[Image]I was going through my July photos and realized I still needed to post the last full day of my brother Ed's visit. When you take a lot of photos, they sometimes overwhelm you. Someday, when they develop a system when you can just think "Delete," and the computer deletes the photos for you, or "Name it this" and the photo is automatically named, or "Crop" and the photo is cropped perfectly, I might not get so far behind.

We got kind of a late start that day, and it wasn't until after lunch that we made it up to the trailhead. Both Desert Boy and Desert Girl fell asleep on the drive, so I told my brother to go ahead and we would meet him later. I enjoyed taking photos of flowers and the time passed quickly. Then they woke up and it was time to hit the trail. It was cool, and I had forgotten to bring a jacket for Desert Boy, so he wore one of my shirts. He thought it was fun wearing mommy's clothing.

[Image]Hiking with Desert Boy is a series of distractions. He hikes well if he doesn't think about it. So we are always looking for games, like counting how many dead, hollowed out logs we can find. Or crossing bridges. Or moving wood around. Or looking for insects, especially butterflies, he can chase. Or thinking about the snack that he'll get if he goes to the top of the next hill.

[Image]We reached the trail intersection and sat down to have a snack. Shortly Ed came down the trail and met us, and we decided to go a tenth of a mile to a subalpine lake.

[Image]Desert Boy was all for that plan, because it meant he could have yet another snack and play the squishing game. The squishing game is a favorite, and Desert Boy is equally happy being the squisher or the squishee. As long as he isn't squished too much.

[Image]Soon it was time to go, so they posed for a photo by the nearly full lake (a bit of a surprise for early July--often more has already evaporated) and we headed out.

[Image]We were a little late for our next activity, so Desert Boy got to ride on Uncle Ed's shoulders until the end. He thought that was a good way to travel!

[Image]Our next activity involved canyoneering with a five-month old. Sounds reasonable, right? Okay, we were actually having a picnic at the reservoir and the steaks were taking forever to cook. So we started on a little hike, which led to this gorge, and we couldn't resist going to the bottom of it to check it out.

[Image]Ed passed Desert Girl down to my husband.

[Image]Then it was time to find a way down with Desert Boy.

[Image]There were little waterfalls and pools of water, just perfect for playing in on a summer evening.

[Image]While we were playing, my husband and Desert Girl were taking a little break.

[Image]Desert Boy got plenty wet.

Then I ran back to check on the steaks and they were done. Yum.

[Image]Emma enjoyed licking one.

[Image]It was relaxing, a good way to end the day.

[Image]Emma wasn't too sure at first about her uncle holding her. She definitely has the concerned look down pretty well.

[Image]But then she decides, I like my uncle holding me.
[Image]More steak, please?