Where The Phone Won’t Work
Ward Lake in the High Sierras north of Fresno, CA is Heathers favorite spot on the planet. It is hours from civilization with no cell service or electricity of any kids for miles around.
She forces me up there and the first hour is a rough detox but then I’m in heaven.
This weekend we fished, hiked, slept, slept, storied, dreamed, and slept some more.
It was perfect.
Here are some shots of my blessings…
All families exist when they are together…
We try to live while we are together…
This weekend…
Get out from in front of the tv, get to where your cell phone won’t work, and watch your kids live in a dream world far greater than the DS or Wii could ever provide.
Los
RAIN IT DOWN
The filthy hands in the last picture are awesome. Speaks volumes to how much fun was had.
We just returned from 8 days at our family cabin in Northern Wisconsin. As much fun as the private lake and family time was – it was heightened by the fact that our cell phones ceased working about a mile from the lake and our 3G signal was gone before that. It was magical and the most relaxed I’ve seen my husband in 4+ years.
That is awesome Los. Reminds me of last year when we took our high school choir to a weekend retreat at a camp. The point of the trip was to live together for a weekend and let the kids really get to know each other… and also practice some songs.
The first night… I noticed that most of the kids just wanted to sit inside the lodge and play some good old fashioned duck duck goose. We all know there ain’t nuthin wrong with a little double duck every once in awhile. But we were in a beautiful camp with stars untainted by the lights of Chicago.
I stood up and announced that I was going on a nature hike through the woods and would be taking anyone who wanted to join me along.
I had a group of about 15 kids or so leave the duck and follow me into the woods… one flashlight. We came upon a cliff… (I knew where I was going. No one fell.) and we just sat there for awhile. They put their phones away, which they were using as flashlights, and I had them sit in silence and just look out across the tops of the trees at the stars.
Being in the moment… surrounded by darkness and covered by stars. Seeing those suburban Chicago kids see experience that in a group for the first time was incredible.
That’s awesome! Love the many expressions of Lil Los.
I’m ready to go camping again after looking at your pics.
Hope your cross-country drive doesn’t undo all this relaxation. Stop by if you’re in Iowa!
looks gorgeous! blackout mode is definitely the way to go. can’t wait till we have kids to enjoy this kind of time with too.
I don’t think anyone ever regrets a camping trip, sometimes you just need to swim in lakes and be enveloped by trees and hear weird noises at night that aren’t engines.
Last summer we took our four children white water rafting by day, then stayed at an old farmhouse at night. No phone, no screens of any kind. As amazing as the rafting trip was, it was more wonderful to sit around an old kitchen table, play board games together, talk and laugh until well past bedtime.
Why not schedule a “no screens” night once a week at home?
My wife and I have taken our children camping ever since they were born. It really gives us a chance to connect with them and enjoy being together as a family. I’ll never forget last year we were in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania looking at some pretty cool waterfalls…my 4 year old daughter looks up in amazement and declares “GOD MADE THAT!!”
I’ve never heard any of my kids say that about their Wii or DS or television…getting out in nature and enjoying God’s creation as a family is something special.
Did anybody notice bigfoot in the picture of Heather and Losiah???
There’s money in that photo, Los!!!
Whoa…that is freaky looking.
What is that?
Maybe I need to send that pic to my dad.
He’s a bigfoot researcher.
All the pictures are great, but the one of Seanna sleeping is Precious! And Losiah and the fish….PERFECT!
WOW I think I did see Bigfoot.
No kids for miles, huh? sounds peaceful.
(sorry — just making fun of your typo)
I say yes to “a dream world far greater”!
Looks like an amazing way to spend a couple of days!
I zoomed in, and guys… calm down. that’s not Bigfoot.
That’s Carlos in Drag.
Don’t tell me you didn’t see it coming.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/loswhit/2556170546/in/photostream/
I live in the mountains and after getting tired of hearing my kids telling me they were “bored,” I took away all technology and told them to play outside… “Play What??” they asked. Really? You’re in the mountains, ride your bike, climb a tree, make a fort, make mud pies…. It took them a while but they were soon outside making up stories and games instead of with their eyes plastered to their DS or Wii. It was great.
We went to Yosemite for a week with my husbands family. There were 14 grandkids running around in pure bliss. Seriously, they din’t even fight they were so happy to be out in nature.
Your pictures make me want to go camping again.
Great shots Los. Looks amazing up there.
I went to Zion National Park with my husband last week because I follow your wife’s blog (she spoke highly of it). It was SO BEAUTIFUL. Most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. We also saw Coral Pink Sand Dunes National Park, Bryce, and the Grand Canyon.
We kinda wanted to kill each other half-way through the road trip because of the stress of driving a rental car, not getting enough sleep (trying to catch sunrises that were disappointing due to clouds), and a myriad of other small things that went wrong, but when we eventually hit rock bottom, and decided we didn’t want to divorce, murder each other or kill ourselves, we had a great time! The last two days were a blast!
The Enchiladas at Gourmet Grill in Springdale just outside of zion are to die for.
I hope one day my husband and I can have a family like yours!
What a great escape!
Those are my favorite places in the whole world! I wish I had more time to go to them! Great pics, as always!
We just “detoxed” in the Caribbean. (That’s what IM takin about!)
I created a video that I watch almost every day now so I can de-tox virtually