I believe my Daughter (Kayla) was about 11 and my oldest son (Tripp) was 9. We had decided to spend the day hiking at the State Park down the road from where we lived! We hiked a good bit back then! Since we were going to spend the ((entire)) day in the woods, we packed our back-packs with goodies! We had the good stuff...ya know!? Stuff like spaghetti-os!!! Oh yeah...in a can! MMmmmm...mmmmm! Topped with potted meat and saltines! That's right! Screw trail mix, man! We needed some good ole' fashioned "synthetic" food! Nothing like flavored cardboard and pâté-d animal parts to fuel our bodies! lol! Ok...so we did pack an apple or two! *wink* Anyway, so its me, my daughter...my Autistic son and my dog Mo (who was half wolf and Husky)...off to explore the great wild wonder! Back-packs attached and equipped! Hiking boots and bandannas laced and in place...we are prepared! Now, when the kids and I plan to do something...we get ((into)) it!!! No half-ass adventure seekers here! We hiked for hours...slid down bank sides attaching ourselves to Mo's harness screaming, "Moosh" (as if he knew what that meant)...while he pulled us around! We were sweaty, dirty and hungry! So...we decided to take a break and eat! While looking for the perfect spot, we discover this "oasis" in the middle of the woods! There was a beautiful creek that lead to a swimming hole and a beach! Perfect! We start to follow the creek, when down between the rocks we noticed a snake resting there! Mo sees it and starts to sniff around it! I of course scream, "NO"...! Very concerned that my dog might get bit...I walk towards the snake to observe the situation! This snake was sick, okay. I'm talking, frothing at the mouth and shit! It is turning its head around with its mouth opened as if to gasp for air! I am thinking, "Do snakes get rabies?" Seriously, something was wrong with this snake...and of course, Mo is fascinated by it! I had to do something! I tell the kids to stop where they were and to wait until I moved the snake somewhere else! It was obviously dying...so I get a long stick and I pick it up and hang it in a small bush where the stream and beach connected...high enough to where Mo could not reach it! It basically hung there, dying...with froth! ((Now)) the beach is finally secure...my kids and I can now "park" and heat up our food! Trip immediately started taking his shirt and pants off because that is what Tripp does when he sees water! Fine with me! I didn't mind that he wanted to get in the water with nothing but his underwear on! He was covered from head to toe with mud, it was hot as hell and no-one was around! I took it as an opportunity to wash off his clothes! So I did, and hung them on a branch to dry off in the sun while we ate! When Tripp gets excited he makes screeching, dinosaur-like noises and runs back and forth tossing his body around while flapping his hands! He loves water, therefore...he was excited! Meanwhile, Kayla and I build a little twiggy fire. Pealed the paper off the cans and started to heat our food! Well, we forgot utensils...but no worries, because Kayla found a treasure! A single sunglass-lens! We washed it off with alcohol wipes and created a perfect spoon! We were all busy doing our "thang" when I suddenly realized...we had company! Two male college students standing at the opposite side of the creek from us! They had this look on their face as they took in "the scene"...! It was a mixture of concern and fear I would say! They just stood there...frozen...whispering out the sides of their mouths as if they were trying to decide if they should risk crossing! After all, there was a half naked kid screaming and throwing his body into the water while flapping his hands...a half dead snake hanging in a bush while Kayla and I, covered in mud, are standing over a twiggy fire eating out of a can with a sunglass-lens! I realized that this might somewhat be a little intimidating, so I thought I would break the ice by yelling, "Thank God you found us!" After a brief moment of silence, they opted to turn around and walk the opposite direction...! Kayla and I looked at each other and laughed! We were ROLLING!!! God, if you could have seen their faces! They were terrified!!! I dont know why??? Poor fellows! Maybe we should have brought trail mix???
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