For my family, spring brings with it an urge to get outdoors, breathe in some fresh air, and stretch some under-used muscles.  Last weekend we headed out to George Wyth State Park in Waterloo to hit the trails for some cardio/family time!

We ended up parking in the lot outside the campground, walked through checking out the sites (for later this summer), then hooked onto the paved multi-use trail.  Maybe a hundred yards in, a dirt trail veered off to the left, and on a whim I asked the kids if they wanted to try it out.  The boys (my son and nephew) jumped at the chance and took off, my daughter running alongside them.

This was soo much fun!  There was like…joy, radiating off those kids!  There were huge grins as they flew down the hills and made it back up, bounced off roots and managed to recover balance, even as they stopped to look back and check on each other (and us slow poke adults), or pick up their bikes and dust off their hands.

Along the way, we somehow managed to see (scare up) 3 deer, saw lots of big holes dug and several trees downed by beaver, and had an interesting conversation about litter, flooding, and water contamination.

Exercise, wildlife watching, environmental responsibility lessons, and family time; I’m calling that a good day!