This year I really wanted to get back to Antelope since we haven't been for a few years and even when Chad wasn't able to go I was determined to brave it on my own. It started out beautifully! There's something about the air up there. It smells different and settles in my lungs easier. Its clean and refreshing and so many memories come rushing back to me when I breathe it. It's always the same, yet different each year. This year we went earlier in the season and it was covered with WILD FLOWERS of every color! It was beautiful so the first thing we set out to do was see all the flowers and do some sight seeing.
The bridge was always a favorite hang out spot as a young girl with my cousins where we would soak our toes and sit and chat for hours until the smell of dutch oven cooking would bring us back to camp. This year because of the snow pack, there was SO much water! It was the highest I've ever seen it in the 25ish years I spent going here.
As always, the snack table at this reunion covers just about 2 large tables! The girls were in heaven when they found the cheeseballs!
The grandkid fish pond is a big hit with the DeGiulio grands. Mom and Serena didn't dissapoint with the prizes!
Bri's face!
Good ol gramps had his trusty 4 wheeler up there. THIS was a highlight for me when I was a kid to get to be the one who got a ride on the 4 wheeler. And I'm sure we drove grandpa nuts asking him a million times to take us. Times have changed. Life has slowed down for him a lot. This was a huge highlight for him on the trip. I thought the girls would be scared but after a few slow laps, Rylee didn't want to get off! Gramps got a kick out of that.
Wherever there is mud, it finds Brielle! Although I was slightly irritated that she found the mud it was really cute watching the great grands play in the same stream I did as a kid and that always had a watermelon or two staying cold in the creek.
Poor Mason's pants just couldn't hold all that water and he eventually quit caring!
Carter learned how to carve with a pocket knife this trip and was hooked after a few strokes on a stick. He now wants a pocket knife for his birthday.
Around this time, I went into my tent to get something. It had rained a little on and off and had been a cold damp trip. I moved a sleeping bag and it was really wet. I began checking other bedding and lots of stuff was wet. If there's anything I really hate its wet camping gear. UGH! From there on out the trip took a sour turn and I was starting to get anxious for home. Clyde and Evelyn didn't live too far and so I made the call to pack up and head there for the night for a bubble bath and warm bed. I was so glad I did even though I was sad to miss the campfire poems. But I was still glad I went even though it was a little bit of a trying trip. It was good to spend time with Grandpa D since he may not be able to do this trip for many more years. And to see cousins I rarely see anymore! And of course to clear my head a little and breathe some mountain air. I love nature!!!
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