Paradise holds so many opportunities for families to make their own memories (Credit: Brianna Randall)

Paradise holds so many opportunities for families to make their own memories (Credit: Brianna Randall)

The next morning, Earl meandered up to our picnic table with his walking stick in hand. Ozzie, his wife's dog, meandered slowly behind him, while Harrison loped laps around the empty campsite. Despite the near-freezing air, Earl wore shorts under his plaid button-down coat. I poured him some coffee, hoping for more stories about Paradise.
As the sun rose over the ridge, burning off the morning chill, Earl reminded us to keep on the lookout for rattlesnakes basking on the warming rocks. Wild temperature swings are common in the Magruder Corridor: mid-summer temps often hover above 35C, but Earl's seen snowstorms in August. As he eyed the puffy clouds and mostly-blue sky, Earl announced it was a good day to take his kayak out for its inaugural summer run.
I raised an eyebrow, still wearing my coat. “Looks like a good way to get hypothermia to me.”
Earl grinned. My husband offered to shuttle him to the start of his river run. “Nah,” Earl replied with a wave of his hand. “Half the fun is riding my motorcycle back from the take-out!”