Towering Pines Trail

The hike begins!

Brayden is being pursued by Sasquatch (and a dog). Run Brayden, Run!

Nana, the baby herder. This is no ordinary sheep, Bo Peep.

Little bit cool today (30's), but we just had to get in some hiking. I bought a book at the visitor's center at Pinnacle Mountain State Park called Arkansas Dayhikes for Kids & Families (105 Easy Trails in the Natural State) and it seems that we have about 100 trails left to do with Brayden. The book listed "Towering Pines Trail" at Lake DeGray, so we thought we would go out today and hike it. Now we only have 99 trails left to do; I just hope the weather doesn't get much colder.

The pictures below is what Brayden does on a hike when there are no rocks to throw into a body of water. . . he kicks pine cones. Yes, another gene found on the Y-chromosome.

Pinnacle Mountain

Pinnacle mountain is going to be one of my biogeography field trips this spring semester. I was even able to make arrangements for a short float trip on a small river that empties into the Arkansas River. We should be able to see some aquatic animals and plants. Pinnacle mountain is actually part of the Ouachita mountains, but I am going there to show the students the Arkansas River Valley region. As you can see, Brayden seemed to enjoy the trip as much as we did and I am looking forward to him getting to go on many more field trips with me and I hope some day Brody will live close enough to us that I can take him with me as well.

Low Water

Here is a bay that we use to fish on Lake DeGray. I have never seen the lake so low. The bay is on your left across from the golf course as you enter the state park. Notice the trees with the blocks attached to them; you can see them all over the shore of the lake. For those who don't fish, these are sank to give fish a place to hang out and create a good fishing spot for those who know their location.

Chalk it up to fun!

Well, I am out for Christmas break and that means I can spend some time with my little buddy. I knew the chalk was going to be a big hit ever since Nana bought it for him. We just kept forgetting to give it to him and when we did remember it the weather would be bad. But even though it was a little chilly today, we gave the chalk to Brayden and we all had a blast coloring and drawing all over the back patio. I am looking forward to spending a few days with my buddy, so I will keep you all posted on what we do next. Right now he is napping.