Fall Creek Falls: Lessons Learned

The key part of any After Action Report, is a section called Lessons Learned.

Here is what we learned after a Fall trip to the unimaginatively named Fall Creek Falls.

Lesson #1: The trip down to the base of the falls is far more enjoyable than the trip back up to the top.













Lesson #2: Sibling rivalry occurs regardless of locale, amount of surrounding natural beauty or level of exhaustion from walking back up the damn trail.









Lesson #3: Reading Atlas Shrugged to your child may have unfortunate consequences. Between striking this pose and railing about not living his life for another man and how we shouldn't sanction our own victimhood, it got a little scary.

Then at dinner, he asked his mommy to cut up his meat for him.












Lesson #4: Making a child watch Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom right before the camping trip isn't a good idea either. Unless you want a child talking like Short Round everytime you come across a swinging bridge over a river full of crocodiles.

Unfortunately, this isn't true. Despite my best efforts, he claims to hate the Indy movies.

I weep for a generation that finds Indiana Jones movies "boring". Although, I think the truth is they might have been too scary, so he has adopted a pose of general disinterest.

Lesson #5: No matter how funny we think it is, Mom gets so nervous when we get near the edge of the scenic overlook, she can't hold the camera steady. Or she learned how to take photos from watching the old Batman TV show.

The funniest bit of her panic attack over us being near the edge, was that it was only a six foot drop.



Lesson #6: Telling ghost stories around the campfire sometimes have unintended consequences.

Luckily, we packed a home exorcism kit. Thanks Department of Homeland Security! Say what you want about Right Wing Fundamentalists running the country, but when your kid gets possessed by demons or gets bitten by one of the walking undead, you'll be damn glad that your tax dollars are at work.

Lesson #7: One of the side effects of the home exorcism kit is the unfortunate tendency to put on a minstrel show when your turn to tell ghost stories comes up.


Lesson #8: No matter what a trooper she may claim to be, NEVER TAKE YOUR PREGNANT WIFE CAMPING.

Unless, you are fine with not sleeping while she describes her discomfort throughout the night and rightly blames you.