was whinning from getting up early, at 9:00!! We got on the road around 10:00 and as ususl on long trips in the Accord, the kids started fights over the middle seat. Caleb won the fight and Abby cried.
Despite three different directions to the trailhead, we got lost. I felt better when I asked directions from a local and he read all three directions and said they were all wrong. It wasn't just me! He gave me the correct directions and we were on our way... Wait, the kids asked that the radio stay on in the car and 10 minutes later the car battery was dead. Ugh! I asked the first customer I saw at the gas station if he had jumper cables and a few minutes later we were on our way. A few miles down the road we see our first sign guiding us to Roman Nose lakes. And right after the sign a logging truck had tipped over and a crane was picking up all the logs blocking traffic both ways for the next 25 minutes.
Once back moving the kids and I stated to get very excited. The dirt road rose high into the mountains and had some amazing views. We arrived to the trailhead and the kids could hardly contain themselves. The excitement lasted for about 5 minutes until the kids started realizing that they had to carry their backpacks for a distance. Abby's backpack doesn't weigh more than 6 lbs and maybe 15 lbs for Caleb's. We took our time and I gave the kids both several breaks with their packs and carried both mine and one of theirs. A couple wrong turns and a few friendly hikers later we found our destination about an hour later. We met a Medinite (like Amish) lady on the way up that was picking huckleberries. She pointed out that this area was jam packed with huckleberries and the kids were hooked. Caleb and Abby both collected berries on the way up and by the time we reached camp, their fingers and lips were bright purple.
Never thought I'd see a ranger up here, but it turns out that a fellow hiker was in disguise while chatting with us on the trail. As the sun was going down he took off his jacket, revealed his badge, put on his holster, and mentioned that he saw the kids fishing and asked if I had my fishing license. I wasn't fishing, but I learned that idaho's law states that kids need to be with a licensed adult. We promised not to fish anymore and he let me with a warning.
Day two:
Not much sleep was to be had with the three of us tossing and turning all night. It was a little windy, but not too cold. The kids have inherited my sleep-in-motion habits so we bounced off each other most of the night. We hiked a few of the trails to take in some more views. I love the granite rock contrast with evergreens up here. For lunch we had some top roman and the kids were in heaven. I feel asleep reading in the tent to only be woken up by the kids crawling over me to take a nap themselves. I don't recall both the kids admitting they needed a nap... ever.
We took another hike around the lake in search of the snow run-off waterfall. It was beautiful. We found some snow and attempted to make some snowballs, a rarity for
Sept 1st.
Due to the rough night of sleep, I opted to head home before dark. The kids were fine with the idea after I mentioned McDonald's on the way home. Caleb has collected about a 1/2 gallon of huckleberries. He's also probably eaten a 1/2 gallon. Both kids passed out as soon as we got on the road. I feel I've succeeded if my kids have needed two naps in one day!
