The river of dreams

As we navigated our way  through the northern portion of the redwood forest we stumbled across this emerald green river. Zoe stretched her 4.5 foot tall body as much as she could while being restrained by her seat beat and shouted, "I want to swim there!" Sierra, looked out the window and sighed, "Wow, that is sooo beautiful."
   We stopped at the very next place that could accommodate our 54 foot long truck and trailer combo. My kids were as excited as any children waking up on a Christmas morning. They sprinted for the edge of the canyon and Elise shouted, "Wait for us, we need to stay together!" Since I was fussing with Paco, I told Elise to just go on without me and I'll catch up later. As Paco was tugging on his leash, leading me on a search for the perfect tree to pee on, I heard my wife and daughters giggle and talk excitedly all the way down to the river. "Daddy, it's beautiful!" shouted one of my daughters as it was echoing off the valley walls.
   Finally, Paco relieved himself on a redwood sapling and we were able to scale down the trail to meet up with my girls. In their excitement to get to the river's edge, my children forgot to bring their bathing suits with them. They didn't want to leave the river even for a moment so they decided to plunge into the cool mountain waters, fully clothed. They swam in what Sierra shouted, "The river of dreams."
   My wife kept a watchful eye on the kids and heard them saying how refreshing the water was, so she decided to hop in fully clothed and join them. There they were, all three of my girls swimming in the water and for the rest of the afternoon there was only rule, have fun.

 

Seeing such natural beauty is wonderful.

The waters shimmered like the Mediterranean sea.

The decision to jump into the water was made.

Loving the moment in the river of dreams.

I don't know how mommy does it but her hair always remains dry. 

Paco liked the river too, but he especially liked the redwood saplings that he peed on.

Little did we know at the time, but Elise was brought here as a child, nearly 40 years ago, when her parents had a similar adventure. History can sometimes repeats itself in the most subtle of ways. 

My initial view through the forest, hearing the echos of my wife and kids giggling in the valley below.