100 Day Project 2021

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Let's Go Hiking!


We didn't have a normal Thanksgiving this year. We didn't have our meal on Thursday. We didn't have fancy dishes. We didn't dress up.

In fact, we had our meal on Wednesday. We used throw-away dishes and we ate with a little dirt on our jeans. 

It was the most wonderful Thanksgiving week. We spent our week at a cabin in the beautiful Ozark Mountains. Of course you can't go to the Ozarks with doing a little hiking. 


We all arrived in stages, so on the first day my daughter, her three boys, and I walked the Whitaker Point Trail. Our destination was a rock formation that juts out from the bluff that resembles a Hawk's beak. Thus it's called Hawksbill Crag. It overlooks Whitaker Creek and a huge valley. Above you can see my daughter and boys. Below, I'm with the boys and you can see the rock formation. Although it is a little scary knowing that you're out on a rock even if it is a wide rock. We didn't go near the edge and we made the boys sit down! I'll have to confess, I wasn't about to stand up!


On the second day, my son and his family arrived. We all hiked the trail to The Glory Hole. The Glory Hole is a waterfall cascading through a natural-made hole in a rock down into a cave. The trail is steep in places, especially going down to the bottom of the waterfall where the rocks are damp and slippery with leaves. None of us minded taking a few breaks along the way!


Gramps arrived in time for the hike on the third day. Lost Valley was our destination. This was my favorite trail. It's beautiful with so many rock formations, a waterfall, a cave, and unusual trees. The trail starts out easy, but as you climb becomes more difficult.


Our little Isaac, whose is two, walked with me at the beginning of this trail. We brought up the rear. Ahead of him is Jerry (my husband), Randy (son), Patty (daughter, on left), Aimee (daughter-in-law on right) and the three other grandson way up there in the distance. You can barely see them. Although Isaac walked as much as he could, his dad had to carry him through the difficult parts.


This trail has a Natural Bridge where water flows out of a tunnel into a reflecting pool. Remember I said it got harder. We actually climbed up the right side of the waterfall into the tunnel. I still can't believe I did that. That's me in the picture above, far left.


There's a second waterfall on this trail, Eden Falls. What happens when you put boys and water together? You get lots of rock throwing! As the rocks hit the water their sound echoed loudly around us. It sounded like small canons.


Rest time again!


The rock formations were breathtaking!  


One last picture, of me and the boys. You'll notice that our oldest grandson is not with us except on the first day. He and his dad hiked the Buffalo River Trail, a total of 39 miles. An amazing accomplishment for these two!  So proud of them both!


(picture taken by Jacob, my son-in-law)

Thanks for hanging around and getting to the end. There's just so much I want to share about our week. I'll be back with a few more nature details as soon as I'm able.

13 comments:

  1. This sounds like so much fun! My husband and I just walked a very short trail at Queen Wilhemina- and I told him I surely am out of shape!

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  2. What a wonderful Thanksgiving you had with your family and all those gorgeous grandsons! They are growing up! Little Issac did so well too! What a gorgeous hike you did with great vistas, interesting rocks and water for those boys to make splashes with their rocks!

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  3. Cathy, what a wonderful adventure - and a beautiful place! That was a Thanksgiving none of you will ever forget. Well done!

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  4. Wow, Cathy, what a great Thanksgiving week you had amid the beauty and spectacle of nature. I'd rather have that adventure than fine china and fancy clothes! What adorable Grands you have!

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  5. Beautiful area, and so great to see you and the grands. Gorgeous landscapes and fall.

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  6. Such a wonderful place and memories that were made. The boys will never forget their outing.

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  7. Wow that was a marvelous time you had. The views were amazing especially that rock formation. It really does look like a hawk.

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  8. I love this Thanksgiving celebration? Who says Thanksgiving has to be a gala event? This is one those boys of yours will remember forever for its adventure and fun. Kudos! (Mr. Peeps who and I spent the week in Charleston, SC, staying at a perfectly charming old in, exploring places we've never been despite our numerous visits to the area. Totally delightful!)

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  9. It looks and sounds like the perfect Thanksgiving. Someday we are going to do something like that for Christmas. We talk about it every year.

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  10. my kinda' thanksgiving, it's just all about family. i like dirt and paper dishes, let's make that a tradition!!! gorgeous images, i felt like i was right there with you and i had a blast!!!!

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  11. It's a beautiful place to hike. I wouldn't mind hiking if the view is as lovely as this.

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  12. amazing shots, i know the hubby & i have visited the Ozarks a couple times, i will have to see. so lovely. have a happy day! oh just so you know i hopped over from MarmePurl's blog. nice to meet ya. take care. ( :

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Thanks so much for stopping by!!