Beloved Heartsong

....is the name taken by Rachelle's friend and mentor who now lives in Mount Shasta City. Rachelle called her on the day we were driving there and she dropped what she was doing to give us a tour of her home town. 

Rachelle and Beloved in Front of Mount Shasta

We got the insider's edge as she shuttled us around between parks and waterfalls and fresh water springs. We were treated to one beautiful view after the other all day. 

Tree Hugger

Tree Grumper

Keiko and Daddy on the Bridge

Tiger Lilly

Jungle Gym Twins

Beloved's name suited her well. I've been thinking about what kind of name I would choose if I were to give myself a more meaningful or descriptive name, but I haven't settled on one that's both sincere and not ridiculous. Perhaps Rachelle can come up with one that captures my essence better than Tom Smith. It shouldn't be too difficult, right?

Family Photo by the Falls

After a healthy and delicious picnic lunch under the pine trees, we headed back to the campground so that the girls could get their fill of swimming in the splash zone on Lake Siskiyou. All of the floating climbers and obstacles looked really fun and the girls had been dying to play on them since we had arrived. I think it was torture for them to tour around town, but the promise of plenty of time to play kept them from going totally bonkers.

Nice Background

Trampolines

I swam out to watch them, but it's tough climbing up on those things and my knee wasn't quite ready for that kind of activity.

Saturn

Kekio, King of the Mountain

Strangely, Amaya emerged from the water after about half an hour and said that she was done for the day!  What?  I guess she strained a muscle in her knee climbing up onto the "Saturn" float. Ordinarily, I'd say that she was faking it, but after all of the talk about how much she wanted to play on these floats, there was no way that she was going to voluntarily remove herself after thirty minutes. Indeed, she limped back to the RV.

Nice Day at the Beach!

Amaya's injury put a little damper on the day, but she still had enough pep in one leg to limp out to the campfire and roast some marshmallows for s'mores :)