We have criminal records because of this...

Yikes. Next time Doug wants to go on a hike, I am going to make sure he knows it's legal. Saturday morning, we woke up to Doug being able to take a break from internship applications and found ourselves wondering what we should do with our new-found freedom.  When Doug proposed hiking to sacred falls, I said, "let's go!"  Afterall, he had asked his boss if it was okay for us to hike there and he said that all the "no tresspassing" and "closed" signs were there to protect the state from liability and not because they really care if you hike.  He was wrong.

There were 8 deaths near the waterfall in 1999 when boulders came crashing down on hikers and that state had lost millions in settlement.  As a result, the park is now closed with signs everywhere telling you to stay out.  We passed all of them and even snapped a photo for fun to celebrate our risk-taking.  It's not so funny anymore.

Ethan and Sydney loved the hike--the mud, the rain, the running on the trail.  They are excellent hikers.

Wish I could get this photo to turn vertical...despite several attempts, I thought I'dd throw it in anyway.  You can turn your head to the side...now.

On our way down, only minutes from the trail head, a police truck pulled up on the trail.  The friendly officer was kind as he wrote us tickets for misdemeanors that will require a court appearance for us before we leave the island.  Ethan and Sydney received a verbal warning, our photos were taken, and we were eaten alive by mosquitos because we had stopped for nearly 1/2 hour (30 bites on my exposed legs alone). 

Hopefully this won't affect Doug's getting hired for an internship this next year.  It's pretty competitive, so we were a little nervous when it all 'set in' later.