Winter Hike

A few weeks ago in January, the temperature raised to 50 degrees and we knew we had to get out of the house.  Where better to go than our local state park!   We've been in the spring and summer but never in the winter.  It was a different kind of beautiful.  Had I been prepared, I would have put together some sort of winter scavenger hunt.  We had fun anyway!

This picture is blurry, but I like it anyway.  I love my silly family.

There are plenty of places to climb in this park, which is why we like it so much.

Everett always likes to be king of the hill.

Ashley was thrilled to have found this heart carving.

The stream was almost completely frozen in places.  It would have been fun to explore it a little.

Along the trail were patches of smooth, slippery ice.  Everett found what looked like a giant's footprint.

Ashley went to investigate and couldn't get back off the ice.  We stood there and laughed while she slipped and slid everywhere but the last few inches to dry ground.  "You can do it, Ashley!" I'd call to her.  Panting nervously, she kept stretching her legs nearer and nearer to the edge.  If I were her, I'd have just crawled.  But she made it and she was very proud.

She had fun, even though we all laughed at her!

At the top of the trail is a nice lookout point.

There wasn't a whole lot to see to our untrained eyes, but we broke out the binoculars anyway.

And we enjoyed a snack break of the trail mix Ashley helped me mix up at home.

James stayed in the baby carrier the whole time.  Maybe we need to invest in a good hiking pack for this sort of thing!  He didn't seem to mind the close quarters.

I don't remember what was going on in this picture, but I'm including the pouty face anyway!

There were lots of old logs to sit on.

And the sun melted into the horizon as we left, weaving golden ribbons through the trees.

This was good timing.  It made our hike back down the trail all the more interesting.

The kids were disappointed to leave.  I think we all appreciated being able to stretch our legs and breathe the fresh air.  Even though in the winter we can go run around the gym if we so choose, there is nothing like being outside with a cooling, sweet breeze.