McCloud Nature Park ~North Salem, IN

While in Indiana, I wanted to be sure and check out some Nature Parks near my parents.

One of these is the McCloud Nature Park.

It is part of the Hendricks County Parks system.

trailsignsIt has 6 1/2 miles of trails and 232 acres!

shootingMy mom joined us for this hike.

trailmarkOne of these days I will get there when the Nature Center is open so we can check it out and get a map.

Yes, we got a little lost.

In my defence I took us the right direction and we could even see the vehicle!

A river just happened to be in between it and us…

riverBarely a stream really.

climbing

bridgeThere is a nice bridge for those of you that do not feel like swimming.

iceThe boys(including Nick) liked to test the thickness of the ice on the trail.

He broke through.

I went around.

maplesyupThey have maple syrup demonstrations on the weekends in February!

They were going on the weekend we were there but my sisters wedding was the same day.

If you live the area though, you should check it out!

pathwayI took the angled picture on accident but liked it.

I do my best work when I am not paying attention apparently.

familyI took advantage of my mom hiking with us to get a shot of all of us!

This is a beautiful park and I would love to visit in the spring!

They have so many beautiful trees!

Be sure to check it out!

Nick and I were able to check out the Sodalis Nature Park by ourselves the next day!

I will share that one tomorrow.

The Gateway Arch and The Museum of Westward Expansion ~St. Louis, MO

archcloseOne of the main reasons I wanted to take an extra day on our trip to Indiana was so that we could stop in St. Louis!

The last time we stopped was 4 years ago!!!

aarch13This was from that trip.

It was taken at an old church near the arch.

I was hoping to take a new picture but it was under construction.

Look at those babies!

For some odd reason my boys do not even remember this trip…

closearchWe pass the Arch twice and year but after so many trips past it you kind of forget to stop and actually enjoy it.

After seeing this blog post at Currently Wandering I was determined to stop this time.

Really go check out her blog, she is traveling with her family in an airstream and has some amazing travel info!

archbwThe Arch is so amazing close up!

vistorcenterI had not been in the Visitor Center since I was a child!

face

museumThe place was pretty empty so we got to just wonder around.

bullThe fake animals are the only thing I remember from when I was a child.

sod

I found the original Earth bag house…

Look it up.

archWe did not go to the top this time around.

I did make everyone walk around the whole Arch just to make sure I did not want yet another angle for pictures though.

capitolThere’s was more hobbling than walking from Nick and I, thanks to the hike the day before.

aboveNext time you drive by be sure to stop!

Compton Trailhead Ponca Wilderness Area ~Compton, AR

trailheadWe had an extra day on our trip up to Indiana for my sisters wedding so we stopped by the Compton Trailhead in Arkansas.

We had a gift certificate for a hotel in Branson, MO that we needed to use so we planned to stay the night there after our hike.

This trail is also called the Hemmed-in Hollow Trail.

stepsIt is very strenuous.

Pretty much straight down for over two miles.

In fact my husband hurt his knees the last time we did this hike.

Since he has been doing so much better and has been doing distance running I thought he might enjoy taking it on again.

madeitHe and the boys decided we should run down.

Ouch.

views

moss

silly

signsWe went down to the falls and river.

little

upYou can tell I was little tired from the running.

Thankfully they did not run the whole time or I would have been in trouble.

hemmedinfallsHemmed-in Hollow.

rocks

fallsThe scale is just so overwhelming.

It is beautiful.

pool

boysandIThese boys are always happy to see a river.

water

atbuffaloI really enjoy the Buffalo River, it is just so beautiful.

buffalo

beach

leaves

rocksthrowing

jump

up2What goes down…

usOverall we were really sore(Nick and I at least, the boys did not even understand why they would be sore) but no injuries.

I would say we finally conquered this hike!

Although I would not mind being in a little better shape the next time so I do not feel like I am going to die going back up!

I think the total miles were around 6 since we went to the river also.

I have read that it is over 2000ft elevation change down and then of course back up again.

The boys did amazing on this hike!

They are really starting to push me!