  Tomorrow we're hitting the road again, this time for Colorado. I thought I'd better close out the summary of the last trip, first! We had a great time, despite the illnesses. Ellie's ear infection cleared up completely Saturday morning, the first full day on the road. Thankfully, we never had to pick up the prescription of antibiotics the crotchety doctor had called in.
Five or six days appears to be the standard duration for ear infections, regardless of antibiotic administration. The antibiotics merely lessen the pain and fever. But since they encourage repeat infections by inhibiting the body's immune response, I think it's wiser to choose painful once rather than annoying and dangerous over the course of childhood. In Santa Fe I bought a great new book, Kids, Herbs, and Health , at an herbalists' shop I frequent there called Herbs, Etc. Still questioning our decision to use the antibiotic on Aidan, I went strait to the page on strep throat. The authors (seasoned parents themselves) explained that between the ages of 3 and 8 strep is its most dangerous. After 8 and through adulthood, most people have an immunity to the toxins of strep that, while not protecting them from getting strep, protects them from the complications of strep that we so fear like rheumatic fever.
I don't think I ever wrote it here but I found in Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child that delaying treatment of strep by three days doesn't increase complications, and allows the body to build up an immune reaction that often prevents subsequent strep infections, and we did wait three days before the antibiotic.
So between these two trusted sources, I think we did make the right decision. I blogged a good deal of the trip, but it's all on urlLink the Same River Twice . Here are the trip's highlights in links: -In Santa Fe we discovered the luxury living near family could be as John and I recovered from our viruses while the healthy children romped and played with my young siblings (aged 6, 8, and 10). -We went urlLink car camping rather than backpacking as we'd planned. We'll still get our family backpack in later this summer. -We made urlLink a lovely camp next to the Rio Hondo -The family tested out our post-sick hiking legs with a 4-mile hike through Columbine Canyon. Well, except Ellie who tested her hiking bottom (she was slinged through her hikes!). -I missed out on the urlLink Nurse-In at the Galleria back in Houston. - urlLink Aidan took his longest hike ever , a 1,180 ft. elevation change over 5.4 miles to Williams Lake, just below Wheeler Peak. - urlLink Thoroughly enjoyed the Suncatcher Earthship , and relaxing in Taos. -Spent the July 4 holiday urlLink hiking to the bottom of the Rio Grande Gorge . 
