Gosh Darn Cuties

If I do say so myself...

It must be a McCain boy thing, this fascination with water.  Not only do they all love baths, the pool, but really any water at all.  Last year when we got so much rain the yard flooded, Jamie had a blast playing in it (see post Yasi?)

This year it was Braden and Gavin's turn and they loved it just as much as their big brother.  Maybe its all kids, but these guys just can't pass up even the smallest puddle of water.

American Idiots in the Outback

So the week after our crazy camping trip to Kings Canyon, the Lowes (with a friend) and Jamie and I decide to head to Standley Chasm (Click here to learn more).  This is a relatively quick trip (hour drive plus a 45 min walk into the chasm) or at least it's supposed to be.  This is the group as we are heading out (Joe is behind the camera.)

 Trails is a loose term here in Australia.  They point you in a general direction, but there are rarely any railings, fences or other barriers to keep you straight. Note the "trail" we are on in the picture here.

 This isn't so bad, we'll easily make it to the Chasm by noon to see it lit up by the sun.  That is, of course, until we decided to listen to an 11 year old, who told us the upper trail was the way to go.

 The sign says Larapinta Trail Looped Walk 12km Experienced Walkers Only.  Well, apparently the 12 KILOMETRES did not register with a single one of us.  But that basically says the trail we are embarking on is 7.5 miles long and we all missed it.  We spent a little time remarking on the "experienced walkers" bit, figuring we all had been walking for a while.  What they really meant, though, was experienced hikers only.  We definitely did not qualify.  Idiotic move that set the stage for all that was to follow.

 So, we climb up.

 And up.

 Gorgeous views.

 And up.

 And down for a little bit.

 And, then back up again.

 Enough of that!  We've been walking (hiking, whatever) for an hour and still haven't seen the Chasm.  Oh wait, there's trail that goes down to the right.  I bet that'll take us to the Chasm.

 Everyone is very excited to be going down, even if it means ducking under rocks. (or especially)

It's about at this point (see video below) that Robin and I are both thinking that perhaps this wasn't really a trail or a path or anything more than a rock slide, really. However, we are NOT about to climb up again.  Nor do we want to try and make it down the portion we've already climbed.

 Success!  We've made it back to the bottom and we can follow the water into the Chasm.  That wasn't so bad.

 The obstacle.  Not sure if you can really tell from this picture, but there is no way forward on the rocks. So, now we have a choice, we can either climb back up (NOOOOO!) or we can go thru the water.  We sent one of the boys first (figuring we could pull him out if we had to) to see if we could get thru.  He said we could, so in the water we went.


Little video of our foray into the water:
(Or as I like to call it - Mommy Fail)

 Looking back at the rock we jumped off...

Well, unfortunately, there was another pool around the corner, but we found a ledge to skirt around it.  The others traversed it far more gracefully than I did.

 If you look closely, you'll see a sign on the rock to the left and a pair of Japanese tourists looking askance at us.  The next picture shows what the sign says and why those folks were so shocked to see us come climbing out.  (with 4 kids, no less).

 DANGER:  DO NOT PASS THIS POINT

Risk of serious injury or even death.

There's more about the owners of the land not taking responsibility... yadda yadda yadda.

Perhaps they should've had one of these signs at the TOP!

7 American Idiots grinning like loons.

 Finally enjoying our lunch.

Oh and here's a picture of the chasm.  It really doesn't do it justice, it is spectacular around here.

One worn out little boy, he really is a trooper.

Kings Canyon (Watarrka National Park)

Over the President's Day long weekend, we decided to venture out camping.  We went with about 4 other families, so there were 23 of all us altogether.  Unfortunately, we picked the hottest weekend of the season to go.  42C (108F) during the day and 36C (97F) at night.  Made it a bit sticky and uncomfortable for sleeping for everyone, but the kids are troopers.

Axle (station dog) cooling off 

That's Braden peering out

Gavin and Braden

We choose to go to Kings Canyon, "a mighty chasm cleaving the earth to a depth of 270 metres."  Like everything else around here the views are spectacular.  The colours are so amazing and vibrant and go on forever.  Our friend, Amiebeth, opted not to do the walk, so she stayed back with Braden and Gavin.  While the rest of us, including Jamie, decided to head out early Sunday morning.  We started the 6 km (loop) at 7AM and Jamie, Ian and I completed it in about 3 hours.

Kings Canyon Rim Walk traces the top of the canyon. A steep climb at the beginning of the walk, which locals call "Heartbreak Hill" (or "Heart Attack Hill", due to its steepness), takes visitors up to the top, with spectacular views of the gorge below and of the surrounding landscape. About half way during the walk, a detour descends to Garden of Eden, a permanent waterhole surrounded by lush plant life. The last half of the walk passes through a large maze of weathered sandstone domes.

Heartbreak Hill

We made it! (only 5.5km to go)

Above the Garden of Eden

Ian didn't like us this close to the edge

Those little dots in the top middle are people

We really made it

B&G having fun while we're walking

Sunset at Kings Creek Station

3 day old camel

The crew

Going for a camel ride 

First Day of (pre-) School

So, today was the start of a new era in the McCain family.  Jamie had his first day of pre-school.  This was a big deal for so many reasons, but mainly he's never been in a large group setting with lots of kids.  Jamie is a very bright, articulate little boy, but like his mother he doesn't do well with large crowds or big changes.  We have been so fortunate to have found a school for Jamie with such awesome teachers.  They even let Jamie come in several times before school started to meet with his teachers and get used to the classroom.  Which made such a huge difference, so much so that Jamie was so excited to go school today...

Leaving for school

He can hardly contain himself...

His wonderful teacher Mrs Kennedy

We already don't even need Mommy or Daddy

The new playground

Such a big boy