adventure.

Saturday we woke to perfect weather. Sunny and cool. We told the boys we were going on an adventure, packed up the car and headed out. And oh, what an adventure we had.

Our first stop was a county park in the woods with a big sandy beach and spring fed lake.


The boys cast on an empty sunny beach with practice weights on fishing poles, saw where a spring bubbled up from the sand and fed the lake and watched the water lapping against rocky outcroppings.


We saw butterflies and dragonflies and birds.



After a lots of casting and playing, we told the boys we had to head out to the next place on our adventure, packed back up and hit the road.

Our next surprise stop was at our at our very favorite hiking trail at our favorite state park.


We hiked a steep cliff of rocky stairs down down down into a waterfall oasis. Filled with ferns, caves, a clear pool and rambling creek.

There was a lot of rock hopping, frog watching, stick finding and cave exploring.

And of course plenty of hiding behind the waterfall.


In this beautiful place fall has already arrived, and golden leaves drifted down around us the whole time we were there.


We walked down the trail beyond the waterfall oasis, hiking along a mossy fern covered creek bed.


We looked at animals, trees and moss. We crossed bridge after bridge, and climbed fallen trees. We felt bark, and moved fuzzy caterpillars to safer spots.


We hiked and wandered and went back to the waterfall. As we climbed the steep stairs out of the oasis, the boys said they never wanted to leave that magical spot. After passing creeks, watercress, fields of goldenrod and galloping horses, we headed out for our next stop.


We drove past Frank Lloyd Wright, stopped in a small town cafe, and visited another county park high atop a hill. The boys spun and climbed and ran and skipped.

We looked out at fields of gold from up high. We counted silos, we watched the patches of sun move across the landscape.


We listened to the wind.


As we headed back for our last stop near home the boys talked about their favorite parts of the the adventure. A sobbed, never wanting it to end. He wants to always take the scenic route. He wants an adventure day every week. My boys said it was the best day of their entire life. Of course they say that every day. And that is how I like it.

outside days.

There are some places we go where we all just feel so calm and happy and grounded. While we spend a lot of time OUTside, some places are just ... more. Devil's Lake is one of our favorite places - it is so beautiful. Due to too much road construction for awhile there, we haven't been as often as we like. Yesterday we headed up for the afternoon. It was a perfect afternoon - not too hot, not too cold, sunny, and with practically empty beaches and trails. The water is even still warm!




My oldest, A, has a hard time living in his skin sometimes - for lack of better words to describe it. But get him outside in a big empty beach, park or forest, and he is happy, relaxed, and focused. He and his brother spent hours in the lake, stacking stones, building rock sculptures, skipping stones and trying to capture little fish in rock rings to observe them. Pure bliss.



Of course we also had a picnic under a big purple tree, went on a hike, looked at the orange leaves falling under some of the trees, collected black walnuts (G is collecting tree seeds/nuts), watched animals and studied plants and moss, looked at of the amazing purple and pink quartzite rocks (created by a glacier 12,000 years ago), and just had a wonderful afternoon.


I know that having something like that in our backyard, far from close together houses, hard pavement and urban busy'ness would be so wonderful for all of us, but especially for A. Some day we hope to move out of town a little for acres and space -


Until then we will always go to find the places that make us feel happy and calm and grounded as often as possible. We are all happiest there, after all.

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exploring lakes & trails.

After days of rain, cold, wind and snow, we had a cool but drier day today. We immediately thought of visiting one of our favorite close-by state parks to play, explore and walk. We love finding new trails, but do visit local favorites often. It is so nice when spring arrives and the trails are open to us...and not knee deep in mud or ruts. Yay!


We go for walks in the woods as much as we can, and usually one boy or the other is carrying some sort of compass or GPS. They love to see direction changes, navigate, and plot their trail.


Some of our favorite spots (well, almost all of them) have not only walking trails, but a lake, stream or river with access to water. We aways end up exploring the rocks, beach and shore before heading into the woods or prairies.


While we do not yet have much foliage - everything is just now budding - we do have lots of small plants and flowers lining the trails to explore. In spring the boys love finding moss and seeing the interesting sporophytes.


We always find something interesting, even on familiar trails. Trees, insects, birds, leaves, moss, wild edibles, rocks, funky bark...never a dull moment.


Weekend hikes are even more special since we can all go together as a family - the boys always act as though they are taking Brice on a tour, especially if we have recently been on a trail without him.


So while it may have seemed like a pretty dark gray day for it, we really loved it. Fresh air, budding trees, busy birds, and a dry trail. Perfect!

April is Children & Nature Awareness month. Find an event, go for a hike, visit a park or just get out in your garden. There is always something to explore. If you feel like doing more, check out Children & Nature Network for events and activities, or visit a few bloggers who have challenges going on - Ordinary Life Magic Too and 5 Orange Potatoes both have all kinds of goodness happening to tie it all together!

beaches & waterfalls.

Another week, another State Park! We have our favorite places to hike, but decided that this fall & winter we are going to explore parks we haven't been to before. My boys don't like long car rides so we usually stay fairly close to home - but there are many new places to explore within an hour or so of us, so we are on a mission!


A few days ago we visited a popular park - but since it is mid-September we had the whole place practically to ourselves. We started at the beach...while September is usually pretty cool, we have been having hot dry weather all month which is perfect for playing in the lakes. The boys both love digging and splashing - they play for hours!


After heating up at the beach, we cleaned up and headed into the forest. We heard about a cool trail leading to a waterfall. The boys were VERRRRRRY excited to see it. As we hiked down steep stone steps the temperatures dropped...suddenly we were in a moss covered wonderland full of rushing waters, a big cave, and pools of crystal clear water.


The massive rock is split, so some of the water falls in front, and some behind, leaving a little nook behind the waterfall. We stayed there a very long time - both A & G were really interested in exploring all of the interesting rocks and caves and landscape. Such a cool place.

From there we hiked a beautiful trail called the Lost Canyon. The whole trail followed along the creek from the waterfall, weaving through massive rock crevices. We saw birds, frogs, tadpoles, water insects, and animal tracks.


Even though it has been hot it is mid-September so the leaves have already started changing and falling. As we hiked the trail went from mossy dark mysterious woods to a glowing golden wonderland of falling leaves and bubbling brook. A said he wanted to build a little cottage and live right there in the woods by the creek. I think that sounds like a great idea.


We love getting outside together - to play at a lake, hike, wander and just look for things. We also love exploring the different programs offered by our State Parks. One is a free "Wisconsin Explorers" program for kids - we picked up booklets at the ranger station and as we visit a few parks the boys can work on the projects in the booklet - once completed, we just mail it in and they receive a patch (they have been really into collecting patches lately)! Many parks also offer ParkPacks - backpacks for families to check out which are filled with interesting items to explore the trails and lakes and learn more about relevant topics such as water, forests, and prairie. Most states have programs with the State Parks Systems, so even if you are not from Wisconsin, check out your state DNR website to see what they have.

While summer is a popular time for camping and getting out to parks, we really love fall and winter. Cooler temperatures, no crowds, and gorgeous changing scenery excite us - and we love spending all of those hours as a family outside together exploring. I can't wait for the temperature to drop and see what the next season brings.