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| Last weekend on a trip to the Buffalo National River, we ran into some old friends from school days! They were taking their mules down to the river for a drink, and getting prepared for a covered wagon trip the next day. |
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| They invited us to come watch them take off the next morning. The sun was barely rising when we headed back to the river. |
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| Some campers were still asleep, and some had camp fires going, fixing breakfast. The sun's rays were only beginning to hit the valley. (Notice the hedge apples on the trees... If one of them had fallen on their tent, it probably would have awakened them!) |
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| The crew we came to watch were not quite ready to leave... |
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| ...So we went on down to the river to wait, and enjoyed watching the foggy mist in the early morning sun. |
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| Finally, here they came! We had been privileged to take a ride in that first wagon awhile back. (The blog post on that can be found by clicking HERE.) |
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| The wagons crossed at a shallow shoals upstream. It looked like the trailing supply wagon stayed dry, even though it had plastic to protect it if the water had been too deep. |
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| The last wagon to come was the mule team... "Dolly and Molly" were the names of the mules. They appeared to be distracted, and so did my husband. |
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| Looking downstream, I saw quite a little commotion! |
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| The rider did a great job hanging on throughout the performance! |
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| We detained the occupants of that last wagon a bit, so they hurried to catch up with the group, planning to camp together overnight before returning the next day. |
I think this wagon camping trip has become a yearly tradition.
For some reason, it reminded me of how the Jewish people celebrate
"The Feast of Tabernacles", also called "The Feast of Booths",
or Sukkot, celebrated around this time of year.
(Click on the colored letters for more information.)
The "Sukkot" was a hut built by the Israelis.
They would live in it for 7 or 8 days,
reminding themselves of when their people camped in the dessert
after their exodus from Egypt.
Moses gave instructions regarding this feast in Deuteronomy 16:14-15:
" You shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter,
your male servant and your female servant,
the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless,
and the widow who are within your towns.
For seven days you shall keep the feast to the Lord your God
at the place that the Lord will choose,
because the Lord your God will bless you
in all your produce and in all the work of your hands,
so that you will be altogether joyful.
This feast also sounds a bit like our Thanksgiving
which we Americans celebrate in November.
Canadians, however, celebrate it in October...
and I believe their holiday is coming up next Monday.
So, HAPPY THANKSGIVING to you Canadians!
I'm still pondering on a Rock4Today,
so give me a little time I'll have a new post!
