A few weeks ago, we decided to go camping at
Land Between The Lakes National Park. We had a lot of fun, and it's the first time we have taken all three kids camping. They all loved it, and it was so warm that week that we didn't even sleep in our sleeping bags. It was perfect. We roasted marshmallows, made dough boys, and were introduced to something called a smoreo, which was a very large oreo cookie with a marshmallow in the middle. Very yummy.
Technically, this park is in Kentucky, but it's not very far from the border, and in fact, somewhere on the drive we passed back into Tennessee, so I am not really sure what state we were in all the time (state in the U.S., that is, not state of mind) but I am counting this as Tennessee Tuesday.
The park is also a Bison Preserve. The kids had never seen one before, so they were pretty impressed.
See the snake? We saw this snake snap at a passing car, and we had to get out and chase it. We still aren't sure what kind it is, but we assumed it was poisonous, and stayed a ways back. Once it went in the tree, we let the kids come and look as well. Annie The Snake Lover was in heaven.
Here are a few pictures from our hike.
The colors were great, but I think waiting just one more week to see them would have made them a little brighter. I can't complain, though. It was very colorful.
Pete and I were taking turns with the camera. He took this one.
So many colors on one tree!
The dedicated hikers and their hiking sticks.
We let a few people pass us who told us that we were very brave for taking three kids on a hike.
Just a random leaf.
Annie had so much fun, especially picking up acorns.
Doesn't Noah look so excited?
Sittin' around the campfire.
Like mother, like daughter. However, my pants aren't falling off.
We were camped right next to this lake. It was very pretty.
I will remember lots of things from this trip, however I think I will remember our emergency adventure the most. On Sunday, after we had returned from our hike, we had decided to start packing up to head home. Noah had decided to attempt to climb some trees with some older boys right next to our campsight. One boy had climbed very high, and Pete kept saying, "He's gonna fall, he's gonna fall." Sure enough, he fell, pretty far. We both sat for just a second, long enough to see him grab his arm and start rocking back and forth. We both started running. Pete and the boy's dad got there first, and when Pete asked what he could do, the dad said "stay here to keep me calm." So Pete did, although when I got down there about a minute later, Pete was in charge. The boy had "ripped" his arm open, not cut it, when he slid down the tree. Pete was afraid of a severed artery, so I dug out the big first aid kit I carry in my car, Pete gloved up, and because we could not get reception, I drove for help. When I got back, Pete had things very under control, there was no aterial tear, however Pete said that he could see everything inside the boys arm.
The ambulance met the boy and his dad at the entrance to the park, re-wrapped the wound and took him to the hospital for surgery. The tear in his arm had to be sewn back together layer by layer, and he was kept over night for a few rounds of antibiotics.
As far as we know, he is ok. We ended up staying that night, just to keep the mother calm, who had to stay back with her other children. Our kids played with theirs all afternoon, and they sat at the fire with us that night. The next day, the dad came back and the mom drove to the hospital. That was the last we heard from them.
They were very appreciative of Pete, and even the park rangers kept telling Pete that it was a good thing he was there, although Pete isn't boasting about anything. I was proud of him. He was very calm as he reassured the mother that the boy would be fine, even telling her exactly what would happen before the surgery happened, and he was right. Pete just wishes that he had taken a picture of it, not to show everyone at work, but to take it to one of the surgeons on base, and say, "did I do everything right?" Always trying to learn. What a smart husband I have.
