Saturday's Gold

For the past several years there is a hike I have wanted to do. It's the Goldstrike hike that starts not too far from the Casino by the Hoover Dam and goes down to the Colorado River. A year or two ago Bill and I took the kids, but we didn't make it all the way to the bottom, as it gets tricky, especially with children. It's the kind of hike that has ropes to help people get down (and up) some of the hardest parts.

Saturday Bill made my mini-dream come true by hiking it with me. We left the kids at home to clean the house and work on scouting and homework while we hiked (are we shameless or what?) It was so much fun. the canyon really narrows, so most of the 2nd half of the hike was shaded even though it was in the afternoon. At the bottom, the river is cold, but there are warm springs in the canyon, so there is water to warm up in after cooling off in the river.

We stayed at the bottom and talked to the rangers who told us that especially in the summer, the river is much higher that close to the dam in the afternoons (like when we were there) because they let more water out to produce more energy for air conditioners. We enjoyed the blue skies, cliffs above us and the white sliver of the moon that was talking to a tree hanging from the top of the cliffs.

As we wrung out our socks and put our shoes out to dry before heading back up the canyon, Bill and I dangled our feet off a small ledge and talked. We ate our trail mix and tried to figure out which bits were the dried cherries. After getting our shoes on and beginning our hike back up we mused at how much quicker the hike is with just the two of us, and I was glad to have Bill there to help me up and down some of those ledges.

Afterward, we decided spur-of-the-moment to have dinner at the Pit Stop in Boulder City. After our long hike, the fish and chips were some of the best we both could remember. We both wondered if it was because of the long hike!

When we got home, I found that Faith had really cracked the whip. Before we left for our hike, I made sure that Faith had the keys to the car and some money. I told her that she could take the kids to the library and to get some soft serve ice cream or do something fun, but they used all their time working on the list of things I had given them to do.

I didn't even change my clothes before walking the kids across the street to Golden Spoon for frozen yogurt. On the way out the door grabbed the few dollar bills I had left Faith and a coupon. When we got to Golden Spoon there was a fairly large group ahead of us, which was just fine. It gave us time to get out the calculator and determine just how to get the biggest bang for our buck with our coupon...we must have looked pathetic. The kids had worked all day, I was grungy from hiking and we were hashing through scenarios while I counted the change I threw in my pocket for tax. The man ahead of us in line produced a $5 bill and offered it to me.

Me: "If I take this money, then my kids won't learn the lesson I'm trying to teach them."
Kind Man: "Teach them a different lesson."

He wasn't going to give up, and how could I argue with his kindness? Instead of teaching them how to budget to get the biggest bang for the coupon, I took the money and taught them that you should never look that bad at Golden Spoon, and for heaven's sake just bring the credit card.