We spent most of the morning at the camp, feeding two chipmunks that would eat out of our hands! Kaya scolded us, telling us that they had to learn how to find food on their own, but I just rolled my eyes and told her not to rain on our parade.
I named them Cnó and Cnó Dhá, because they loved peanuts so much!
After that, the five of us drove over to a memorial for a plane crash. I begged Mam to let me wear my rollerskates, since the trail would be a perfect place to practice skating on soft ground, but she said it might be disrespectful. I promised that I would skate as slowly and respectfully as I could, but we went back and forth for a few minutes until she finally gave in.
When I got there, I learned that the plane was a B-52 and that it crashed on Elephant Mountain in 1963. Only two of the nine passengers survived--one of which survived an ejection from the plane without a working parachute. The plane was 160 feet long and had a 185 foot wingspan.
When we got there, I was surprised to find reckage scattered everywhere, for hundreds of yards. Mam and Josefina were pretty disturbed, and Daid was just there for the plane, but Kaya and I (being the history-buffs that we are) were fascinated. How could such a huge plane be so destroyed?
These were the names of all the people who were in the plane when it crashed (sorry some of them are unreadable because of the flash):
Some of the wreckage was huge! These holes alone are almost as big as I am!
By the time we reached the end of the trail, I was really moved. I never realized how dangerous and devestating a plane can be, and how brave the people pilotting one are. What if the plane I took from Ireland to America had suffered the same fate?
By the time we got back to the tent, the sun was starting to go down. Soon it was dark enough for a campfire and, of course, roasting marshmallows! Josefina and Kaya had never heard of marshmallows before, and thought shoving them on a stick and holding them over a fire was very aisteach. Josefina decided to give it a try, but Kaya refused to when I told her that a boy at school said it had horse hooves in it. I chose not to believe him, but Kaya was mortified!
What a great way to end an awesome camping trip!
Slán!
~Saoirse
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