I started to type up one big post for this month, but it was just getting WAY too big. Too many pictures to upload and get inserted where I wanted them. Instead I'm going to break things up a bit. So, without further ado, here's the first half of the month of July.
Our month started out the same way the last one ended, with
our awesome camping trip spilling over into the first day of this month. We spent a few days recovering from that adventure and trying to figure out how we made so much dirty laundry in such a short number of days. As much as I just wanted to sleep for a week though, the kids were not content to just sit around and stare at the walls. Darn it! So, we ventured out to a local park that has a nice little stream running through it. I spread out a blanket in the shade of a nice big tree and just lounged around while the kids went wading. It was a pretty awesome way to spend a day!
Of course, this being the beginning of July there's only so much relaxation that can happen anyways because it's time for Independence Day! We weren't really sure how we wanted to spend our day, so we scoured the internet for ideas, and then set out to see what we could find to do. We started our morning at the Mormon Station State Park, site of the oldest white settlement in the state of Nevada. The state park had a ton of fun games for the kids to play, and they loved running around and checking them all out. Even Ethan and I joined in. :)
Also at the state park there was some amazing live music. We hadn't figured there would be enough here to make us want to stay all day, but boy were we wrong. Next year we're going back to Genoa and Mormon Station prepared with picnics, chairs, and anything else we might need to just sit and enjoy the bulk of the day here. The music was spectacular, with some really great performers. Our favorite were the
Sierra Silverstrings, who reminded us of a fiddling version of the the little girls on Oh Brother Where Art Thou. It was great folk/americana type music and we just ate it up. The atmosphere here was great, and we could have spent the whole day lounging on the grass soaking it all in if we had come a bit better prepared.
From there we headed down the road to Minden to see what their town celebration had to offer. It was a lot more upbeat of a get-together, with loud music blaring over the speakers, bouncy houses, and free hots dogs and ice cream for lunch. They had blocked off all the streets around the park at the town center so kids were doing laps on their bikes and scooters while parents sat in the sparse shade and chatted. It was fun, but honestly so busy we found it to be a little overwhelming.
That night we went into Carson City to watch the fireworks. One of the LDS church buildings happens to be just about the closest one can get to where the city launches the fireworks, and church members all gather there for an unofficial dessert potluck. They block off the end of the parking lot so kids can ride bikes and play, and everyone sets up their chairs or blankets on the lawn to socialize until the show starts. It was a pretty good show, and we all really enjoyed the time to meet new friends and get to know some people from our ward better.
The kids had asked several times in a fairly short time period about how money is made, so when we heard that the historic coin press operates once a month at the Nevada State Museum we decided to go. The coin press was interesting, but the kids really loved the almost real underground mine and all the dead animals (taxidermy and fossils). There's also a fun ghost town, but it creeped the kids out so we didn't spend much time there.
It was around this time that we finally broke down and turned on our A/C for the first time. It was finally starting to feel like summer around here! Despite the warmer temperatures (still WAY better than what we dealt with in AZ, or even NM) we decided to get out and hike a little trail near town that we'd heard really good things about. We're trying to convince our kids that hiking is in fact NOT torture, but can actually be fun. This trail seemed like a good candidate for this life lesson. :)
It's a very short walk, but it is up a somewhat steep trail with a couple of switchbacks. It provided just enough of a challenge that the kids could really feel like they'd accomplished something without being totally worn out. And the view out over the valley was pretty darn great!
In order to really solidify the "hiking is cool" message, our trail of choice ends in a beautiful little waterfall with a pool at the bottom that is perfect for wading in (if you don't mind wading in ice cold water that is).
The kids had a marvelous time playing in the water and climbing on the rocks, while I tried to not freak out about all the different ways they could get hurt on the edge of this steep hill.
Our route back through town towards home led us right past the Farmer's Market, so we decided to stop in for a few minutes. The kids were pretty thrilled to find someone doing free face painting and stubbornly stood in line despite the bright sun and the rising temperatures.
About half-way through the month we noticed a definite change in the air, and I'm not talking about a change of season, or weather. Huge amounts of smoke from large forest fires in California and Northern Nevada were settling in our valley, making life not quite so fun as it had been. We went from some pretty great views of the mountains from our front porch to not being able to see even the small hills a mile away.
At one point the little town directly south of us was declared to have the worst air quality in the country, even worse than towns much closer to the fire. There were stories of people just 10 miles south of us having to wipe the ashes off their cars before they drove anywhere, and even of people getting Poison Oak burns from the oils in the ashes and smoke.
It just seemed to get worse and worse each day, too. What should have been some prime summer adventuring time ended up being several weeks of leaving the house as little as possible, and typically only to go straight to somewhere indoors with clean filtered air. We managed to keep Erik's asthma under control, but it was a constant worry, especially on days when just breathing normally was enough to make your eyes water and your sinus's burn.
So, how did we survive the smokepocalypse? Find out in the next blog post! :)
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