Spring (Almost) Broke

I should note that 4 people slept in this tent. And two of them were fully grown.



Since the topsy turvey-ness of our spring break, I'm pleased that we had a fun and productive week.

Raised vegetable bins were created (they'll be a post of their own soon enough,) a chicken coop is closer to being realized and we went camping!







Camping was at lovely Bastrop State Park. And it IS lovely for a Texas park. [Here's where my NY snobbishness shines through...] There are tall pine trees which make a lovely coolness beneath. It is almost like we are not camping in Texas. The weather was a "bottler" (so nice you wanna bottle it up and save it for a rainy day) with clear skies, warm days and a gentle breeze. The trees were starting to bud. The birds were out. Ahhh! And another family we know ended up in the same campground so the kids had instant friends to harass when the crows first cawed in the morning.






Sometimes camping has its downsides. And I just couldn't let go of one: the proximity of the campground to the HIGHWAY. The drive into the park may meander through some lovely greenery (again, have we left Texas?) but closer inspection of the map showed that our campsite is probably as close to the highway as an off-ramp McDonald's. Sure, there are trees (tall ones! lovely pines!) completely blocking the view, lights and smell of the freeway, but they weren't enough to buffer the noise. And when you are out in nature trying to get away from it all, you don't want to wonder, was that just one motorcycle? because it really sounded like three. Our friends had the added bonus of being the campsite directly underneath the streetlight (um, since when do campgrounds need streetlights?) Shortly after flashlights out (sadly no campfires to linger over during the burn ban) they had to move their tent because of the light. Thankfully they found a shadow from one of those tall pines to fall just so across their faces so they could sleep.




We had wonderful hikes and the kids were troopers and there was much swinging in our friend's hammock. One day however, Jbird and his compatriot went on a little hike with the moms while the bigger kids went on a more meaty hike with the dads. We studied the interpretive trail and wondered exactly what each little post would say if only we had the corresponding interpretive map. One stop included a picture of a covered wagon next to what might have been a well? an oven? an early urinal? It was a circular stone wall about 2ish feet high; one side had worn away and you could see down another foot or so into a depression in the ground. Rocks abounded. The boys, being ever adventurous, scaled the wall and were walking around the edge as we got closer to ponder what this structure could be. Then with a flash, J's friend took an accidental nosedive off the wall to the bottom. And yes, he had hit the rock at the bottom. [insert here myriad fears and panics about deabilitating neck-injuries, concussions, location of the nearest hospital, location of the nearest band-aid, etc.] As he is collected from the bottom and we are assessing the extent of the injuries amidst our shock, I look up to see that Jbird is now down the well with a thud.

By some fluke of aerodynamics, he has missed the large rock at the bottom with his face, but is holding his arm.


It was a long night of wondering if it was truly broken; there were no visible signs of breakage, but he was certainly not using it and he complained of pain. He was acting just like Nbear when he fractured his arm (after a much much much smaller scale fall.) It seemed in the realm of possibility that it was broken, or at the very least fractured. The doctor the next day deemed it less likely. If it wasn't better by X day we had the go ahead for x-rays. Thankfully by that day he was almost 100%, only milking the "my arm hurts" when he really really didn't want to buckle his carseat by himself. His friend is also doing well with only a bruise (albeit a nasty one) to show for it. WHEW! Add "emergency wine" to our camping pack list.