We had a terrible homeschool day on the Monday before last. Bowden refused to do his math- and sat at his desk or another chair for about 6 hours. It was awful...but I expected it at some point. If you knew Bowden, you wouldn't be surprised.
I was afraid that because he threw the monster fit of the year, he would miss out on our super-fun homeschool field trip to Riley's Farms in nearby Oak Glen. We have been rereading Little House in the Big Woods, and my friend Julie lent me her new copy of Johnny Appleseed, so we were ready for some quality pioneer-times...if Bowden could finish all of the work he neglected.

This is the good thing, and the frustrating thing, about Bowden. He KNOWS this stuff. He can do it, so, once he knew that he had work to make up, and a trip to look forward to, he just did it.
Soooo.....we went! Josh took the day off, so we were all able to go together.
It started with a jamboree. See that talented man in the overalls with the bones? He's my friend Julie's husband Chris. I think that the Fourrouxs may have been misplaced in time, but I'm glad they were.
That's Mr. Riley in the center. The lady in blue has actually come up to our camp with her church and another lady from the Farm, too. They only opened their Farm up for homeschool groups, and our Idyllwild homeschoolers put in a good showing.
Little Becky Fourroux.
Bowden went up and played the washboard.
Jack played the dancing man. (He was super adorable with it.)
(see?)
After the music portion- which I was a sucker for because of the BANJO- we went to the log cabin and did chores. I was in charge of the laundry, which made me thankful for my machine, and also made me wonder how long clothes could have lasted for all that scraping.
Bowden tried his hand at it. That's Anna Fourroux giving the evil eye in the first picture of Bowden. She's actually a very sunny girl.
There were five or six girls that came back over and over again to do laundry. I heard about five or six mothers comment on how they needed to get a washtub and board for their home.
It was hot...Josh rested under an apple tree with the little boys.
Chris and his two overalled boys watched a barbershop demonstration by Anna.
Barbers can be real purty.
Bowden and Jack watered the garden together.


All of us Idyllwild people eating lunch.

After lunch, it was time to make some cider. Miles and Jack were way more interested in their Cheetos and the stream immediately behind us, so they didn't participate much.


After washing the apples in a tub of water, the kids dropped their apples in the grinder. Some body's mom had to turn the crank.

Jack and Miles, wandering the road and throwing grass in the stream.

After we pressed the cider, we went down a ways to the creek to pan for gold. That's right. Gold. It's still there. About the size of grains of sand. When and if you found any, one of the pioneer ladies would tape it to a piece of paper. Lucy showed me the one she found- "See, Momma, it's the big one right there."

Then- hay ride! I injured myself the day before, so you can enjoy my cut.

We toured the apple groves behind one of the most enthusiastic guys ever.

There he is! Riley's Farms are high elevation like us, and you can see more of the mountains rising up in front of the tractor. They have bears over there, and we don't.

Lastly was the corn-husking, cornmeal pounding time. I sat in the shade and observed from a distance. Husking corn hasn't changed much in the last couple of hundred years. We were wiped out, and we had to get our house ready for our Small Group Meeting, so we did not pick apples.

The kids were momentarily disappointed, but we all pretty much felt like Chris.