Battlecreek Falls and Shooting

Thursday morning we decided to go on a hike. There are lots of places to hike around here, but I thought Battlecreek would be fun. I haven't been there in a long time. I actually forgot how short a hike it is. And the waterfall is pretty cool. I think we could have done a more intense hike, but it was great for that day. Also, I'm trying to remember, but it seems to me, Robyn had a hurt ankle or foot, so she wouldn't have done well on a more strenuous hike.

Here we are at the trailhead. No, you won't see June. She was at school for one more morning.

I think it looks like I photoshopped us into this picture, but we are really there. I promise.

We took some stylized pictures while we were there. I really like all these.

Love this selfie with Ives. Makes me think of the John Denver song, "Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy. Sunshine out my nose...can make me sneeze." (Maybe that isn't quite how the song goes.)

It was a fun little hike and a beautiful morning. I recommend it to anyone. Well, anyone who likes to hike, I guess.

In the afternoon, Tyler took some of the kids shooting. Here is his side of the story.

[Maleen hands the keyboard to Tyler]

Hey everybody, Raging Stallion here with a quick report, which, for the vocabulary astute not only refers to a brief telling of a story, but also the sound of guns (as in "the report of the rifle").

Naturally, with Ethan in town, we had to expend (ah, there's that gun lingo again) a few hours in the study of America's Second Amendment. This was quickly followed by "Lead Therapy," and the careful practicing of the ancient Chinese art of "Ka'Ching Pow". Along the way we killed some paper, and converted many dollars into decibels.

We took a little trip out to Saratoga Springs and helped Mother Nature replenish her lead deposits. In our party were me, Ethan, Ivory, and Daisy. The girls busied themselves with the .22 LR, plinking the targets we mounted up. Though it was their first time shooting that particular firearm, they made fast friends with it. As a note of ballistic history, here, that's the very firearm I pushed my first .22 rounds down range. I received it as a gift from my father who said something to the effect, "Someday son, you'll take your kids shooting with this gun — just like I took you." He was right. He had a habit of that.

Because any conversation about guns should include a little education, I took the opportunity to explain the basic rules of gun safety to the girls and Ethan again:

1. Treat a gun as if it's loaded at all times
2. Never point a gun at something you want to keep
3. Be sure of your backdrop (when the bullet passes through the target, what's it going to hit?)
4. Finger straight until you're ready to shoot (that keeps the finger off the trigger until you're ready)

After that, we commenced firing, which led to a great deal of smiling, which made our faces hurt, which made us smile more.

The targets neatly taped on a stray pallet someone had lovingly donated to the range.

The first few rounds down range by Ethan, I think. Before you start poo pooing the round that fell outside the circle, take a look a that circle and imagine it on the bad guys' chest. That's a lot of bad guys that aren't fighting anymore.

Our little setup on the other side of the lake...as viewed from the perspective of the targets.

Ivory has always loved the Beretta 9mm. Today was no different.

That there is Ethan and the Mossberg 500 "Persuader." Ethan was persuading the clay pigeons I was throwing chaotically into the air to land...quietly...as powder.

There's my crew, just chillin' with the guns. 

Ivory loved the Rugar .22 LR.

So did Daisy. They were both pretty good shots.

While Daisy and Ivory strived to deplete my .22 LR ammunition cache, Ethan let fly with the .223 AR-15. Turns out the boy can shoot!

Here's a little parting wisdom as I wrap up this post. I'm pretty sure other people have said something akin to it, but here's my take on life and guns: "Always remember, if you're at the range, it's a good day." You can quote me on that.