Shenandoah Before Autumn's Change

Over Labor Day Weekend we took our kids up to Shenandoah National Park to hike to Hawksbill Summit, the highest point in the park, for a 270 degree view of Shenandoah. 

It was on this hike that a new curiosity started to grow. I wonder which of these kids of ours will have my love of the outdoors, my need for time on trails and journeys on foot. I'm taking notes on what I see in them and what they say, and I am wondering how I can nurture it in all of them.

 A week later we went up to camp to Shenandoah to camp in the rain for a night. As is always the case, campfire dinner was spectacularly perfect, and the sky opened up with lightning sometime around midnight.

 Takedown in the rain isn't too fun. Thankfully, we just had a little tree rain and nothing more by the time we were packing up.

 (I can't remember what they had in their mouths. But apparently it was funny.)

 September might be the perfect time to camp in Virginia. In spite of threatening rain and wind the temperatures are lower and we sleep more easily at night. Things were still really green, so I had my kids jump out at one of the overlooks to get a pre-autumn color shot. 

 We helped this little stick bug escape from the side of our car and headed home, another quick camping trip under our belt.