When I was in school at Auburn I did A LOT of camping. Mostly because it was cheap and there were always tons of us that went and we had a blast! I discovered during those years I spent in God's country (I'm talking about Auburn) that I loved being outside. Hiking, camping, anything. I even spent a summer in upstate New York as a summer missionary which fed the love for being outside. Now when I got married, it didn't surprise people to know that I married a man who loved to be outside and camp and canoe and hunt. I believe Brandon would live outside if he could. And then we built a house in a neighborhood and my idea of vacation became beach, beach, and more beach. And then if we had time go to the beach again. Right before we went to China to get Grace we moved to a house on 12 acres that bordered a wildlife refuge with a pond. Wasn't sure I'd like it at first but I have since rekindled that love for the outside. Most mornings you will find me on the porch drinking coffee looking over the fields, and in the evening after G is in bed I'll be on the back porch looking for what ever kind of life comes wondering out of the woods. So- this year, with the beach being what it is and everything, we decided to do something different. G is old enough now to do such things as hiking so we went for it.
This trip was mainly about hunting and scouting some things. What does one hunt in the heat of summer you might ask? Well, one hunts a new and better place to hunt next hunting season. With this in the back of our minds (or Brandon's mind) we set out for southern Illinois where it is just as hot as it is here in the Tennessee Valley! We explored Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge and Giant City State Park. G was ALL over it! I think we may have started something with this little trip! As you can tell, you can put the girl in the woods and she will STILL be girly. Even while she's climbing on rocks!
And when we weren't climbing on rocks we would find one to relax on. For some reason, I don't think G will require a tent when she camps. She would be completely fine sleeping on the rock!
This trail was absolutely gorgeous. There was no telling how old some of those trees were and the amount of times the topography of the land had changed. It was like a huge history and geography lesson wrapped into a short 1 mile stretch of land. On one rock we found this....
I wonder what this person was thinking when he hiked this trail. Did it look the same? Probably not. Was it as hot? Could have been. How tall were these trees then? I wondered what J.L. Parker was thinking when he was on this trail. Or was it even a trail then?
One thing I learned really quickly on this hiking excursion with Grace... the child has got to learn about safety and interpreting trail signs. We turned around for 5 seconds and she was almost 5 foot off the ground climbing a huge rock. I think rappelling will be in our (or her) future! Brandon went up after her and tried to have a conversation with her about why we just can't run at mock 10 up a rock surface.
And wherever Brandon went, G was close behind. Either screaming, "Wait up Daddy!" (We didn't see a ton of wildlife on this trip. Probably because of all the screaming and loudness coming from termite.)
This was, by far, the best trip we've taken as a family this year. I am already scopping out another state park for us to go to. And if we weren't planning on being in China next summer I'd probably be planning a trip to Montana to visit one of our National Parks. As in all things lately, God spoke something to me on that trail. We got to one part that was wet and muddy, and I tried, really tried, to problem solve with Grace and see which way she would pick to get to the other side. I tried to talk to her about the importance of keeping our feet dry (we didn't have on boots), it was next to a little drop off and trying to keep that in mine. After my monologue, which I'm sure Grace enjoyed, she declared, "I know the best way to go Mommy." To which she promptly, (and quickly) went right through the middle of it! Not the way I wanted her to go! I wanted her to go around the sides so that she wouldn't be muddy and that there would really be NO chance of the mud leaving it's mark on her. Well, that's just really not like life for us lately. Sometimes, the best way to go is right through the middle of life. Where, even though you might come out muddy, you always come out on the other side and the better for it. There are things that happen everyday that we deal with. Some from our past, some in our present, that God wants to use for his glory thereby leaving his mark on us where we can say, "Look what God did through that. Look at how God used that for His glory." There are some situations in my life right now that have left their mark on me. The Bible says that God works everything together for the good of those who love Him. I'm beginning to think that it doesn't necessarily mean for MY good. It could mean that something hard could work out for the good of Grace. Or Brandon. Or some other person. And that I am just the vessel. Then...it's all good. So who cares if we got muddy. A little mud hasn't ever hurt nobody!
And wherever Brandon went, G was close behind. Either screaming, "Wait up Daddy!" (We didn't see a ton of wildlife on this trip. Probably because of all the screaming and loudness coming from termite.)
This was, by far, the best trip we've taken as a family this year. I am already scopping out another state park for us to go to. And if we weren't planning on being in China next summer I'd probably be planning a trip to Montana to visit one of our National Parks. As in all things lately, God spoke something to me on that trail. We got to one part that was wet and muddy, and I tried, really tried, to problem solve with Grace and see which way she would pick to get to the other side. I tried to talk to her about the importance of keeping our feet dry (we didn't have on boots), it was next to a little drop off and trying to keep that in mine. After my monologue, which I'm sure Grace enjoyed, she declared, "I know the best way to go Mommy." To which she promptly, (and quickly) went right through the middle of it! Not the way I wanted her to go! I wanted her to go around the sides so that she wouldn't be muddy and that there would really be NO chance of the mud leaving it's mark on her. Well, that's just really not like life for us lately. Sometimes, the best way to go is right through the middle of life. Where, even though you might come out muddy, you always come out on the other side and the better for it. There are things that happen everyday that we deal with. Some from our past, some in our present, that God wants to use for his glory thereby leaving his mark on us where we can say, "Look what God did through that. Look at how God used that for His glory." There are some situations in my life right now that have left their mark on me. The Bible says that God works everything together for the good of those who love Him. I'm beginning to think that it doesn't necessarily mean for MY good. It could mean that something hard could work out for the good of Grace. Or Brandon. Or some other person. And that I am just the vessel. Then...it's all good. So who cares if we got muddy. A little mud hasn't ever hurt nobody! And here's my favorite picture from the whole weekend. A not so little, little girl who LOVED her first hiking trip!
P.S. I miss my jeep. I will seriously be thinking about this the next time we buy a vehicle. The jeep would have made the trip SO much better. Just saying.
