huckleberry adventure....

While Nash and Daddy were sleeping, I decided to take Owen on a huckleberry hunt to Shames Mountain, our local ski lodge (about 25 minutes off the highway and then another 20 minutes of so down the dirt road, or I guess I should say up the dirt road to the mountain!) It was a glorious drive, one I have not been on in oh, so 20 years or so?! I couldn't get over the huge mountains, and flowing rapid creeks, it was so wonderful. I was in my glory of Terrace, feeling SO priviledged to live in this great country. Guess what I forgot to bring? yup, my camera. duh. and you know what? right when we were on the road on our adventure (before gassing up the car) I thought about going around the block to retrieve my camera, because I pictured cute pictures of Owen at the huckleberry trees eating/picking away, but these were seriously gorgeous views that we MUST see again soon WITH my camera! Even Owen was saying "oh this is so beautiful mommy, sooo beautiful".

So once our 45 minute drive 1/2 way up the mountains rocky roads, ( I remember 20 years ago it being a pretty scary unsafe road, now it's much, much better) we started our climb up the ski mountain walking, gathering berries. Oh how I love doing this! It runs in my veins! (Great Auntie Helen I've been told is a great berry picker=jam maker, so I think I must get it from her!) But there was 1 problem, ok 2 to be honest.....

Problem #1, we were not prepared at all, well I wasn't prepared for Owen and I. I didn't even think to put bug spray on, duh. Those bugs were after me like I was the only food they've ever seen. There was 1 hornet that was really after me, swarming my head, around and around he went for most of the time. I felt like he was warning me to stay away from his berry farm, once I left his big patch of berries, he left me alone.

Problem #2 I brought my 4 year old with me=whine. whine. whine. Don't get me wrong, he was actually pretty good, the first 10 mintues. Then he was whining about this, whining about that. Finally I had had enough of these killer hornets (thank goodness we never got stung or even bit by the billions of mosquitos that were all over us) and the whiney'ness, so off we went walking down this long dirt road back to our car. As I looked sadly into my bucket of about 3 cups of huckleberries, thinking to myself, this will probably be only enough for 1 jar of jam :(