Tag Archives: hiking

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.

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!

Lake Eufaula State Park ~Checotah, OK

LakeEufaulaA few weeks ago we were able to visit Lake Eufaula State Park.

We decided to take the Chinkapin Trail that is just across the road from the visitor center.

The trail runs pretty close to the shore of Lake Eufaula and was a nice hike.

chinkapintrailIt is an out and back and around 3 miles total.

We walked along the shore for a while though so we ended up getting more like 6 miles.

ninjasThese boys are getting too fast for me.

Especially when they are being Ninjas…

sign

throwMy boys love to hike along shore lines!

It is usually a very difficult hike since there are a lot of rocks and debris but they think it is a great adventure.

waterOnce my oldest pretended we were on the shores of Narnia the whole time.

log

climbing

climb

triumphTheir favorite thing is to make a hike more challenging.

I am worried about what my fitness level will need to be in a few years.

slide

walk

mapMy youngest found this rock and they were both convinced it would lead them to buried treasure.

My oldest was very sad that I would not lift the 2 ton rock he was sure the treasure was hidden under…

naturecenterThey have a nice small Nature Center at this park also.

objectsThe boys liked the table of things to touch.

look

workerThey also have a little Frogatorium!

greenfrogThey were a little low on frogs due to a sneaky snake that had found it’s way inside but the boys still really enjoyed it.

turtle

frogThis guy looks like one that camped out on my kitchen window last summer.

armidilloArmadillo!

play

merryThey do not have any long trails that are maintained and some of the park is a little worn down but it is still a nice place to stop.

They have a couple really easy, short trails so this would be a good place to take young children.