Family Time: Hiking Time
At the beginning of the summer we discovered a wonderful area in Tennessee only 30 minutes from our house that is filled with all sorts of hiking trails. November was filled with beautiful fall weather and we decided to take one last opportunity to get out and hike before things begin to get cold and wintry. The kids were all very excited to go "hiking". The one that surprised me the most was John, the night before we had some friends over for dinner and he kept telling them, "I go hiking, I go hiking."
It was nice to go in the fall after the trees lost their leaves. We could finally see beyond the trunks and leaves of the forest. Most of the trail was covered in dry leaves. I loved hearing the crunch, crunch as we walked along.John found these giant leaves that he collected the whole way. After carrying an armful for a while, he would drop them and start collecting all over again.
Our destination on our 1.7 mile loop was a place called Twin Arches. You never could see both arches at one time. The arches were very different from the arches we are used to in Utah, but in a lot of ways they were more fun.
There were all sorts of rocks at the bottom to climb on and explore. Elizabeth named this her "rainbow rock".
And I never knew that Rachel was such a mountain goat, always managing to get to the top of the pile of rocks.
Under one of the arches we even discovered cave that turned out to be a tunnel. The last part of the tunnel was a miniature slot canyon.
We climbed lots of steep stairs on our adventure. Some went down, some went up, but they were all steep. I'm grateful that someone went to the effort to put the stairs in because we couldn't have made in down cliffs or to the top of the arches without them. This particular set is going to the top of the arches.
Yes, we were able to walk on top of the arches. I had to put on my brave Mommy face as we were up there. I don't like being hundreds of feet up with drop offs on either side of me. Thank goodness the top of the arch looked like any other trail with dirt, rocks and trees, and was wide enough that I never had to look over the edge or be near the edge.
The view from the top was really pretty. You could see such a long way, something we don't get to do very often living in the land of trees.
I'm thankful that my husband and children enjoy being outside to explore nature as much as I do. It is a gift that has been passed down through the generations to us and I hope it continues to be passed on.
Everyone had a great time and we are all asking, "When we can go again?"
It was nice to go in the fall after the trees lost their leaves. We could finally see beyond the trunks and leaves of the forest. Most of the trail was covered in dry leaves. I loved hearing the crunch, crunch as we walked along.John found these giant leaves that he collected the whole way. After carrying an armful for a while, he would drop them and start collecting all over again.
Our destination on our 1.7 mile loop was a place called Twin Arches. You never could see both arches at one time. The arches were very different from the arches we are used to in Utah, but in a lot of ways they were more fun.
There were all sorts of rocks at the bottom to climb on and explore. Elizabeth named this her "rainbow rock".
And I never knew that Rachel was such a mountain goat, always managing to get to the top of the pile of rocks.
Under one of the arches we even discovered cave that turned out to be a tunnel. The last part of the tunnel was a miniature slot canyon.
We climbed lots of steep stairs on our adventure. Some went down, some went up, but they were all steep. I'm grateful that someone went to the effort to put the stairs in because we couldn't have made in down cliffs or to the top of the arches without them. This particular set is going to the top of the arches.
Yes, we were able to walk on top of the arches. I had to put on my brave Mommy face as we were up there. I don't like being hundreds of feet up with drop offs on either side of me. Thank goodness the top of the arch looked like any other trail with dirt, rocks and trees, and was wide enough that I never had to look over the edge or be near the edge.
The view from the top was really pretty. You could see such a long way, something we don't get to do very often living in the land of trees.
I'm thankful that my husband and children enjoy being outside to explore nature as much as I do. It is a gift that has been passed down through the generations to us and I hope it continues to be passed on.
Everyone had a great time and we are all asking, "When we can go again?"
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