In the afternoon we went out to see some dinosaur tracks. We had to hike about ½ a mile along a creekbed to find them. Both boys enjoyed the hike out. Charles in particular was having a good time. He made this cute little “hrrrmph”! everytime he had to go over a large rock or stick. Dad had to frequently boost him over obstacles which made him go “wheee!”. But Charles walked almost all the way himself.
As we started, Mimi got a stick to ward off rattlesnakes. Charles saw this and picked up a thick stalk of grass and started probing the trail ahead with it just like Mimi. He dropped it a couple of times but picked it back up. The third time or so he picked up a small stick instead. He enjoyed poking that in the creek as we made our way up.
Just as Mimi was despairing of her memory, we came upon the tracks. It was a series of seven tracks in a line leading under the small cliff at the edge of the creek. Although the individual tracks weren’t all that clear the set of them was. Each print was about 15” across with a heel and three long toes. Corwin was not all that impressed but we did manage to get a couple of pictures of him near one of the prints. After that, he declared that it was time to head back to the car.
The trip back was a bit more strenuous. By this time Charles had of course gone stomping through the water and was upset because his shoe was wet. Imagine! Dad had to remove his shoes and socks and so Corwin wanted to take his off as well. Dad agreed and Corwin immediately took his shoes off. Dad then yelled at him to take his socks off as well. Why Corwin was eager to do this wasn’t clear as he didn’t go in the water until near the end of the hike. Corwin walked all the way back himself, in bare feet, over rock and sticks without complaint. Even Charles walked about half of the distance. Corwin managed to slip and fall on the river bed (which was smooth rock covered with a thin layer of mud – very slippery) and gash his leg (just a little bleeding, nothing serious). But he walked it off and made it back to the car on his own power.