Yosemite and Ayoub's Law

We are at Yosemite. Here is the tallest waterfall in North America and we got up and personal with it. There was a trail that passed by it, and then right up to the waterfall were huge rocks, great for climbing. All of us climbed all the way up the rocks and right up to the waterfall. It was slippery and some spots were tough, but we all including the kids managed. At Zion, Ameer kept noticing all these water backpacks that you fill up with water and it has a straw you drink through so you don't need to carry a water bottle. He wanted one, they were super cool, so Mom and Dad got Ameer, Anissa and Siraj one each. The great thing about that, is that instead of two of us carrying a backpack full of water, now we can just have the kids do it. Between all of them, they carry a gallon and a half of water and they were happy to do it. They have the straw right there though and are constantly sipping on it, which makes for more bathroom breaks, alot more. The plus is that they definitely won't get dehydrated! Aisha and I took the kids back to the benches and Mom and Dad finished climbing all the way up. They crossed the waterfall and came back around the other side. It was quite an adventurous hike!

Meanwhile there was a section of the river that was calm and the kids were standing in it. Ayoub stepped on a rock, slipped and fell completely into the freezing cold water. Ayoub's law is that if he could get wet, he will. He was fine, but immediately a bunch of people jumped up to help. People are good. He was soaked in really cold water and it was about 70 degrees outside. There was nothing to do except strip him down to the nip and hold him close so he won't be too cold. When Mom and Dad got back, they were wet up to their waists from crossing the river and Ayoub was naked. We got back on the bus to go back to the RV. On the way I (Shezena) saw a huge buck with enormous antlers. As soon as I said so, everybody on the bus stood up to see. Dad was so jealous it wasn't him who saw it. Whenever I see something, he announces it as if he found it. When we were at the Everglades, I found an alligator and a crocodile right beside each other, a rare find, and Dad told the tour guide he found it and she acted like he was the winner the whole time. We went back to the RV, got dry and went to the lodge for dinner.

The next day we took our bikes out and went for a scenic ride in the park. The bike trails are paved so it makes for an easy ride. The day before we had seen some people in a raft going down the river. We wanted to do that, and luckily we packed four or five inner tubes and a raft. We realized it might not be quite enough for all of us, but we'll make do. While we were blowing them up, a couple passed by us who had just finished going down the river and gave us their raft. Just our luck! Now we'd be perfect. It was already starting to cool down when we got in the water, but we were getting ready for a long time and we were going to go! Shezena, Anissa and Ayoub were in a boat, Mom and Ameer in another, so that left Dad, Aisha and Siraj on the inner tubes. We were all ready and we were just waiting for Dad to get in. I wish we had it on tape when he got in the water and laid on the tube. We've never heard such sounds! He screamed, yelled and yelped from the shock of the cold like no one was around, except there were plenty around. It was so funny I'm sure we would have won any funniest home videos contest. The water was really cold but we went along the river for a while until it was too cold to bear. We stopped by the side of the river and waited for Mom and Ameer who had lagged behind. When they got to us they were on the other side of the river and it was going too hard for them to be able cross and reach us. There was a guy fishing on their side though, and seeing their plight he waded chest deep into the numbing cold water and pushed them to the other side. It was very generous of him. This whole trip we have met nothing but nice, helpful and friendly people. We reckon America is filled with them. Tomorrow I think we'll be heading out. This was a great place, my favorite so far.