September 6

Saturday morning we had a slow morning, with delicious pancakes and waffles. It was a family breakfast, which never happens during the week and is rare even on weekends, so it was a nice time. Larissa was very tired since Vida kept her up all night, so mom, Ben and I set off for an eight mile hike at about 12 o'clock.

The drive in was about half an hour and we were all surprised at how chilly it was when we got out of the car. We set off and found the right trail, despite mind boggling directions by an area tour guide book. Mom saw the first huckleberries, and since I could live off of berries I stopped every couple of feet because I saw some more berries. Ben and mom kept walking, saying they would meet me at the top. I kept up and even managed to mark a place that looked really good to browse around in on the way down. I had no idea at the time what a jackpot I had just hit.

We stopped for a long lunch and break at the top, which was a really pretty lake, and so the hike which should have been about four hours ended up taking about six. On the way down we decided we'd stop to pick some berries, and got distracted for another 45 minutes or so picking the biggest, juiciest huckleberries I have ever seen in my life. You would finish picking the twenty or so off one bush, think you were done, and all of a sudden spot another patch just as good.

Well obviously we couldn't just leave the berries sitting there, especially since it was so late in the season and they were really supposed to be there in the first place, so we picked for a while. We got more huckleberries in twenty minutes then I've ever picked in one sitting, and even Mom and Ben were impressed. Then we had to hurry on out of there because Larissa had been home for about 7 hours now all alone, and we felt sorry and a little guilty for this, although it had been her choice to stay home alone in the first place.

That night we made a pure huckleberry cobbler, which doesn't happen very often because they're so small it's almost impossible to get enough berries to even make something half and half. It was absolutely delicious, and we even convinced Larissa to go out there again with us the next day to pick more berries to make a pie or cobbler again. We'd already started to scheme about a dinner party Monday night, and it would provide the perfect dessert!