For Improved Mood

We cancelled our Fourth of July camping trip last week in lieu of a day full of Charlottesville activities, but we didn't want to miss out on our plans in Shenandoah N.P. After a good night's rest we headed up to the Skyline Drive and dropped Dan off with his bike at mile 65. He had 40 miles ahead of him of climbs and drops, twists and turns, and would eventually run out of water and have to stop at our pick-up at mile 105.

But in the meantime, the kids and I drove to the Ivy Creek Overlook so that we could make the hike to the the Spring on the Appalachian Trail. This hike had personal meaning because Ivy Creek runs down the slope of the Blue Mountains into Charlottesville right into one of our favorite natural areas to roam.

 We paused at the overlook to snap a beginning shot, but really I wanted to document A's outfit and camping hair. 

 Our kids are normal kids--they complain when they are uncomfortable, they try to negotiate their way out of work, and they are still developing their coping skills. But I take them out on trails to show them they can enjoy doing hard things. A 3- or 4- mile hike is no small accomplishment, but there is so much to enjoy on the way.

 On Friday we discovered supersoft patches of moss, a 4-foott black snake, and these fascinating beetles the size of my thumbnail. At one point I wondered if I'd get them moving again because they were all bent over the grass on the trail's edge calling out their discoveries.

At the spring it took all of two seconds before shoes were off. There is nothing better than cool water to splash at the turnaround point of a hike. The kids' auto-pilot turns on and they turn into little explorers noticing the swirl of the mud in one pool and the insect life in another. At one point after watching A climb some rocks further into the hollow I saw her head pop up and announce: "Mom, I've discovered a new world up here!" 

E was equally amazed and spent thirty minutes looking for something amphibious.

 We hiked back free of complaint and annoyance, spotting the Skyline Drive when could and anticipating our trailhead treats.

 These little trips are mood-improvers, personality-enhancers, problem-dissolvers. I feel so much gratitude for wild places close to home. And I feel so grateful that we haven't had any run-ins with poison ivy or rattlesnakes on romps in the woods.