Huckleberries and the first day of school

My husband, Jim, is great at finding fun things for our family to do that I would probably not pick because of the stress that comes from taking 5 kids anywhere. So, he has a couple of patients that told him about a place near Trout Lake, WA where you can go to pick huckleberries. It's right by Mt Adams and you just drive along a long dirt road through the forest and stop wherever you see bushes with berries on them. They are similar to blueberries, but when ripe, they are a deep purple.

The season for the huckleberries is typically the second week of August, but because of a cool spring, it was delayed by a couple of weeks. So, this last Saturday, we headed towards Trout Lake, WA to find some huckleberries. On the way, we passed one of the dams along the Columbia River and stopped to see if there was a visitor's center and fish ladder we could look at. We were directed to Bonneville dam which has a fish hatchery as well as a nice visitors center and fish ladder. It was a little out of our way, but we decided to go anyway. The kids really had a great time watching the fish and I was really impressed with how many things there were to see. I grew up going to Ice Harbor Dam and watching boats go through the locks and watching the fish go up the ladder. This dam had much more to offer. It was well worth the stop.

After the dam, we ate lunch and headed off to Trout Lake to find some huckleberries. It was a perfect day for huckleberry picking and the view of Mt Adams was gorgeous. We went a few miles into the forest along a dirt road and just stopped at a place that looked like it might have quite a few berries to pick. We were able to pick for quite awhile then decided to try to find another good spot up the road. We came upon a beautiful waterfall and stopped to wash our purple hands in it and just enjoy its beauty. We found one more spot to pick berries and then decided it was time to head home. It was a really fun day. It was a long day, but I was so glad we spent it doing something we hadn't done before and seeing a beautiful part of our state. The kids decided on the way home that we need to make it a Carey Family tradition and pick huckleberries every year. It was very sweet.

Here we are picking huckleberries. We had a contest to see if the boys or the girls would pick the most. The girls totally won! :)

We were allowed 3 gallons of huckleberries per person. As you can see, I'm not sure we even reached the 1 gallon mark for the 7 of us. Oh well. What would we have done with 21 gallons of huckleberries anyway?

The kids are always good for a pose at a waterfall! Isn't it beautiful?

Kenedy took this picture of Mt. Adams. Next time, we should actually venture onto the mountain.

We met some nice people who agreed to take a picture of our whole family. Check out Lexie's pose! He he he!

Now, to the first day of school. I always manage to forget to take pictures of the kids as they are walking out the door to commemorate the first day of school. I decided I would not let that happen this year, so here they are.

I can't believe how grown up Kenedy is. She is just beautiful! It's hard to believe she is 12 years old, in the 7th grade and playing volleyball this year. How time flies!

Again, I can't believe how fast these kids of mine have grown. My beautiful Hallie is 10 years old and in the 5th grade. She is at the top of the totem pole at White Bluffs and looking forward to a great year. Haden, as you can see, was thrilled that I was taking his picture. He is in 2nd grade this year and has Mrs Wutzke, who was Hallie's teacher for kindergarten and 1st grade. I love Mrs. Wutzke, so I am totally thrilled. Lexie will start kindergarten next week and I will post her photos next week.