Like a rock

  Our latest adventure took us to Ijams Nature Center for our Saturday training.

If you haven't been to Ijams...go!!  It's really beautiful and there are plenty of great walking trails which now include part Mead's Quarry and Ross Marble Natural Area. 

 We started off as a group on the paved trails. Then, in almost an instant, part of the group disappeared (the runners stayed on the paved road as did a couple of the team members) while we were off on the trails. Our plan was to hike 6 miles or so with the idea that hiking less is equivalent to walking more. There's a good reason for that theory: Those trails were muddy...VERY muddy.

 Amanda and I slipped and slid all over those trails. We ended up in the area known as the "Sand Dunes" and it was simply stunning. Missy encouraged us to explore (we had some kids with us) so we walked off the trails and found an old switch for train tracks (when trains used to come into the quarry) we also saw foundations for old buildings and a lot of really cool bricks, bottles, heck even an old toilet.

 Our next adventure with Missy took us to a really cool area that reminded me of the television show,  "Lost".  It was this dead end on the trail that was surrounded by moss-covered rocks that went up as far as the eye could see. They were stacked in an almost ritualistic manner. I'm sure someone told me what this area used to be but I  have forgotten. Either way, it was really cool!! There were caves, ponds and all kinds of trees. Everything was so vibrant and green, it felt like being in a fish bowl. The kids who were with us had a blast climbing down to the bottom where there were caves and I even climbed on a few rocks to see things better. Of course, since I was a fan of "Lost", I kept thinking the "Smoke Monster" would come get me. Missy said it reminded her of an "Indiana Jones" movie. Either way, if you are in the mood to explore a really cool area, I would highly recommend this trail.

 Our next area was known as "Key Hole". This was another part of the old quarry and again, it was super cool. There are a lot of steps in this area, so if you can't do steps, I would take that into consideration.

 It was a shame Melody wasn't there but I kept her memory alive by saying "Congratulations--we've kept our heart rate up this whole time" or "You got this, girl!"

At the end, we covered about 7 miles, got covered in mud and covered a lot of ground in our weekly "therapy" sessions. In short, we had a blast.

 I hope you'll head out to Ijams and check out all the great things it has to offer. But please, bring an extra pair of shoes ;)

http://www.ijams.org/