Yasaka Dam

 Tuesday October 13 was a no-school day.  We decided it was time to go out and do something.  In the interest of full disclosure, it was a toss up for me as to whether there was going to be mass hair-pulling and screaming.  When the kids got up that morning I said we were going either to 3 Falls or the Yasaka Dam, whichever one was closer and Dan wanted to drive to. Dan chose the Dam.  Callie whined that she wanted to do 3 Falls.  Delaney cried that she didn't want to have to do any hiking.  Joshua said why was this the first he was hearing of this (It definitely wasn't!).  Marian whined that she just wanted to stay home.  It was getting ugly.

I told them all that we were going whether they wanted to or not.  I grabbed some snacks and filled water bottles and said yes to bringing Levi.  And we drove off.

It was about n hour drive to the dam.  And there was a lot to it, kind of like spider legs creeping out from the dam.  We drove till we reached a spot that looked useful, and checked out the map there.  Then we drove to another area and finally on to a third.  The view was lovely.  We enjoyed the event, despite the rough start.  Levi had a marvelous time and we did do a bit of hiking and it was nice.

A map showing where things were.  But alas, all in Japanese.

Callie was delighted to bring the dog. And he was delighted to sniff new smells and pee on new shrubs. 

Ryle just wanted to pose.  You can't see, but the rock is covered with Japanese writing. 

I was getting a tad nervous as we spent 10 minutes driving through roads like this. 

See that red bridge?  That was the first stop we made and we ended up making a giant loop!  But it is pretty, right?!

And more of this.

And we stopped at the dam (before walking and then driving over it.) 

All my minions. 

There were a LOT of stairs, and we climbed a bunch of them. 

Marian found this praying mantis, and everyone had to touch it. 

Ryle held it.... till it scrabbled up her arm, and there was some shrieking and leaping. 

Rylee sneaking into Callie and Levi's picture! 

So pretty! 

Rylee was afraid to walk through the tall grasses without an escort. 

Callie thoroughly enjoyed the bushwalking aspect. 

Joshua was unenthusiastic, but a pretty good sport. 

Can you spot the Callie?! 

 We hiked a bit down towards the bottom of the dam, but we couldn't get too close.  So the kids posed in front of the dam for me.

And they climbed this retaining wall. 

And Rylee posed some more cute poses. 

We wore Levi out!  He had a marvelous time.  The weather was beautiful and glorious.  But after running around in his shaggy coat, he was hot and tired, so he took a break.