Today is the day we went to pick up the crew from the river. We left early in the morning with a plan to meet them at Dry Island Buffalo Jump around noon. The last day is always nice and easy, they can take their time fishing and playing in the water and eat up the rest of the snacks. The drive was beautiful and I loved passing the bright yellow fields!
Of course I had to make a pit stop on the side of the road to snag some pictures and let the boys stretch their legs. Neither of them slept the entire drive their! Sawyer was so excited about everything and loved being surrounded by the tall canola.
We pulled up to Dry Island right on schedule! I wasn't looking forward to the steep drive down on the narrow gravel road with Big Red and the canoe trailer attached. As I pulled up to the top of the hill, I noticed the road was gated off and locked up. With all of the rain we've had lately, the road had washed out and become unsafe to drive. We hadn't brought much for snacks and water, and I was wearing my sandals, but I had to make it down to the river's edge to let them know that I wouldn't be able to drive down and load them up here. Once you start down the hill there is zero cell reception, so calling them wasn't an option. Luckily I had the Ergo carrier in the van, so I strapped Sawyer on my back, pasted a smile on my face and told the boys we were going on an adventure. We carefully descended on the washed out road, watching out for the cracks and ruts that were as deep as my knees at some points. My slippery sandals weren't ideal, and the air was hot and dry.
When we finally made it to the bottom we saw Daddy, Joe and Fin waiting for us. When we told them the bad news, we had to come up with a plan B for getting the canoes out of the river. In previous years we had never gone past this pick up point, so we looked around for signs that would show us what was next and approximately how long it was. Turns out the next spot to pull out was Toleman Bridge, another 14KM down the slowest part of the river.
We visited with Daddy for a little while longer while we waited on Grampa and the two big kids. They were a little while behind, so it was then decided that I would walk up to the van with Joe and Fin (who were both tired of being on the river) and start driving to the next pick-up point.
We grabbed two bottles of water from the cooler and a box of ritz crackers. I almost cried thinking about the grueling walk ahead with now four littles. I was already exhausted, and hungry, and my patience was worn. Thankfully, Joe stepped up the plate and carried Sawyer for part of the way. As we neared the top our legs were jelly and we could hardly put one foot in front of the other. After everyone was belted in, I swear they fell asleep in under a minute and I navigated my way to new territory in peace.
When we got to the bridge we weren't sure where to park. There are campgrounds on both sides of the river with boat launches, but they are a little ways away from the bridge. I wasn't sure if they'd see us all the way down stream. The littles continued their nap for a few more minutes and then we all headed out of the van, tired and grumpy, to play at the rivers edge until we could see them coming. It was a good 45 minutes before we saw them slowly making their way. The wind was brutal, and kept turning them backwards as they paddled. There was hardly a current to help them along, and their arms were sore and burnt by the time they pulled into shore.
We were greeted by faint smiles, but I could tell they were exhausted! It was such a hard paddle and something none of us were expecting. I was proud of Camilla and Hyrum for stepping up to the plate and persevering. Camilla was so excited to see the little boys and wrapped them up in big hugs right away. Then we began unloading the gear from the canoes and stuffing it in the van. Each of the kids grabbed a pop and some left over chips for the drive home. I enjoyed hearing their stories (until they all fell asleep). It was such a long day for everyone, but we learned that we can do hard things!
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