Hiking

Over the weekend, we took a break from the craziness that is life & went for a hike with my parents. We drove to Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area & hiked around the game lands for about 2 hours.

Mom found this cool tree. If I were smaller, I would have tried climbing in!

It wasn't an overly strenuous hike, although there was some hill climbing. Mostly, it was just nice to be out in the fresh air to clear our heads & refresh for the upcoming week.

The view from the top was decent - it would have been much better on a clear day! The guide book said that when we reached the top there was a log bench to rest & take in the scenery. It truly was a log "bench" - a tree fell over & someone decided to leave it there for people to sit on. :-)

About midway through the hike, we came across the ruins of an old building (the chimney was still standing!) & this crumbling spring house. We could actually walk inside & see the water that was captured.

Part of the hike was on the old trolley rail bed. The ties had all decomposed, but the path was still full of rocks & very flat & straight. It followed the stream, so we enjoyed listening to the water & watching it flow.

We're hoping to make these Sunday afternoon hikes a permanent thing. Since we haven't been getting away as often as I'd like, we can at least bring the getaways closer to home!

Any recommendations for an interesting hike in the Harrisburg/Lebanon/Lancaster area? We're up for some new hikes!

Plants & Campfires

Our hens & chicks are looking beautiful! This is the first year that their purple hues have really come out. I love how they multiply each year. They remind me of warm weather.

When I was a kid, we had a small patch of them on a rock at our cabin. I thought they were my pets, so I'd water them when we were there. Now I have my own patch & it's at least 5 times the size. I don't water them at all & they are flourishing. Nature really knows what it's doing.

On Sunday night, we had our first cookout of the season! I can't wait to have more. We decided that now that we started, we have to have one every Sunday that we're home. I'm excited to try some new ideas for things to cook over the fire. It was pretty chilly, so we started early, before it got dark. Bup installed another patio light for when we have fires after dark. It's nice to sit by the fire in the dark, but when we're trying to assemble/cook food, it's tough without a light!

I'm super excited about our new fire pit. The old one finally rusted through the bottom, so we couldn't use it anymore. I think this new one is a little more durable. We're going to bring the insert inside between fires so that it doesn't get rusty as soon. This was also our first time using our mountain pie makers. We borrowed my parents' last year & they gave us these for Christmas. One is a double-wide...that's a lot of sandwich!

Bring on the campfires!!

Back to Nature

It had been way too long between trips to the family cabin. Until last weekend, we hadn't been up since Labor Day. Luckily, we'll be back again in a month!

We took 2 hikes, both to find overlooks that none of us had been to before. Dad saw the rock outcroppings from down on the main road & wanted to find them to see if the views were good.

I love the combination of hiking on the dirt road, paths, & blazing our own trails. It was fun venturing through the trees & jumping over rocks.

Things were pretty muddy, but that didn't stop us.

A few trees were down across the path. It wasn't hard to find each other through the brush, though. Since it's hunting season, we were all wearing orange vests for safety. It's always funny to look at us in our hunter orange when none of us actually hunt.

The sky was crystal clear on top of the mountain.

When we reached the first vista, we realized it wasn't so clear in the valley. Still, it's beautiful to see the hills & valleys covered in the thin fog.

Mom & I wore our earbands. It wasn't super cold, but when the breeze came along, the chill went right through us.

The guys just had hats on. And carried walking sticks. :-)

Along the way we passed several stands for hunters. This one was on the ground, but we saw a few that were mounted up in trees. Dad thought this one was pretty cozy.

Everything was moss covered. Did you know that moss only grows a few inches per year? It took a long time for some of the large rocks we saw to be covered.

We found it! From this overlook, we were able to see the road to the cabin of a family friend. The next day, we actually saw the cabin. These rocks were massive & the crevices between them dropped straight down for hundreds of feet.

We had such a great time exploring & breathing in the fresh air. I can't wait to go back. It's so relaxing & calming to be away from everything & outside. Hiking is one of my favorite forms of exercise. I just wish we had more opportunities to go.

Labor Day Weekend in Pictures