Yesterday we went on a little hike at Uvas Canyon County Park. We went along the waterfall trail (about 1.5 miles). Robb carried his "light" camera gear as a test run for his Crater's trip.
(Turns out that's not going to happen. At least not in a week. Too much pain/stress on his back.) Ren walked and/or rode in the BOB when he got tired (at least half the trip). I pushed the stroller. Uphill. A lot. We enjoyed the beautiful day, the beautiful scenery, and the water. (Ren particularly enjoyed throwing rocks in the stream and making big splashes.) We stopped at the final waterfall for a family picture.
On our way back down the trail we looked at Sticky Monkey flowers to keep Ren occupied. About halfway down the trail Robb spotted a small (6 - 8 inch?) garter snake. We looked at it on the ground and then Robb picked it up. He held it, I held it, I showed it to Ren...and it fell out of my hand into his stroller. Oh yeah.
Ren FREAKED OUT. He was strapped in and twisted his entire body up and away from the seat while he cried and screamed. I don't know who was more traumatized - Ren or the snake. Watching him contort his body to get away from the snake was horrifyingly funny, but afterwards I was seriously concerned that I had permanently scarred my son by giving him a not-so-irrational fear of snakes. As the day progressed the snake went from "a scary snake" to "a cool snake", so hopefully he doesn't have a new phobia.
Hopefully! :-S
