This past weekend, we decided to get out early on Saturday morning and get a family hike in. Temperatures were expected to be near 100F later that day, so we headed out fairly early Saturday morning to beat the heat. We opted to try a 1.5 mile trail with shade on top of a local bluff know as Grandad’s. Our daughter has been getting more into nature of late, so why not feed the green bug and hit the trails? Away we went!
Located on top of a bluff, the trail is fairly level, short, and more importantly, did not require the BOB. If you have noticed some of my other walk posts of late, the area is turning into a brilliant, bright green color with all sorts of vegetation returning. Lots of thunderstorms last weekend have the Earth abuzz with life yet again in the region. It was time to hit the trails, avoid the ticks, and live large for a bit in the forest.
The trail was pleasant enough. Trees here, ferns there, birds everywhere. Hattie was more into looking at large ants, and I could tell the dillydallying was becoming bothersome to some in our party due to the heat. I picked Hattie up to save time and patience , thinking “this trail is a bore, let’s get back to the A/C before everyone freaks out.” Then, out of nowhere, we came upon the “magic nature spot.”
You might be inclined to think we ran into Sasquatch, some fae, or maybe a blue eyed alien here (long story if you have no idea what I'm talking about), but it was actually quite a bit more exciting. What was the “magic spot”? It ended up being a stretch of trail about 20 feet long, facing the East, that was teeming with interesting woodland life. Thanks to Hattie’s “super good eyes”, we found a treasure of different forest items that made the day. What did we see? Well, good thing dad with his “bad eyes” at least brought the Pixel with...
Our first “big find” was a broken tree fungi sitting in the middle of the trail. Lots of wonder, as you can imagine.
Then we found a spider web…Hattie is all about spiders of late. Sometimes we have to be afraid, sometimes I’m requested to touch the spiders…it really depends on what the boss lady is thinking of in the moment.
The most interesting thing she found was this little red bug. What is it? A red tick? A moving red blob with legs? I have no idea what they are, but if you do, let me know below!
That wasn't all...our fearless leader next spotted little fungi on the forest floor. Nothing gets past those laser sharp eyes!
We even stumbled upon the is old rotted tree, with markings in it. Again, I should know my forest rules more, but I want to say termites do this type of thing? And not Bigfoot...right?
We continued our adventure, next finding an interesting stick/log wall near the end of the trail. More investigation required, obviously.
Of course, no wooden wall would be complete with out a vintage, Old Style aluminum can that someone threw into the woods decades ago.
You are probably now wondering whether or not we brought along a pouch for our trailblazer; oh yes, we wouldn't dare forget a pouch! We found a little clearing on the edge of the forest and had a small picnic; don't worry, we DID NOT throw the used pouch into the woods to hang out with the Old Style can...
And off we went back to the car, to the a/c, and back to regular life.
I've been thinking quite a bit about the state of life of late. For whatever reason, I've become obsessed with van life content on YouTube. I don't know why, but watching folks head out to some national park or mountain range, drive up to a campsite in a minimalistic van or camper, leaving the confusion of the city and worklife behind, and finding themselves as one with nature has been strongly resonating with me for a few weeks now. Can you imagine? The ability to drive to something like the Badlands in a van, get a camp fire going, cook a meal slow and easy over a campire, fire up the telescope and binoculars to gaze upon the firmament...maybe even enjoy a few adult beverages along the way....doing all of that with no deadlines or need to cram it in in order to get something else done. I find it very appealing. Yet I know it's not something I can do at this point in my life. In the future, sure, but not at this point with everything going on. Yet I can be ok with what.
What I can do, however, is get the family out for these little nature sojourns. You know what I mean? This "magic nature spot" is literally 10 minutes away from our home. I know, it's not Yellowstone, but just sitting in a spot, watching the long grass below sway in the breeze...there is something to that, you know?
All for that said, I hope to share more weekend jaunts like this with my #engagetheweekend friends in the future. Maybe, just maybe, we'll see a Sasquatch too. Or a blue eye alien, although to be honest, I'd prefer Bigfoot; I don't think I need to see a blue eyed alien, especially if we're camping in a van in the middle of nowhere next summer...
Thanks as always for stopping by and giving this a read. At least I hope you enjoyed the pictures! Until next weekend, hoping everyone out there had a wonderful weekend as well, and having a great start to the week!