Fall Hike

It was Sunday morning, and we were sitting in the parking lot at Church, early for once and looking to fill a few minutes before heading inside.  Brad had mentioned earlier that this weekend was supposed to be the peak weekend for fall color, and I knew he was interested in taking a drive to see the leaves. As we were sitting there wondering what to do for the next fifteen minutes, he suddenly threw out the idea of skipping Church altogether and going for a drive up north. Now usually, I would have stopped him dead in his tracks with a neverending list of all the things we had to accomplish that day before Monday arrived. But for some reason, I heard this little voice telling me to be spontaneous, take a chance and have some fun, so I quickly said ok before I changed my mind.

To make a long story short, we headed out at 11 am and ended up driving 3 1/2 hours to Duluth.  The colors WERE absolutely gorgeous all the way--there were moments that were truly breathtaking. Once we arrived, we decided to take a hike at Split Rock Trail.  Neither of us had ever done this hike before, and we haven't done any hiking that I can remember with all three kids. We just decided that we would walk a little ways into the woods until the kids got tired and then we'd head back.  Little did we know that all THREE of our children would complete a 4.5 mile hike all on their own with not an ounce of complaining the entire time! And this hike was not flat--jutting rocks, tree roots, and slick sand met us every step of the way. There were tons of little wooden bridges and areas where you could literally fall down the side. But our boys were in heaven! They couldn't wait to turn each corner and see what would be next on the path. They had so much fun, and it was so beautiful, and I was so very thankful to have experienced this with my family. What a joyful day!

We didn't finish the hike until after 6 pm, at which point we had to eat dinner and then make the trek back home.  Needless to say, we didn't arrive at our door until after 10 pm, but it was SO worth it!  As you will see from the many many pictures I took, this was quite a special place and one we will be going back to for sure!

beginning of the trail

and we're off!

happy little hiker
(I know his hair is terrible--we've cut it since then!)

this strong man led the way the entire time

broken bridge

a chair made from stones near split rock

split rock

Besides the creepy black and yellow snake that made all of us scream, the day was absolutely perfect! These are the moments we will always remember as a family, and I can't wait to make more of these fun memories with my little guys!