Scott idolizes Indiana Jones.

The hat was familiar -- he'd borrowed that from me -- but the rest of the get up was something he'd assembled on his own. He had to improvise the whip, since his mom wouldn't buy him one. We all thought it was cute, but we made him change before we headed for the canyon for a holiday bike ride. He wore the hat anyway.

I think the Provo River Trail is a great example of a well-designed trail. We had never biked the upper trail, from Nunn's Park to Vivian Park, so we decided to start our ride from Nunn's Park. We figured we could bike up the trail to its end, then we would return to our picnic site and some could ride down to the bottom of the canyon while others drove down to pick us up.

We had Scott, his mom and dad, his little brother, Toby, and two little sisters. We figured Toby, who is 7, could make the trip, but the little girls would probably just play in the park.

The bike ride up was everything we had hoped for. Bridal Veil Falls was spectacular. And Toby made the trip just fine, although he dawdled a little on the way back. We didn't even mind the damp and the cold, once we got biking and warmed ourselves up.

When we left the park to go home, several of us were on bikes -- even 4-year-old Alyson, who still uses training wheels. Scott and I led, with Toby right behind. Mom and Alyson were far behind us.

We were headed for Canyon View Park, where Grandma and Dad were to be waiting. We met grandma biking back up the trail. Scott and I were coasting down at a fine speed, and I figured she'd hook up with the dawdling Toby.

She figured I'd wait for Toby on the trail where it cut off to Canyon View Park, so she waved to him as she passed and met up with Alyson and her mother.

So while Scott and I pulled off the trail at the right place, Toby just kept on going.

When we realized he had missed the cutoff, Scott and I leaped on our bikes and headed out on a rescue mission. All of the clues led us to think Toby would stick to the trail, since he was slow we figured we would catch him rather quickly.

Our trail took us along a raging river, but we avoided getting too close, so we didn't fall in. We had to deal with wild natives on skateboards, but we were able to leap out of the way in time. When we came to the mouth of the Canyon, and still had not found Toby, we started asking riders if they'd seen a determined 7-year-old pedaling his way along.

"I saw him down by the Riverwoods," one bike rider told us.

Apparently he wasn't dawdling any more. We increased our efforts.

Finally I spotted a small bicycle parked on a bench and that's where we found Toby. Two young women had found him on the bench crying, and had stopped to help. We were all very relieved when we were reunited.

All in all, he had showed some remarkable street savvy in his long adventure. We figure he pedaled about 12 miles in all.

I asked how he had crossed the streets, and he said he had pushed the button and waited for the signal. Smart.

"Did you know where you were?" I asked.

"When I saw the sign that said 'Welcome to Provo' I figured I was in Provo," was his reply. Again, smart.

On the way back to the car, and the concerned parents, Scott and I decided to call our adventure "Indiana Jones and the Lost Brother." Then we all went home, cooked hot dogs on the barbecue and watched "Raiders of the Lost Ark."

We'd had enough real life adventure for one day.