The Hike

It was a gorgeous autumn evening in October.  Cool enough to wear a jacket and jeans.  Perfect weather for a hike.

Joe and I loaded the somewhat reluctant kids of ours into the van and drove over to the YMCA, where they have a perfect wooded trail filled with deer, owls, rabbits and other bits of wildlife.

I say "somewhat reluctant", because while Elijah and Isabel were not crazy about the idea of a family hike, Gabe was in his glory.  He filled his backpack up with binoculars, magnifying glass, a flashlight and a snack, donned his safari hat, and was ready to explore!  This picture says it all:

Just before we started out on the trail, Elijah looked at the clouds in the horizon and predicted rain.

"Not gonna rain til tonight", I said.

We found giant mushrooms, deer tracks, a group of deer, two rabbits, a gorgeous owl and gobs of acorns and walnuts before the first drops fell on our faces.

The sky grew dark, we started to walk faster, the wind picked up, we picked up our pace, the storm moved in and we broke into a run.  Gabe was convinced that we were in the middle of a tornado.  By the time we found our way back to the van, we were completely drenched.

What started out as the "best hike ever" quickly became "the WORST idea, Mom!".

It was a pretty memorable hike, though, one they're never gonna let me forget :)