Our Hiking Adventures

     Brian and I found a hobby that we both LOVE to do together and that would be HIKING!  We are getting super into it after visiting West Virginia.  Every time we are in the woods and around nature we get all giggly and excited and we love to exercise- it's truly a win/win.  So we signed up for two challenges:
1.  The North Country Trail Challenge which you can read about here
2.  The Rachel Carson Trail Challenge which you can read about here

We are really motivated to earn these patches if we complete these challenges! 

We really want to train to do a long 18 or 32 mile hiking challenge- we have missed all the ones around our area but there is always next year!  (one of our goals is to do one of these!)

I was thinking about blogging our hiking trips.  I usually only bring my cell phone and my polaroid camera because I scrapbook/keep track of our hikes in a really cool little journal so the photos are NOT the best quality but I'm thinking about lugging one of my better cameras around with me so I can get some really nice nature shots.   That got me thinking of blogging our hikes and I think it would be fun to share it on here!

We have done three hikes since signing up for the challenges so I will write about all three of them in this post then the rest will be separate posts. 


-Our first hike for the challenge was in North Park on the Rachel Carson Trail- we ended up on a really beautiful section of the trail with a creek - we love to be near water on trails!  We spent a good amount of time exploring and enjoying the scenery instead of actually hiking but we did about 4.5 miles total and put that on our trail log! These are a few of my photos I took with my cell phone during our hike:

     -Our second hike was on the North Country Trail and we picked up the trail at Moraine State Park.  We hiked a little over 4 miles and the trail was right around the lake so it offered beautiful views!  It was an easier hike than we were use to as it was pretty flat and not very challenging - but that's okay too!  We plan to go back and do a different section of the trail this weekend. 

Again, sucky cell phone photos but hey- it is what it is.


     -The last hike in this post was our first ever night hike and it was a group hike lead by a guide for the Rachel Carson Trail - so we got some more miles in for the RCTC!  We met at the park at 9pm and hiked until 11:30.  It was titled, "Full Moon Summer Hike" and it was pretty epic!  We did about 5 miles total and it was under the full moon (mars was out and very bright too- I think it was the closest to Earth in a long time) and there was lighting in the distance so it made for an erie feeling.   We all had flashlights and headlamps!  We ended up hiking right behind our guide and got to talk to him a bit about any pointers he had.  He was in his mid 60's and could really move- I did wonder if we could keep up with him!  He told us how to read the blazes on the trail (there is a little bit of science there!)  and what headlamps to invest in if we wanted to do more night hikes.  It was really a unique hike- you would shine your flashlight into the woods and see 20 glowing eyes staring back at you!  The deer were EVERYWHERE! 

Once we got back to the park, they had snacks waiting for us and the guide even offered us some beer- it was really fun!  We totally passed out for the night when we got home!  I tried to film and take some photos but it was really hard when walking and taking photos with just a flashlight in hand in the pitch black- so I did my best to document it below!

Here are some videos from the NCT in Moraine as well (very short clips):

  I will be sure to keep updating the blog with our hikes, I know I have kind of fallen off the blog wheel but I'm going to try to keep up with it a little better ( I think I say that in every post! lol)

Hope you all have a great week and see you all soon!

Clarity.

"Recognizing that people's reactions don't belong to you is the only sane way to create. If people enjoy what you've created, terrific. If people ignore what you've created, too bad. If people misunderstand what you've created, don't sweat it. And what if people absolutely hate what you've created? What if people attack you with savage vitriol, and insult your intelligence, and malign your motives, and drag your good name through the mud? Just smile sweetly and suggest - as politely as you possibly can - that they go make their own fucking art. Then stubbornly continue making yours"-Elizabeth Gilbert (Big Magic)

I was on the fence about this photo.  I really had a hard time even posting it.  But since I have been reading Big Magic, something in me has been inspired.  I swear, read the book.  I beg it of you! I have taken way too long to get through it but I have been taking notes on the pages and re-reading the same paragraph over and over and folding pages over as reminders to go back and read them again.  I am just obsessed.  READ IT!

This was also taken when we were on our vacation at Conneaut Lake.  I can't say it's my favorite but it's something (in Big Magic, it states that putting something out there is better than putting nothing out there).  I suddenly have so many ideas flooding into my head for new photos that I can't wait to dive in.  I felt a little standstill for a month or so.  
This is my next photo (#4) in the oracle series.  "Clarity" is to represent clearing of the mind and getting your head out of the clouds.  I hope you enjoy it!  I've been having a hard time with life lately so expect more photos - I have to create when there is chaos in my life- it's my way of staying sane (and control something) ;)

Before and After

 

Also- here are some behind the scenes of Chance NOT wanting to participate at all! He was not interested in the camera one bit that day ;) Side note: I don't know what I would do without my dog.  He's so very special to me.  I just love him so!

Thank you for reading!

Recap Post- Painting, Conneaut, Lily Dale and Bear Getting Skunked.

So I think this is going to just be a recap post as I feel I have a lot to update.  I keep meaning to sit down and post but there is always so much going on, sometimes it's hard to find the time.   So - My Sister and I decided to work on updating her dressers that she purchased and regretted from Craigslist.  We decided to do an antique look and went at it.  We completed one piece and am almost done with the other two- all we have to do is sand and seal the long dresser and the nightstand and we will be done! I absolutely love how they are turning out and it was great Sister bonding!

She is such a goofball and I love her!

We just finished our summer vacation at Conneaut Lake.  We went the week of August 20th and I really enjoyed being there for the eclipse - I didn't get any fancy photos of it but it was just surreal to be there, outside, to take it the surreal feeling.  I actually took out the kayak and enjoyed the eeriness of it all out on the water.  For once, I didn't take a lot of photos of our vacation.  I got a few of the family and a few of the dogs but I didn't really feel like snapping a whole bunch.  I truly just wanted to enjoy not having a camera in my hands. Though- I did do some photos for my oracle deck and will have to wait to post those until I find some time to edit them- but they deserve a separate post anyways.  

Yes, this was our friends and family dancing on the beach during the eclipse to the song: Total Eclipse of my Heart.  That was all my sisters idea, again- she is too funny! <3

My Mom and the boys!

My Dad taking photos :) 

Oh and I picked up some paints at Walmart (lol, I know!) and did some watercolors on the rainy cold days when we couldn't make it to the beach.  The weather was kind of ...eh. 

 One of our only nice days!

My Husband and my Mom!

And now to the best part of the updates: 

My sister and I had planned on going to a place called Lily Dale, NY for a while now and she made plans with me to get a reading from a medium on Saturday the 26th!  The woman, Carol Gasper, has been doing readings most of her life and had connections with Iceland so we were immediately drawn to her! 

Here was her cottage, creepy right!?

We had a friend of my sisters come along and my husband and we got to walk around the little town.  I have to say  - it was an expensive trip.  It's only a little more than an hour from Conneaut so the drive wasn't bad but it was 15$ PER PERSON to get into the town.  Then however much the medium charges for a reading.  Carol charged us $80 but it was a long time.  We each were in with her for at least an hour to an hour and a half.  Some of the other mediums charge $100+ per 30 mins.  I don't want to get into details about mine or my sisters readings but let's just say- I'm still skeptical (even though I want to believe). Though my Grandmother and Grandfather were supposedly present and if it was real, it was truly a special meeting.  If you want to learn more about Lily Dale - you can watch the documentary filmed in 2007 so it's a little dated, but still relevant: No One Dies in LiLy Dale. 

I would go back but I don't know about getting another reading.  I do have more interest in Tarot and would prefer a card reading.  I feel a lot of closure with people who have passed in my life and have no reason to reach out to the other side yet.  Maybe someday but not at this time.  I wish they would be allow to read tarot cards there!  

Even if you don't get a reading, the town itself is incredible and the homes are so beautiful! 

 I purchased two quartz crystal points a moonstone and some incense at the Crystal Grove :) It was an adorable, really awesome store that allows you to purchase some very unique things!

My Sister getting ready to go in for her reading!

We did stop in the coffee shop for some food for lunch- I have to say, their salad was really good with a homemade dressing! 

They also have a fairy trail that was pretty unique.  The woods were beautiful and had a very strange feeling while walking through them.  

So, there is my update :) I hope everyone is enjoying the start of September.  Fall is my absolute favorite season but I strongly dislike what comes after: Winter *gags*.  I can't wait for the cool weather, coffee, pumpkins, Halloween, Haunted Houses, Bon Fires...ahhh I LOVE FALL! <3 


Oh and I almost forgot... Bear got skunked the other day: 

We have cut down the trees in the back yard because we are getting a fence put in mid September.... of course we had to have this happen right before the fence went it... 

 So the skunk was in the yard at 11 pm when they went out for their last tinkle of the night... Bear ran after it- I truly didn't see it or I would NEVER have let them out.  We just had a warning that there were a lot around that had rabies.  Well, before I even knew what happened I was outside trying to do something to not make the situation worse.  I saw the skunk after I saw Bear chasing it through the yard.  I didn't know at this point if he got sprayed or if Chance did either.  Chance is scared of everything so he didn't really get involved with it.  I started to scream for Brian who had just laid down for the night- people probably thought I was hurt or in trouble- that's how loud I was screaming for him.  I finally pulled Bears leash around the skunk and got him inside since the skunk didn't show any signs of running away or even leaving the yard.  Now our back porch started to smell and I knew he was skunked.  I inspected him and Chance to make sure no one was bit or scratched.  In the 5 years I have had Chance I have never had to worry about having anything in stock for an emergency de-skunking.  Well, we had nothing at home to help and Brian already took him down to the sinks in the basement.  Our entire house smelled awful!  I have smelled skunk before when I have been driving or maybe throughout the neighborhood but never this close.   It was so strong I vomited...twice.  I decided to be the one to drive to the closest store that sold de-skunk shampoo, tomato juice and the peroxide mixture everyone recommended online.  Problem? Yes.  Walmart was 40 mins away and we had work in the morning.  At this point it was midnight.  We both decided we were not going to work the next day.  I drove out to Walmart, picked up everything that was recommended and $40 later was on my way home to de-skunk our little Bear.  We were up until 2:30 am and the house smelled awful.  The entire next day we cleaned and de-skunked - it's finally starting to get back to normal though Bear, 4 baths later, still has a little stink to him.  I hope we never ever have to deal with this again.  Though the best part, they weren't hurt.  These dogs are our lives.  They mean the world to us.  Luckily Chance stayed out of the way and didn't get sprayed.  I hope none of you ever have to experience that either if you have dogs and if you do have them- stock up on an emergency kit- just in case! Anyways - that concludes my update post, hope you enjoyed! 

Thank you to all who read this :) <3