On Saturday, we finally got a decent amount of snow here in our little part of Missouri! It wasn't much, but it was more than the usual mushy, gross stuff that we've been getting the past few years. I had to work all day, so it was dark by the time I got home. I get a horrible case of "cabin fever" every winter when I feel like I'm constantly cooped up at work and home. So, yesterday afternoon I begged Jason to bundle up and go exploring with me.
Yesterday began like any typical Sunday for me. I woke up and made breakfast with the girls and sat down to have my coffee while I browsed the news and my Facebook feed. I found myself becoming increasingly bummed out due to all of the negativity that I was seeing, so I decided right then and there that I wanted to go to a place where I could clear my mind and wouldn't have access to social media at all.
It was the perfect fix for my winter blues and I got to spend some much needed time with Jason in the beauty and peace of the great outdoors. We went several places, but first stop was a place called Bear Cave, where we've spotted some monstrous icicles in the past and we were hoping to see them this time too!
We started at the trail head off of the dirt road, and then hiked down the steep cliff side. I initially wanted to take our daughters along, but in retrospect, I'm glad that they stayed safe and warm at their grandparents house. The snow made it much riskier.
I thought I got some photos on the trail, but apparently I just got this short video on my phone. It's much steeper than it looks!
Although it's a steep hike, fortunately, it's a pretty short one and we had made it to the bottom of the bluff in probably less than 20 minutes. The icicles weren't nearly as big as we've seen before, but there were definitely some worth seeing this year!
I was using a 50mm lens on my camera, which i don't think is quite ideal for nature/landscape shots, but I was still happy with a few of these in the end :) Jason was shooting with a wider angle lens, so his photos look completely different than mine!
I figured I would take a short phone video to provide a little better perspective.
And now, let's take a moment to appreciate the most handsome little Yorkie ever...Bash!!! <3
It was so cute watching him run and jump around in the snow...And he never stays far away from his best buddy, Jason ;)
"Bear Cave"
If you've seen any of my other posts about our local caves, you might have noticed I've mentioned that a lot of the caves are barred up to protect the bat population from human contact. We've been in the cave before the barricade was built, and it has some absolutely stunning formations. However, even when we visit the "open" caves, we are still respectful of nature and the laws made to protect it.
Ok, ok just one more picture of Bash
A little splash of color in the snow
Ok, I lied ;) This is the last picture of our little buddy running up the hill
We had originally intended to only visit Bear Cave yesterday, but we were enjoying the outdoor time so much that we decided to go to a few more places before sunset. I'll save those for another post since this one is already overloaded with photos! Thanks for checking it out and stay tuned for more of our Sunday winter adventure!