We took a little day trip yesterday to the hills of Ohio. We haven't been for several years but after driving home on 33 (the scenic route) we decided we needed to make a trip back soon.
Well, soon ended up being just three days after our return from vacation. It was well worth the drive (which was about an hour)! We packed the car, a lunch, our nature journals, and set off for a day of hiking and exploring.
Our first stop was old man's cave. We ate a picnic lunch outside and then were off to do the mile or so hike. Not to bad right? Wrong! It wasn't the distance that did us in it was the stairs. So much up and down and William wanted to do EVERYTHING himself. Luckily the other kids are so much older and responsible so our eyes could focus only on the cliff drop offs and our little daring two year old.
We managed to see everything and leave without injury after hiking for about 1 1/2 hours and then decided to head to Ash Cave. I read it was handicap accessible and not such a challenging walk so it would be perfect for us. It was beautiful. The leaves are already starting to change and the sun shining through the trees and caves was magical.
One last stop! My kids have an obsession with mining for rocks/gems. We have been up to Olentangy Taverns one to many times and last fall we mined at the Smokey Mountains in Maggie Valley North Carolina, but still when they saw the sign for gem mining they were so pumped up and we gave in and let them do it AGAIN!
We will be returning to Hocking Hills soon. There is a zip line course that we thought looked awesome, canoe trips, several hiking paths we didn't make it to, and lots of antique stores Mommy wants to check out! I see a weekend get-away coming soon...
But, in all reality this will probably be our last Sunday hiking for a while because soon, in fact next weekend, our Sundays will be consumed with CCD, Sunday School, and Flag Football.
I feel my free time slowly slipping away...
Close-ups of my beautiful girls.
Doesn't Emma strike a cute pose?
Adrienne took tons of amazing pictures with her camera. I think she might be a photographer someday.
Emma looks so tiny. This photo really puts it into perspective.
This tree was so cool and the kids thought it was so neat to go inside.
Mr. Independent. I can't tell you how many comments I got from people "Wow, he sure has a mind of his own", or " I can't believe he is climbing on his own", "He's really working hard."
William was DONE after climbing what felt like thousands of steps. Here he is taking a little break.
Ash Cave was gorgeous!!! It was hard to capture the beauty and color of the rock formation but it truly was breathtaking.
And then it was off to their favorite pastime. Some treasures they found: seashell fossils, arrowheads, lots of gems, and shark teeth.
They grow some giant pumpkins in hocking hills. We saw one that weighed over 550 pounds!
2 comments:
Jenny, your pictures are gorgeous! I know exactly what you mean about feeling your free time slip away...I've had an anxious feeling in my stomach all day...ugh!
Where did they do the gem thing? I don't remember seeing that down there before.
We did Hocking Hills 2 years ago, and yes....time to go back after seeing your photos! It is the steep drop offs that scare me with the kids! Ugh! Glad you had a great time!
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