The day was beautiful and sunny for December. There was no wind with temperatures in the mid-forties. We decided to drive down to Matthiessen State Park with our dogs, Charlie and Lillie. We often hike with our dogs. Some trails are narrow and difficult to navigate when passing other people. However, the trails here we found to be wide enough to pass others with little challenge. Also, there were plenty of work arounds where we could be on one side of a stream while other hikers could pass across the way from us. Or, we could be on an overhead trail while they were on trails below. Or, they could be on trails while we were on off the trail trails…
Whoo hoo!! It is all downhill from here! This is good when hiking…Dog butt bonus!Charlie looks forward to crossing yet another bridgeforgotten bench or full on blend with nature? Horses allowed…so Charlie is on the right trail, lolThe guys taking a breather after finishing business
Hydrate!!! It is important to hydrate when hiking even in cold weather. This includes the dogs too! We enjoyed a cranberry raspberry juice blend. The dogs had water.
Water break! Oops forgot to pack the dog dish – left it in the car. No worries, use a clean dog poo bag to hold the water. Watch out overhead!!Oh my! A Karen!! Check out this face!We call this the face formationHouse on the HillOr, is it house in the woods?Enrique waits for Patty and Lillie to catch up!Well placed stones for muddy daysOMG! Squirrel!!!Lillie looks ahead to see how well we are keeping up with the guysLillie in deep sniff mode…Charlie trained her well…Wide trails…hey, wait does that tree to the right look like a giraffe’s face?Map Check! But, check out the way the sun is hitting the trees in the background!!Enrique and Charlie up aheadCave entrances down belowHikers entering the caves down belowSunset warning us it is time to leaveOh great the end has an uphill climb…Dusk is settling in now.Made it to the top!! Yay!Moonshot! Those of you who follow me on Facebook know this is my latest photography endeavor.Enrique reviews the map and reflects on where we hiked today.This education station identifies local birds we can see in this area…some of them hang out in our backyards. Any look familiar?Hunting?! We saw this sign after our hike. Guess we were on the right paths…Plant Identification Station we found after the hike…good thing we know what poison ivy and oak look like…
We ended our hike with a hearty Omega 3 trail mix for Enrique and Patty. Charlie and Lillie enjoyed their favorite kibble blended with wet cat food. Then, we spotted an owl. Bonus owl footage here!!
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