~ My Old Stomping Grounds

While we were in Tennessee, my sister and I took our boys hiking to one of my favorite places in my hometown called Old Stone Fort State Archaeological Park. Besides being a really cool historical setting, it's the perfect place to enjoy all that God created.

The boys had a blast.

They searched for perfect walking sticks,

and threw rocks into the river.

They did all sorts of boy things.

They caught worms,

and climbed down into the old paper mill ruins.

and basically lived on the edge the whole time making mom crazy!

I spent the day saying things like:

"Don't get to close to that bluff!"

"I don't want to have to carry you outa here!"

"Don't get too close to the water or your shoes will get wet, and then you'll have to hike with wet shoes!"

"There could be snakes in there!"

"Don't push each other!"

"If Daddy were here I'd let you...(fill in the blank)!"

The best part of the day (for them , anyway) was finding frog eggs in the river.

The boys had jars. They went prepared to catch bugs, but once they saw the eggs, they emptied those jars real quick. They spent much of their time trying to scoop eggs into their jars. It amazes me how much time goes by and how creative they are when they are exploring and discovering nature.

My favorite part of the day - the sound of the river and the beautiful falls.

So peaceful!

It was the perfect place to take the boys!

And speaking of the perfect place, doesn't this look magical.

We never get any farther than this spot because it is the perfect place for imaginations to run wild. The fort itself encloses 50 acres and to hike the perimeter is over a mile long with another 2 mile trail after that. We never get to finish the trail because we love this little spot.

If I were a kid, I'd play here for hours. Oh yeah, I did. Well maybe not for hours, but my friends and I would go right to the small waterfalls, climb out onto the big flat rocks in the middle of the river and lay out in the sun.

The one thing I know for sure is that I did not appreciate it enough when I was a kid. Isn't that true about so many things. Oh the wisdom that comes with age!