A Glorious October Hike

Yesterday there was a break from the cold wet weather. It was beautiful! The boys begged me to take them hiking, and I agreed. There's no better way to spend a day! I decided to fit Outdoor Hour Challenge #2 into the hike. So during our drive to our favorite local hiking spot, Platte River State Park, we talked about using ears to hear, eyes to see and hands to feel while we walked. We also talked about some of the things we might see, hear, or feel. They were very excited to get started.

The first sound we heard was chirping crickets. The loudest sound was crunching leaves as we walked over them. We also heard (and saw) a hot air balloon and two trains!
Benedict felt tree bark. Some was rough, some was really rough and some was smooth. He noticed that the tree with smooth bark was much smaller than the others and concluded that tree bark must get rougher as the trees grow bigger. Emanuel felt squishy mud under his shoes. He also got to feel something new and exciting. Under the leaves he found some soft, fuzzy green moss. Of course, they weren't just listening and feeling during our hike- they were using their eyes too. They saw many different trees and leaves, a daddy long legs, and of course, the hot air balloon.

For this hike, we decided to try a different trail than usual. We were so glad we did. It was beautiful! After hiking through the woods on a bluff above the Platte River, we descended the bluff and came out in a meadow filled with leaves! The boys rolled in the leaves and threw them at each other. It was a lot of fun! Then

we crossed a bridge and walked along the river and train tracks for a few hundred feet before heading back into the woods. We finally had to turn around and head back because the sun was setting, but none of us wanted to. It was such a beautiful day for a hike and a great location. We cannot wait to go back to explore this trail further! In the meantime, here are a few more pictures.