Fun in the Out-of-Doors

We set out on an adventure today. The sun was shining. The sky was extra blue. So there really was no excuse to sit in the house and stare at social media. We hopped in the truck and found a place to explore. It wasn’t my first choice, but Tank was happy and that’s all that really matters. He’s a gadfly when he sees us preparing for an outing so there really was no leaving him at home(as if we would even think of perpetrating such an atrocity).

When we pulled up to the park we discovered everyone else in St. Louis had the same idea. So it took a minute to find a spot where someone wasn’t fishing, or staring at me like I’m strange because I like to take pictures of my dog. We hiked around the lake and then found a creek bed to explore. We found fossils and cool rocks and generally had a pretty awesome day off work.

Minnows and frogs bones and mud, oh my![/caption]The great thing about exploring somewhere you haven’t been before is the thrill of getting a little lost, but not so lost that you can’t find your way back. We were successful in that we got just muddy enough to prove we had fun but not so muddy that we couldn’t clean our shoes off on the doormat. And we got sticker bush-whacked which proves we went “off-road”. The only thing I don’t love about hiking in the winter is that there are no critters to catch. No turtles, snakes, lizards or frogs. I did find a pool of water in the creek with big minnows in it, and so I had fun watching them whip around the only suitable hiding space–a big rock.

The best thing about hiking in the winter is there are no bugs and you don’t get sweaty. There are no leaves on the trees so you can see the sky better, and you have more opportunities to catch a glimpse of those birds that generally hide when there is more foliage. We saw lots of fresh deer tracks and we didn’t have to worry about poison ivy.

These kinds of days make me glad I worked so hard to lose the weight. I never got out of breath. I didn’t struggle to climb into or out of the creek bed. And I was able to climb through the metal tunnel that ran under the road without getting stuck inside(always a plus!).

I suppose I’m a little sad that today is over. Saturdays are fun. But I’ll bet I can find a new adventure tomorrow.

On February 6, 2016   /   The Journey   /   Leave a comment