Hartwick Pines

One morning in mid-October, we woke up in need of a spontaneous family adventure. Nick was worn out from many long days of work, I was worn out from lots of solo toddler time and many nights of interrupted sleep, and we felt disgruntled and disconnected. So we packed up the car for a day trip to Hartwick Pines State Park, an outing we've been talking about for years but had never managed to take. It's only an hour away, but my last visit was an elementary school field trip and Nick had never been.

It was a beautiful fall day. Rain the night before left everything looking clean and saturated in rich colors, but the sun was out and the air was fresh and mild.

Maya, now quite a sturdy little biped, was inspired to do some trail-running. A ball to chase and kick helped keep her moving in a forward direction, more or less.

The park is home to the lower peninsula's largest remaining stand of old-growth white pines. These are some majestic trees.

 

We enjoyed spending the afternoon in the company of such stately old citizens.

It turned out to be the perfect time and place to introduce Maya to the game of hide and seek. Nick and I took turns hiding along the trail, while the other counted with Maya and then went on the hunt. As soon as we finished a round, she'd ask for more. "Mama 'iding!" she'd say, if Nick had just hid. Or "Papa 'iding!" if I'd gone last.

Nick won the prize for best hiding place.  

The end of the loop trail took us past the logging museum. Here are Nick and Maya peeking through a set of "big wheels" used to transport logs back in lumberjack days.

Maya cruised around, checking it all out and making her presence known with a voice that's getting more and more exuberant every day.

Is the volume of photos I took that day correlated, perhaps, to the fact that Maya was wearing a new Mama-made dress? Well, maybe.

Sewing notes: This is one of the more involved patterns I've completed so far, the Oliver + S Jump Rope Dress. I used two thrifted men's button-down shirts and cut out all the pieces in size 18-24 months shortly before Maya was born. This fall I realized I'd better get it sewn before she outgrew it. Luckily it's plenty roomy and should fit for a while.

We had a picnic lunch after our hike and drove home, but the day wasn't done. We dropped Maya off to play with our friend Meg while Nick and I walked into town for dinner. Not bad for a planned-on-the-fly day of family fun and reconnection!

By the way, avid readers may note that my posting frequency is unusually high lately. I'm attempting to catch up again, but no promises. 
If you are an avid reader who really wants the scoop, you might enjoy checking out the day-to-day happenings in the current photo album:  Fall 2015
Missed some earlier seasons? Find the whole set here.