GIRLS WEEKEND

While the boys were at the Cubaree Campout this weekend, Cora and I had a date night (a fancy dinner and glass bottle root beer at Rusty's downtown), finished decorating the house for Halloween, and scouted out a potential trail route for our upcoming Girl Scout hike (there was a LOT of blowdown due to the tornadoes last April, so we're thinking this will not be a good route for our littlest Scouts, or some of the parents/grandparents). She slept up in daddy's spot in our bed and got to goof off on her Kindle until late at night. She was sooo happy to have me all to herself for 30 hours or so and it made me feel pretty special.

(She thought that tree stump looked like the Upside Down...)

(It's always reassuring to find the orange blazes when you haven't seen one in a while due to having to go around big tree falls and jump over small ravines)

TROOP 3315 ECO-ADVENTURERS!

After reviewing the Leave No Trace principles and hiking safety rules, Jay and I led the girls (and their families) on a 3-mile hike after school today. We chose a different route than Cora and I had scouted earlier in the month, since that section was such a mess from the tornadoes, but we ended up having just as many setbacks on the alternate route... ditch crossings, a bit of time where we lost the trail, and eventually ending up on the original route somehow... No matter though - everyone had fun, nobody got hurt, and we all got some exercise while working towards badges. This is a fabulous group of kids and their siblings/parents are really supportive and involved, which makes adventures like this even easier!

Those of us at the back of the pack saw this gorgeous little snake (Midland/De Kay's brownsnake, Storeria dekayi) after everyone else kicked up the leaves (it was tiny - barely bigger than a worm!):

Lots of up and down and around to get to the other side (the road):

Jay found a lucky horseshoe... in a tree...

We finally made it out to the road (and quickly walked that last mile to finish before dinner!)

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN ADVENTURE

The school year ended last week, so we booked a cabin (Bear Creek Log Cabins outside of Mentone, Alabama) for the long weekend and took the kids on an adventure to Lookout Mountain (visiting Little River Canyon National Preserve, Cloudland Canyon State Park, and Untamed Mountain). It was the perfect little getaway with lots of hiking, waterfalls, and wildlife sightings. The hot tub on the back deck of the cabin didn't hurt either... Great way to relax and let go of the stresses of the school year and insanity that is May.

Cabin 5, we have arrived (right at sunset)! And they have a herd of goats!

After a quiet morning enjoying the peace of cabin life (and watching the goats from the front porch), we drove just 10 minutes over to Little River Canyon National Preserve (starting at Eberhart Point) and spent the day hiking, swimming, and sightseeing northward along the canyon until we hit the famous DeSoto Falls (where we took a backwoods trail to get below the falls and go for a swim!)

We were famished after all that hiking and swimming, and had heard about some good restaurants in the little town of Mentone, Alabama. When we saw this little cafe, we thought it would be perfect (and casual) for a group of dirty explorers... It turned out to be very fancy on the inside though, and VERY expensive. However, they let us in (though they did put us in the far back room with all the families with young kids) and we had perhaps the BEST meal we've ever had (steak for me, salmon for Jay, and delicious, well-deserved ice cream sundaes for the kids after their meals).

We started off day two with a trip to nearby Cloudland Canyon State Park (over the border in Georgia). We hiked down 600+ steps to get to the falls at the end of the main trail, then back up to the two other big falls. The kids loved rock hopping and splashing around. It's a truly beautiful place (and gave us a great workout!)

Side note, this is one of the parks Jay and I visited on our engagement camping road trip. We were here in August of 2003, right before getting engaged at Amicalola Falls the following day.

Despite a very long day of hiking, we booked the late afternoon tour at Untamed Mountain, home of Tigers for Tomorrow. Our tour guide started the foundation when he lived in Florida, and eventually moved the cats to northwestern Alabama after a couple of hurricanes. He and his wife run the place (with lots of other employees and volunteers) and they couldn't have been more impressive (patient and knowledgeable with the tourists, calm and kind with the animals). We learned so much, got up close and personal with lots of cats (and a bear), and even got to hear the evening roar-around of the lions following the initial howl of the wolves. It was very cool and we highly recommend it to friends visiting the area!

A hot tub AND a campfire - we LOVE cabin life!

Last morning at the cabin, followed by a return to the Eberhart Trail and more fun (and fishing) down in the canyon because the kids loved the spot so much! We'd given them multiple options (including two other locations we hadn't visited yet), but they knew a good thing when they saw it on day one!

We had a quick BBQ lunch on the way out of town and headed home for a quiet holiday at the house before starting the kids' busy summer schedule!