anniversary expotition

Saturday was Dave's and my anniversary. We have been married seven whole years! It has been a good ride thus far--two awesome boys, nine moves, three cats (I think it is safe to say we are not cat people), a couple of burnt kitchen towels sitting too close to burners, one car-slide off the road, and many, many, MANY other little adventures. I LOVE Dave with all my heart and I'm so glad we decided to sit next to each other in our Streams class so long ago.

 

Saturday we decided to all go on an adventure during the day and then Dave and I would go out on a little date that night. We ate crepes for breakfast and then jumped in the car, hoping to see some wild turkeys doing their mating dance. In addition to the trails, this year Dave is in charge of maintaining the campgrounds along the river, and he had some sites he wanted us to look at for future camping use, and he thought those would be good turkey viewing areas. We had fun driving along the river but didn't see any turkeys. Hank took a little nap. When Hank woke up, we all needed to go to the bathroom and stretch our legs. We got out at the Pine River campground for a little break.

I love this tree with all the moss on it.

Dave showing Jed how the old pump worked.

Jed was pretty surprised when water started coming out and he wasn't about to get too close.

After we had all gotten a drink and been to the bathroom, we went on a little walk. Jed took off down the trail as usual, so glad to be out of the car. I love Jed's enthusiasm for the outdoors.

There are SO many wild apple trees blooming around here. Hank and I stopped to smell a very wet tree.

I accidentally flipped some water on Hank's face and he was pretty surprised!

My cute boys and I

The best thing about Pine River campground is, of course, the river! It's not too deep and has a nice sandy bottom and a little stream that runs in just above the bridge, perfect for wading. I am hoping to come camping sometime this summer and let the boys play in the water.

We learned that Pine River used to be stocked with rainbow trout from the west in the 30's and 40's and the area was used as a small fish hatchery. These cement things were the gates for the hatchery ditches, which drew water from the river and then released fish into the river when they were large enough. Obviously they are not in use as a hatchery any more, and I don't know if there are any rainbows left in the river. They are non-natives and I am not sure if they could compete.

After our little break, we got back into the car to see if we could find any turkeys. We drove to some new spots that I have never been before, including this pretty overlook of the AuSable River.

Jed was thrilled to find little aspen leaves shaped like hearts at the overlook.

After lunch we finally found a turkey! He had been displaying in the middle of the road, but as we got closer, he moved out of the way and put his tail down. He did gobble enthusiastically at us and Jed was THRILLED. So fun!

Such a fun day--and a great way to celebrate the first 7 years of our marriage and our family. I love my three men and I am so glad to be the mama of this family. I am so blessed to have Dave for my husband and partner in this--and every--adventure!