Road trip!

I'm getting ready to go on vacation. We're making a significant detour, and I'm trying to see the silver lining in that detour as an opportunity to explore someplace new. Once we get to our final destination, part of it is quite familiar, but when viewed through my iNaturalist lens, it's almost as if I'm going to a whole new place. This is a good thing. In the past, walks were just walks spent going from point A to point B. Now, it's not about the destination, it's about the journey. Cliche, I know, but true. Today we went to Cedar Mountain in Newington, Conn. I knew that a trail ran from this road to that road, and a side trail brought you to an overlook. It was only a half-mile trail, just fine on this hot, muggy day. Well, let's just say that we never found that trail and instead wandered random trails on the side of the mountain, and we were all okay with it. We'll find the overlook another trip. My daughter, who is 7, thought is was a really good walk. My kids are learning to be much more aware of their surroundings wherever we go. They notice some of the smaller things that I might miss. My excuse is that they're closer to the ground. :)

As I'm planning my trip, I'm using iNaturalist to figure out where I might want to go and what I might see. I went to one state park last summer and did not have nearly enough time to spend there. This time, I'm prepared. I printed a list of what's been seen in the park because it's a pretty sparse list and many of the observations are mine. I even packed my hammock. I need to test it out while bird watching, of course.

Posted on July 16, 2016 04:50 AM by kellyfuerstenberg