Cuivre River

After church, Puck was busy chasing after Trooper with his leash like a lion tamer. He then watched clips of vacuum cleaners on YouTube with Carrie.
At the lunch table, there was a minimum of theatrics, limited mostly to Francis tossing a package of muffins across the table which Joe tried to catch in his mouth.
After Dad, Mom, and Puck woke up from their naps, everyone piled into the green monster for a trip to Cuivre River, where Dad was picking up maps for the upcoming Scouts camp out.
The woods at Cuivre River were good woods. All the undergrowth was cleared, leaving the light and shapes of the trees and the shadows perfectly blend together, particularly in the spring, when the green was emerald, and in the fall, when the green became a fairy wood with the autumn yellow and the red.
After the campsite and beach had been surveyed to satisfaction, Dad paused the van for Joe to hop out and sprint up 141 stairs to the look-out on the hill above the lake.
“Don’t fall and break your face!” Carrie-Bri called after him.
Within seconds, Joe had easily bounded to the top of the winding stairs, and fortunately, did not stumble on the way down.
He was greeted upon his return with applause, congratulations, and a backward loser sign from Carrie.
“You forgot to remind everyone to buckle up, Dad,” said Carrie. “Your son has his seatbelt wrapped around his neck.”
“Joe,” Dad warned.
“Yup?” Joe grinned.
“Buckle up right.”
“Yeah,” Carries said, “’Cause if not, Dad gives me official permission to hit you on the head with this glass bottle.”
“Oh, look at the deer!” a few called out, as they passed a field near a collection basin.
“Look, the deer were drinking out of that sewage pot!” Joe cried.
“Eew!”
“Eew!” said Puck.
Meanwhile, the radio had been playing through the Oldies.
“Is this Celine Dion?”
“Collette’s favorite band,” OLeif joked.
“I like this,” said Dad.
“I thought you don’t like Canadians,” said Mom.
“What?”
“You don’t exactly get along with them too well.”
Who could forget the notorious run-in Dad had back in 1999 with the Canadian border patrol?
“Luther should go to war with Canada,” OLeif joked. “Come in with a wiffle ball bat and fly swatter, and conquer all sixteen territories.”
Meanwhile, Rose was wailing along with Celine Dion in the background.
Then Dad decided to bring the boisterous crew to Hardee’s where Rose treated Linnea and Puck to two rubber bouncing balls from the vending machine in the lobby.