Our fall hike

Back up a little...a little more.... :)

October is our favorite month. Matt has his own reasons, but I have a list, too (hot chocolate, making crafts out of pretty leaves, etc.). We're each working on checking off our lists, and yesterday we put a line through "take a fall hike at a state park."

There happens to be a state park, busy city notwithstanding, just past the grocery store and we had yet to check it out. We put jeans and sensible shoes on the kids, packed up some homemade donuts for a pretty place we had yet to find, and soon afterward were pulling into a bustling parking lot. Apparently, we weren't the only ones who wanted to be outside in nature on a gorgeous afternoon.

Kalina's first real hike, leading to a
real view!

But, a few minutes later, we were the only ones pulling an out-of-her-element two-year-old up a hiking trail by her hand, or trying to chase the four-year-old as she trail-ran up the same path, lest she trip over a root and fall down the steep hill to her left. Needless to say, we divided and conquered.

Elise, in her defense, had recently lost the "but I want to take that trail" battle. But I also think she was a bit intimidated in the transition from open field to darkish woods, especially as she's not yet old enough to know that wolves don't roam those hills.

We investigated something that looked like a bird's nest to Elise (who ran ahead to show her sister), some fungus, some fallen logs, a few remaining flowers, and more. Elise consented to hike for a bit, and then needed to be carried. It was in this transition (I had carried her a lot the day before, and now it was Matt's turn) that Kalina charged ahead, with me in tow, and we managed to hike up a steep-ish slope to a scenic overlook. A real hike!

So proud of my little trooper!

Kalina showed little or no fear for approaching the very edge of the cliff--but fortunately, I stopped her well before she got that far. We both agreed that the view of a wooded river bluff was quite pretty, and then Kalina posed for a picture, complete with her preschool/hiking pack. (We'd packed her backpack full of the snacks and water as it was the only one handy at the time. While she was actually enthusiastic about carrying all the family's supplies, Matt and I did all the heavy lifting.)

We hiked up just a little bit farther before heading back down to Daddy and Elise, who was quite unsettled with Mommy out of sight and in the woods, no less. It was on the hike down that Kalina first showed any fear--after all, the rocky trail was a bit slippery. Soon, however, she was charging down the path faster than even I was comfortable.

On Saturday, we went to Six Flags
for Matt's work picnic. The
balloon ride nearly had us in
tears shortly after this photo was
taken.

Elise was happy to be carried by Mommy again down the rest of the trail, and even happier to be back in the open. Next, we made our way to a creek that looked like it had the potential to be explored.

The creek was full of rocks, and some of these rocks, as we soon discovered, contained fossil imprints! And possibly one or two had once been part of an arrowhead? The girls excitedly tossed rocks into the stream, Matt tracked down at least three or four species of living creatures, and I continued to hunt for fossils. None of us wanted to leave.

On our way out, we drove to the end of the park--and spotted a few deer grazing. As we left the park, Matt and I saw a great horned owl. And on the way home, we shared the homemade donuts we'd brought along, just in time to spoil our dinner.

Much more fun at Six Flags: running
up and down this steep hill with
some friends.

We may have checked this particular fall activity off the list for now, but we're pretty sure it'll be on our shortlist for years to come.