One of our favorite things to do as a family is to go for hikes on the great trails that are in our area. There are lots of them, and we try to go at least once or twice a month during the good-weather months. In May Peter took us on a trail that he'd been on before but we hadn't. It was really nice, and the weather was perfect for a quasi-hike/walk through the woods.
I love a good curving path through the woods.
John likes to be in the lead, unless he's climbing a tree or a rock, which is always a worthwhile endeavor, even if it costs him the lead for awhile. (But he always catches up. His energy and stamina are endless. Where'd this kid come from!?)
These little flowers on the hillside were so dainty and pretty.
I tried to convince Sam that wearing rain boots on a hike really wasn't a good idea, but he was set on wearing them. He soon found out that I was right; sneakers would have been much better. Needless to say, he was the caboose for most of this hike! He and I ended up having to take a shortcut on the way back because his feet were so tired. He learned his lesson!
There were some really cool rock formations and ancient caves along the trail.
As I mentioned before, John is always in his element on these hikes, especially if there are natural obstacles and things to climb along the way.
On the other end of the spectrum, here comes Mr. Achy Feet!
Sam was scared that he was going to fall off Peter's shoulders, so much so that he preferred to walk after only a minute of this. He gets more nervous about things like heights than his brother does!
It was a lovely hike. Hiking or walking through the woods has always been one of my favorite things to do in the great outdoors.
Peter and John just got back today from a Labor Day weekend trip to Seattle, Washington, where they did a lot more hiking than this, on much steeper inclines up and down mountains. They hiked up to waterfalls and through a sub-tropical rainforest and made it to a mountaintop summit. Sam and I would have joined them, but Sam obviously isn't ready for that kind of an adventure. But when he is...look out Washington, here we'll come!
