When Kevin was a baby we visited Hanging Rock State Park with Ryan's parents and had a really nice time. Since we are probably moving next summer I wanted to go back one more time, and we finally had an unscheduled weekend with great weather.
There are several different trails there, but this time we decided to try the trail to Hanging Rock. The trail was described as a moderate hike, but it was a little more difficult than I anticipated. Most of the way was uphill, and as we got higher the trail was uneven stairs made of boulders and rocks, so that was challenging for the kids. But we kept encouraging them and they made it all the way to the top and back. We were very proud of them.
There were a lot of people and a lot of dogs. I was impressed by the many rat-sized dogs with bows in their hair that walked all the way up to Hanging Rock.
When we got to the top I felt like I was too tired to appreciate the view. Ryan was excited and wanted me to come see, but I just wanted to sit and process the fact that I finally finished climbing the mountain. Mainly I was freaking out trying to keep Kevin and Heidi from running right off a cliff. I think the stress of keeping track of the kids made it hard to appreciate the beautiful views as much as I normally would have. But it was a great view and it was nice to see so much of the sky for once.
On the way back Heidi said her hands were cold and I made the mistake of telling her to put her hands in her pockets, which meant she was trying to go down the boulder stairs with her hands in her pockets. She finally agreed that it would be better to keep her hands out so she could catch herself if she fell. At one point Kevin fell down some stairs and as I ran to him I was expecting to find him with a broken nose, but even though he stood up crying that he didn't want to go on this hike anymore, he didn't even have a scratch.
It was a lot easier on the way back since it was downhill. Heidi mostly stopped complaining and instead was saying, "This hike was so fun. But it was really boring."
Kevin was very happy when we stopped at Chick Fil A on the way home.
We went on several hikes this year. Most of the time when we do this I end up wondering why in the world we torture ourselves trying to drag our kids up a mountain, but after the fact it's mainly the good memories that stay. When Ryan and I got married we agreed that we wanted to go hiking and camping as a family, which was why I made a goal to go hiking more this year. I was thinking about it on the way back down the mountain, and I think we keep doing it because we want our kids to develop a love of nature and to know that it's important to be physically active and get away from the screens and electricity for a while. We were so proud of Kevin and Heidi for walking the whole way even though it was hard work.
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| Kevin and Heidi thought this branch growing sideways was pretty fun. |
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