On family hiking, questionable priorities, and Mother Nature's toughest competition
The weather forecast for Memorial Day looked terrible.
We had planned a family trip to Letchworth State Park, and most of the drive there was long, gray, and rainy. I spent much of it convinced we'd end up viewing the waterfalls through wet car windows instead of actually exploring them.
The boys weren't concerned. Somewhere along the drive, Holden noticed the many POSTED signs that seem to appear on every tree, fence post, and roadside corner in rural New York. He immediately appointed himself their official announcer.
For much of the trip, every sign was greeted with the same declaration.
"POSTED!"
Then:
"POSTED!"
Then, inevitably:
"POSTED!"
Between property updates, he requested exactly two songs: "American Girl" and "Smooth Criminal." By the time we reached Letchworth, we'd heard all three on repeat.
That morning, we'd packed carefully. Water bottles. Chips. Brownies. More snacks than any reasonable family should need for a single day. We were preparing for a long day of hiking.
By the time we arrived, the rain had cleared. The sky was blue. The waterfalls were roaring. It turned out to be a perfect day.
We parked at our first trailhead. Before we even got out of the car, the boys opened the chips.
A few minutes after we started hiking, Holden already wanted the brownies. About ten minutes into the hike, Caleb announced he needed a bathroom.
We turned around and headed back.
During those ten minutes, Holden had already collected several rocks he was convinced were gemstones, despite my repeated insistence that I didn't think Letchworth was known for its gemstone deposits. We'd also somehow managed to make noticeable progress through the snack supply we'd packed for an entire day outdoors.
While Caleb was in the bathroom, Holden noticed a woman filming grass and daisies with her phone. He immediately decided this was an excellent idea and began filming grass too. We had driven all the way to Letchworth State Park, home to some of the most famous waterfalls in New York.
Holden spent part of the trip filming grass.
By then, both boys had already finished their water bottles and moved on to mine, despite the fact that we'd barely hiked far enough to justify such levels of thirst.
After the bathroom stop, we got back in the car and drove to another waterfall and trail. We walked to one waterfall, then headed back toward the car where the snacks made another appearance. Nerd Clusters were opened. More chips disappeared.
Refueled after what could generously be described as a short walk, we headed toward another waterfall. By then, Holden wanted brownies. Then he wanted more brownies.
Eventually I got tired of saying no and handed him the entire container.
For the next stretch of trail, while other hikers carried backpacks, cameras, and water bottles, Holden carried a Tupperware container full of brownies.
At one overlook, I asked the boys to pose for a picture. Caleb refused to look at the camera at all, leaving me with a lovely photograph of the back of his head. Holden, meanwhile, rested his elbow on the railing, put his head in his hand, and popped a knee like he was posing for a magazine shoot.
After the second waterfall, the boys decided they wanted to go on the swings.
Not hike.
Not explore.
Not spend a little more time admiring one of the most beautiful places in New York.
Swings.
A little while later, they decided they were hungry and it was time for lunch at McDonald's. We'd been at Letchworth for less than two hours.
Later, Mimi asked Caleb how the hike had gone.
"There were places on the trail that didn't have fences," he said. "And Holden almost fell down and died."
The boys spent Memorial Day eating snacks, hunting for gemstones, filming grass, carrying brownies through the woods, and looking forward to McDonald's.
Honestly, the brownies may have seen more of the park than we did.
Somewhere in the middle of all that, we saw the waterfalls too.
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