A Perfect Day

What an amazing day! We couldn't have asked for better weather and the surroundings were quiet, peaceful and desert-ly beautiful! I was so thrilled to have a chance to jump in the car with Madi and her friends and head out on a field trip to Eldorado Canyon - somewhere off the road to the minuscule town of Searchlight, Nevada. Shame on me for living in this valley for most of my life and not knowing more of the places of beauty that surround me.

After a picnic lunch on the rocks (wondering if any snakes were hiding to come and eat us - or at least bite us), we hiked through sand and sage brush to come to a canyon - not a big canyon - but still a canyon.

Here we are in our very sunny picnic lunch spot - ready to take on the hike

At the mouth of our little canyon, we talked about how canyons are formed through movement of plates below the earth's surface along with rain and wind - and how it takes millions of years for that to even happen. Then, as we continued our hike through the canyon, Madi's science teacher, Mr. Boshko, would stop us and quiz his students on the scientific names of all the rocks & rock formations - names which are not likely to become a part of my permanent memory bank of information. But still, it was interesting, and I did liked touching all the different rocks - especially the conglomerate rocks that were so interesting to look at (hey maybe that one will stick in my memory!). The rocks with specks of iron pyrite sparkled in the sunshine, and the sun warmed our skin while the cool breeze kept us from getting too hot. It was a perfect day to hike in the desert. Believe me, you would not want to do this in July. Though there is green vegetation along the way - it's a far cry from the welcoming shade of a big, leafy tree. We climbed down rocks and jumped over small pools of water and finally hiked to a point beyond the natural bridge (shown below) where we could look off far in the distance and see the Colorado River. And some kids and parents (though not Madi and I) climbed high up steep rocky surfaces beyond ear shot and view from those of us down below to see even more of the river, caves, and other beauties of nature.


I am thankful for this day. Thankful to be with Madi and her friends and her teachers. Thankful for these last few months where she can go to a school with only about 30 middle-schoolers and 8 graduating 8th graders. It is not the real world, I know that, but that's OK. The real world will come soon enough, so why rush it? Perfect days like these are numbered and vanishing quickly, blink by blink. High school is just around the corner for Ms. Madi and honestly, I can't imagine I will be going on any more field trips like this with her. I could be wrong, but I don't remember my mom ever coming on a field trip with me in high school. Maybe that's because I never went on a field trip in high school - unless you count the school band trips to Disneyland, but seriously - that is NOT a field trip. As we drove home with the smell of the sun on our skin and clothes, I was thankful for a perfect day. Never mind that I needed some Tylenol for a headache. Never mind that I was worried about running out of gas because I didn't bother to check beforehand to see how far we were actually driving. And, never mind that as we were leaving the school to begin the field trip and I started the car (transporting 5 7th & 8th grade girls) that the radio blared a very inappropriate commercial (thanks Oprah channel) for my under-aged passengers. Never mind that I needed a potty! All were mere inconveniences in a most memorable, most perfect day.

Mom and Madi at the end of a wonderful day!

The 8th grade graduates (plus one 7th grader - Dylan - to the far left)
Zarek, Elan, Cristien, Madi, Sebastian, Lauren, Lexi, Lindsay (front right)

Madi & Lauren - these 2 have been together since kindergarten

The 8th grade girls - Madi, Lauren, Lindsay, Lexi

The whole middle school - ready to conquer the world!