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Blackforest Walkabout

October 23, 2010

At the edge of Lake Sam Rayburn is a small community called “Black Forest.” Just past Camp His Way, home of Top Shot’s Dustin Ellermann, is a little road that leads to the camping area by the lake. I grew up coming down this same little back road to one of our favorite swimming and camping areas. It is nostalgia mixed with joy that I get to share this same beautiful lake area with my own kids.

The drought had lowered lake levels enough to give way to a nice-sized beach area for the kids to explore. I made each child what I call their “S.C.O.U.T.” bag. S.C.O.U.T. stands for Science Collection Outdoor Utility Tote. These bags carry specimen containers, tweezers, magnifying glasses, sketch paper, notepads, pencils, and bug identification books. All the things a young scientist needs to take samples and investigate the world around them. The two older kids remembered their totes, but Adam forgot his. Not that he was too concerned—Adam, being the youngest, knew his loving family would help keep up with the treasures he found along the way. Without the burden of a bag to tote around, he was free to go full throttle the whole time.

We discovered a freshly emerged plant, raccoon tracks, and mini sand dunes created by the wind blowing across the dry lake bed. Every time I stopped to take a picture, I would announce, “Oh, cool, check it out,” and then, to my surprise, I would get the back of a little head in the viewfinder of my camera! Adam’s curiosity photo bombs were good; it meant he was engaged and interested. We collected a feather and saw a crawfish hole, a large dog or cat print, and a deer or hog print. Then we came upon a very large dead fish, which did not smell the greatest. Adam shouted, “Ewww, gross!” But it had nice, large scales that became part of our treasures for home study.

Once we got out to the open point of the beach, the wind started to pick up and blew the sand across the beach. This mini dust storm was the one thing we will remember the most. The way the sand moved reminded me of the cartoon Prince of Egypt—the plague of the death of the firstborn. The way that the sand slinked and weaved in and around each bush and grass clump, how it slithered along the ground, was almost supernatural. It was a great experience for the kids because the week before, we had learned about the 1930s Dust Bowl, the great dust storms that happened so long ago in the U.S. As bad as this little sand disturbance was, the kids could only imagine the magnitude of what a real sandstorm must have been like. Anna wandered too far ahead and had to turn back, facing the storm head-on. She literally had the sand and wind in her face, which gave her a new perspective on what a sandstorm, even a low-scale one, was like.

The sun was setting, and our science lake adventure was coming to an end. We discovered many small treasures along the way, and we looked forward to taking them home and studying more about each one. The sandstorm that connected their past history lesson was a great bonus experience. Living and learning walked hand in hand that day, creating a memory our family will never forget.

~Becky~

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