Out in the Hills...

Going "out in the hills" has been a place of mystery and intrigue for four of our six children. They have heard so many stories about Grandpa's cabin, a place called Table Top, jeep swamp, long swamp, and the spring, great moose hunting stories, bear stories, and then there is the story of me rolling a four-wheeler. The stories kept building and with it the greater desire to..."go out in the hills"!

So last weekend the long awaited and much anticipated four-wheeler ride out in the hills to Grandpa's cabin finally took place! Ethan and Tyler had been out to the cabin several times for moose hunting, but the rest of our kids had never gotten the privilege. So we borrowed a couple four-wheelers from my dad, loaded 'em down with gear and kids, and headed out. Eric and Theresa with their three kids came along too.
The trail was great for the most part, long swamp was really wet and muddy, but I suppose the guys would all say it was great too! Everyone got stuck at least once, some more!

We arrived at the cabin at dusk, unloaded our gear, and explored around a little bit. We soon had a blazing fire going in the stove so the cabin was warm and cozy as the night air was getting nippy. We all wondered if snow might fall in the night, but it didn't.

Even though Grandpa wasn't there to serve his traditional dinner of monster chili burgers, we thought we better keep it up. Ours weren't quite as monsterous, but delicious anyway!

Grandpa's cabin has 6 bunks and two bench seats that can be bunks as well. Hmmm, 13 people...where are we going to put everyone...thankfully the floor works great for kids! Before we went to bed we talked about how it can get cold in the cabin in the middle of the night as the fire in the stove burns out...but we certainly didn't have that problem. I think 13 people just create alot of their own heat...we certainly didn't need those extra warm mummy bags!!

The kids were so excited to be staying at the cabin and were still excited the next morning to see what adventure awaited them. After breakfast we went to check out the fresh water spring that comes right out of the hillside...what amazingly cool mountain water. We then hiked out to the point where they often look for moose during hunting season. What an amazingly beautiful spot on this earth!




More hiking and playing, eating lunch, and watching an owl watch us as we packed up to leave. On our way out we drove up to Table Top to admire the view and got to watch a bull moose make tracks across the hillside. The fall colors were breathtaking!

Was the trek "out in the hills" everything they imagined? I think it was probably more than they could think up and now they can all share the memories and stories of going "out in the hills" to Grandpa's cabin.