I always eagerly await the first warm days of late winter/early spring. These are my favorite days to go to zoos and parks, while public schools are in session and we have freedom to explore mostly by ourselves.
But these are different times. The zoo closed in March. Schools and a lot of businesses closed, and people suddenly had a lot of time on their hands. Time for hiking and biking. On my trails. In my happy place. The nerve!
I have been avoiding the parks because the word is, they’re crowded. But also, playgrounds are off-limits, as are picnic tables and benches. A lot of park restrooms are closed, too. Do you know how hard it is to avoid restrooms when you’ve got four kids and a Dr. Pepper habit? Basically impossible.
Thankfully, the always amazing Summit Metro Parks have, on their amazing website, a list of open restrooms. They also have a list of park areas that are less crowded. This makes it easy for me to choose a park. Do the wonders of the Summit Metro Parks never cease? I submit that they do not.
It was difficult to convince the kids to hike. Yes, I am the mom, and if I say we’re going hiking, it is so. But it is far less pleasant to hike with kids who know there will be lots of walking and no playground afterward. Melonie has even requested a shirt that says “I hate hiking.” How sweet.
Our first hike of the year was at Deep Lock Quarry. (You’ll remember this park as the setting for our brush with death last year. I assured the kids we would not be making that treacherous climb this time around.) The Quarry Trail is listed as a path less-traveled-by and one with a restroom, and we knew we liked the quarry and how to get there. Unfortunately we chose to go on the Towpath Trail.
It’s in the news that bike shops have experienced an uptick in business this year. I can personally attest to that. I think we were passed by 100 bikers that day. “On your left!” over and over again. We should have stuck to the rugged terrain of the bike-free Quarry Trail. That said, it was a really beautiful trail and one we hadn’t walked before.
Pictures!
Our second hike of the year was the Munroe Falls Metro Park Indian Spring Trail. I could immediately tell this would be a more pleasant hike than the previous one. There were only a few cars in the parking lot by the trailhead, and this trail was not bike-friendly.
Right away we saw why it’s called Indian Spring Trail. Check it out! Unsafe for drinking. Party poopers.
This trail visits Beaver Pond and Heron Pond. We only saw humans at Heron Pond, probably because the heron was off at Beaver Pond! I wish I had a better picture. We also saw turtles at Beaver Pond, but no beavers. I think we’re probably way too loud not to scare off beavers. Is beaver the plural of beaver? Hmmm.
As the kids walked ahead of me, suddenly they stopped and pointed and started talking in hushed voices. When I caught up, I saw what caught their eye. This bird, though previously discovered, has been named The Sam by one of my kids. At first Google I thought an oriole, but now looking back at my (terrible) pictures I think maybe an Eastern Towhee. Either way, it is a bird we had never seen, so it was exciting.
Downhill: a series.
The swamp had these giant man-eating plants. Thankfully no R.O.U.S.’s.
In spite of park limitations, cyclist prevalence, and whiny kinfolk, it has been so nice to ease back into our springtime routine. May there be many more hikes to come.
Note: I know many of you have already seen all these pictures of my kids and my face, but my mom hasn’t. This one’s for you, Mom. As most of them are.
The Coffeeless Mom 