The day before Easter, Elephant Butte Lake State Park held it's annual egg hunt for kids ages one to eleven. Hundreds of children participated collecting thousands of eggs.
It was a lot of fun as you can tell by the pictures.
A complete park overview can be found in my post from last year:
wgwood.blogspot.com/2018/02/elephant-butte-lake-state-park.html
Anyway, on to the hunt!
The calm before the storm. The hunt was held in an open area near Lions Beach Campground.
Finders of the special eggs would win cool prizes.
I think this is a rabbit...
The crowds started gathering as starting time approached.
The kids were split up into four age groups starting a few minutes apart. A great idea.
The youngest went first.
This was a laid back group. No sense of urgency. Plenty of eggs for everyone.
Unlike some groups to come.
A very happy egg hunter.
Yep. Nice and mellow.
The next group was the three and four year olds.
They were a little more mobile and extremely fun to watch.
"Mom wants me to pick up these things."
"So I did."
"Now what do I do with it? Eat it?"
"Good job! Now put it gently in the basket so that it doesn't bounce out."
"Oopsie."
This guy has already learned to delegate the bucket chores to dad.
"I think I am having handle issues. Can you help me?"
"Sure, let me take a look."
"Sorry, gotta go!"
"Wait..."
These two figured the best way to get eggs was to run in front of the crowds to the land of plenty.
Some moms got a little carried away.
The first rule about egg hunts is that only the kids are allowed to pick them up.
We will keep an eye on you next year.
This is proper picking.
Next up was the five to seven year olds. Speed became a factor.
OK young Jedi, use the Force to pick them all up at once.
The young gal in the middle used the Force to levitate over the sand.
Suddenly it was over. Until I mentioned that there were a few eggs left near the rope next to me.
Wow. Army ants devouring a rain forest could not have cleaned it quicker.
Last up was the eight to eleven year olds.
In an attempt to slow them down, furrows were dug. But these were determined kids.
Seriously determined.
A few stopped to help their fallen comrades.
But for the rest it was sheer mayhem.
The last few eggs were picked up.
And like an outgoing tide, the kids retreated back to wherever kids retreat to nowadays.
But it wasn't over yet.
There were eight pink eggs hidden amongst the thousands that contained numbers to corresponding age appropriate prizes. A giant bunny called the winners forward.
The event was a huge success and the participants and their parents had a great time. I want to thank the volunteers and the State Park workers who made it possible.
Putting smiles on children's faces is a wonderful thing.
Regards,
Greg and Freddy (who sat in my car and supervised everything)
