love the place you live: 911 and irene rinehart park

Have you ever called 911? It must be hard to be an operator. No one calls 911 because they are happy. 

Our day started out quite happy. We have made some wonderful friends here in Ellensburg from our homeschool co-op. Everyone has their own special reason for homeschooling. The Williams reason is one of the most interesting I know. They homeschool because they are missionaries. They are currently fundraising for their next mission to the Congo. http://www.internationalministries.org/teams/595-williams

They are a wonderful family with lots of imaginative kids well suited for playing with our imaginative kids. Or on this day, hiking and exploring nature. Katrina suggested Irene Rinehart Riverfront Park. We had never tried this area. There are two small lakes at one end of the park, affectionately coined "People's Pond", and I had been to them before becoming a mother. They are always crowded with lots of bikinis and kids. 

The rest of the park, we found, is gorgeous! It boasts many family friendly trails between 1 and 3 miles long and lots of fun wildlife to check out. We spied a heron, frogs, robins, and then one of the girls was bit/stung by an unidentifies large flying insect. 

While the moms were distracted by her cries, three of the kids ran ahead. Our kids are usually good about staying close by, so we weren't too worried about it. But we came to a y in the trail. And I think what happened was that we took two different trails. 

As we were walking along the river, it became more and more fearsome, fast and deep. Lucy's cries for her sister didn't help me keep me calm. After about half an hour of searching, Katrina and I split up and kept searching. 

And then I decided it had just been two long, and three young kids all by themselves could get into an awful lot of trouble being away on an unfamiliar trail for that long. So, I called 911. 

I was so scared! Nora tried to chat with the operator from her front pack.  John and Lucy got antsy as we waited by the small street for back up. About 7 minutes on the phone and two kids come running to me! Such relief! 

Except there had been three. Phew. Katrina had one. The older two ran ahead to tell me they were found. 

About one minute after that a sherriffs car pulled up. And one minute after that two cop cars arrived. 

If there had been a true emergency, we would surely have had help!

And sherriffs are way more laid back than police officers. But I'm sure happy the officer gave our kids a good talking to about running ahead on a trail. 

After that we walked slowly and stayed away from the river. 

Until we found a really great place to throw rocks. With four little boys, it's really hard to resist a good place to throw rocks. And on a hot day it is hard to resist getting in. And wouldn't you know, after all of our excitement with losing kids and meeting officers, one of our kids went and fell in! Luckily it was in a shallow spot protected by the current. 

After that we went straight to the picnic area far from the river and played tag. 

So we learned two important things: Irene Rinehart is a lovely and easy hike, and quick help truly is near by!