Nature Club

Today we had our monthly Nature Club meeting.  We met at a local hiking trail that we'd never visited before.  Aside from its proximity to the interstate, it was a beautiful area.  Didn't exactly see much in the way of wildlife, but the leaves were pretty and the weather was gorgeous.  The kids seemed to have a great time.  We started out our meeting with a discussion about beavers.  This trail was supposed to go by a beaver pond, but we weren't sure exactly where the pond was because it is all dried up.  We didn't see any evidence of beavers at all.  We did however find an old walking bridge that used to span the creek in that exact spot since the early 1900's.  The only part remaining is the wires that supported it.  It was interesting to read about the history of the town and times gone by.  Here are some of the highlights of our hike.

Off we go on our hike.  The trail is very nice and was covered in gravel most all of the way.  The city has done a great job with it.

 We did manage to get the kids to stop long enough for a group picture by the creek.

 The middle section of the trail had a really nice boardwalk over what I assume would be a wetland area during wet seasons of the year.  I think the beaver pond was in this area as well, but we couldn't be sure.

 Haley and Ryan stopped to admire the small waterfall.

 The kids seemed more enthused with the big dirt pile by the trail than the trail itself!

 At the end of the trail we managed to get the kids to pose for another picture on some fallen logs.

I thought this tree was really interesting in the way that it grew.  It was really tall and really curved.  Not sure why it grew this way, but it sure was neat.

I don't know if the kids learned much today, but we did get out and enjoy the gorgeous day, and certainly walked off some energy.  A good day all around!