Escaping PA

Karl ended our last blog post with the statement: "Emotions are running high, money is running low, and we are running away. Until next time." While emotions are still running high and money is still running low, germs from hanging around people again were higher and our outdoor-sy immune systems were running lower. So, the whole "we are running away" statement didn't exactly happen how we planned.

We did try to immediately run away after our covert festivities in Pittsburgh.  Going as far as inviting any friends or family to join us, we made the quick drive over to the closest National Park to our home town: Cuyahoga Valley National Park, in Ohio. But, with our spur of the moment travel style and avoidance of any parks during the weekends due to crowds, we were there in the middle of the week. Arriving midday, we took a nap at our campsite outside of the park (not realizing that the feeling of exhaustion at this point was a precursor to being ill) and then after the sun went down we joined Rangers for a Moonlight Hike by the eerie glow of a full moon hiding behind wisps of clouds in the night sky.

It was cool, quiet, peaceful, and dark (yet not dark enough to warrant the use of headlamps or flashlights) and the sounds of the shuffling feet of our group blended with peepers and gurgling waters and wafts of wind in the night.

Perfect way to spend a night. Until the early hours of the next morning had Karl waking with a severe head cold and congestion. And the sickness sets in.

It is Karl though and he insisted that he was fine to go explore, so we took the morning to hike the same tow path we did by moonlight the few hours before to check out the views with  daylight to see by.  Looking up we had snakes in trees, woodpeckers tapping away, buzzing of beehives in full force, and birds of prey soaring above.

And looking down, ducks and geese glided along, frogs hid amongst the grasses, and turtles (from snapping to red ear sliders) kerplunked in the water.

After just a few miles, Karl was feeling worse, not better, and was really dragging (and that never happens) so we went back to the car to seek out short-from-the-car excursions to conserve his energy.
Stopping at a small waterfall, Blue Hen Falls.

Next, since we have been to Cuyahoga National Park before (previously we biked the tow baths, and I would highly recommend that!) we knew it was the time of year for the nesting colonies of the Great Blue Herons. So, we went to the Bath Road Heronry to check out the rookeries from the side of the road.  At first glance, you see something like this:

Trees and power lines, but those trees have a lot going on... So you look closer.

And even closer, you see dozens of nests and fluttering wings, and calls for feeding. I could have stayed and watched these magnificent birds and their numerous nests for hours. Losing count (because I am easily distracted by cool photo opportunities) I gave up trying to sum up the total of nests within my eye sight, but according to Cuyahoga Valley National Park's website, there are over 140 nests! Here are some examples:

While I was blissfully snapping away, Karl was snotty and getting more miserable by the minute so we decided to begin heading out of the park.  Thankfully, our forgetfulness that other people don't have the luxury of just taking a day to go to a park turned out for the best, because we cut the time here so short. Yet, even with that said, we couldn't resist one last stop at the boardwalk along the Beaver Marsh.

While we weren't lucky enough to see an actual beaver, we were surrounded by beautiful marshlands (all of which used to be a junk yard) and we made friends with a bird.

For a National Park that is once again surrounded by so much development and cities, it is surprising how much you can feel like you are really escaping into the wild refuge with these creatures.  Yet, the only thing Karl wanted to escape from was how horrible he was feeling and with Pittsburgh being so close we slunk back home to hide and heal.

Good thing we did, because two days after Karl was feeling crappy, I decided to join him (apparently we can't do anything without the other one, including getting ill).  So, we hid away, watched a lot of G.O.T., ate lots of comfort food, and piled up many tissues. Honestly, it was probably the flu and it sucked. BUT, I will admit, I was super proud of the fact that this was the first time we got sick on the entire trip! Let's hope we keep future ailments at bay.

Fast forward a few days, and while there are lingering symptoms from our "down time" the itch to get back on the road again was stronger. Taking advantage of being back near our old stomping grounds, our first day back out we decided to stop at a climbing spot, Breakneck.

As we approached the rocks, Karl begins talking about how we used to be intimidated by places like this before our trip.  And how now though, these east coast rocks look, well, like home. They aren't terrifying to behold, with their shorter heights and mossy covered edges especially compared to some of the climbing spots we roped up on over the past few months. No, these walls no longer turn me into a bundle of nerves just gazing at them, but that does not mean that they still aren't a challenge.  They still kicked our butts, especially since our bodies were not happy with our attempt to jump right back into our usual routine right after a week of infirmity and lungs still plagued with phlegm. While we may not have had the best climbs, we did get a close up birding experience.  For the few hours we were there (we had the whole place to ourselves) we watched a momma bird fly around us, determine that we were not a threat, snag bugs from the moss around us, and then go up the rock wall into a crevice to feed her newly hatched chicks.

After our climbing turned birding escapade we took a few hours to drive towards Indiana, PA mostly because our friend Kirk S got to see us way back in October during our trip, but it was in Almont on a hunting trip and without Christine.  Just assuming, but I'm pretty sure Christine itching for some catch up time as well with the addition of bonfires (and steak over the fire dinners), horse (and donkey) bonding, and birthday wishes (Happy 30th Birthday Christine! So glad that we got to spend your day with you)! There are way too many photos of our short time hanging out with S & Christine, but here is a hint of the happenings.

From Central PA to Upstate New York we were off to bug someone else that we visited at the very beginning of our trip, Karl's cousin, Becca! Last time we visited her it was in Helena, Montana this time it was at her current place of employment as a project leader with the SCA/Americorp-Adirondack Corp (honestly, not sure what her job description actually is as I just stole that from her FB profile page, but no matter the title she is badass awesome, as always) in the Adirondack Mountains.

Seriously, every time we get to catch up with Becca, it is fun and fueled with conversations of shared passions.  Fun fact, the past 4 times we got to cross paths and hang out has been in 4 different states! One of the best things Becca does is peak our interest in doing cool things in the areas around where she currently resides. This time around she recommended a short hike up Blue Mountain, with a fire tower offering sweeping views at the end (good thing the views were epic to make up for the fact that the black flies were out in force!).

Continuing with the East coast state trend, why not hit up more people who claim to still like us (even if we are stinky) and see a few more cool spots? Next stop = Avon, Connecticut! Here we descended upon one of the busiest retired ladies I have even met, Karl's Aunt Kathy.  From her "glass class" where she makes stunning shards of glass submit to her will and the end result could be anything from lamp shades to stained glass window hangings to wise owls (like this guy)...

...to making chicken salad for the next party she was invited to. She never seemed to stop but would always offer a place for us to stay and somehow managed time to chat and laugh between it all.  Then at Aunt Kathy's there is Karl's cousin, John and his energetic and entertaining kids... Amelia, Katie, and Biscuit (yes, I include the dog!)

Seriously, this family doesn't seem to stop between softball games and swim meets and hikes and dog shows. It was wonderful to be included in their crazy schedule.  While softball games were being played Amelia, Karl, & I played around a big tree (The Pinchot Sycamore Tree, circumference of 23 ft and 7 inches)

Hiked up to a tower and gazed out at all the lookouts along the way (Talcott Mountain State Park and Hueblein Tower)

And that night, we indulged in one of my "must do on this road trip bucket list activities"... We went to a DRIVE IN!

We saw Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (I am Groot) and the whole exploit from the massive amounts of popcorn to the wrapping up in hats and blankets at the night air chilled made it memorable.

That is the closest we got to all of us having a "nice" group shot together... Seems pretty prefect, if you ask me.

We will be returning to CT in the near future but we will leave that story for another time. So, before I end this blog post, let's throw one more state as a destination in the mix, New Hampshire. All because Karl wanted to visit White Mountain National Forest and the Presidential Range, again.  I say again because we took a road trip here a few years ago and got the whole Cog Railway, stand on the top of Mt. Washington experience.  But this time, Karl wanted to summit Mt. Washington by hiking to the top via the Tuckerman Ravine Trail.

This is something I usually would be all for, yet just say... I was NOT feeling it.  It was just one of those days.  So the internal struggle begins, my muscles did not want to be submitted to a semi-strenuous activity, my uterus was rebelling in its monthly fashion, my lungs were still battling globs of mucus, and mentally I was berating myself over the emotional and mental tug of war that was being played out in my head.  There was no way I was backing out of doing the hike, yet for reasons I can't really put into words, I didn't really want to be there. So I flip flopped between attempting to be in the moment and pushing through the pain.

Oh, and there was still snow (lots of it) in May all along the way... Wonderful.
Here is me trying to put on a happy face during a break amongst the rock scrambling and snow.

Reverting to the tried and true "Stacy-Pacy" we pushed on (slowly) to the top.  If the trail wasn't snow covered.

Then it was wet and slick from the snow melt like this.

Yet this was only the first few miles, the push to the top was all large boulder fields which required a lot of scrambling/climbing and looked something like this:

Karl, of course, was in his glory and loved every second on the trail while I took each boulder I had to find my over as a terrible mean object that was submitting me to obstacles on purpose for it own sick entertainment.  Hrmph. Then to rub salt into my already wounded ego, as soon as we summited the clouds moved in, go figure. Still pretty though.

Mt. Washington, elevation of 6,288ft overlooks a panoramic view of 725,000 acres of public land managed by White Mountain National Forest and this tippy top boasts some of the worst weather and the highest wind ever observed (by man) with a velocity of 231 miles per hour.  Thankfully even though the wind was brutal and cold, it was no where near record breaking.  After a snack for some quick calories at the top and a photo op at the sign (of course).

And it was time to go back down, which is supposed to be the "easier" part, right? Due to trail closures (snow bridges and hazards like that) we took a different route down than the way we came up, so Boott Spur Link Trail down it is.  The massive rock piles that serve as cairns catch your eye all the way to the horizon, drawing an imaginary line along the rock piles to follow.

Can you just image how intense and difficult route finding would be if the clouds sunk any lower onto us, or if the snow hadn't been blown away or melted from this area yet? Hence why there are so many cairns so close.  

The way down, proved to be quite a joint jolter and near ankle twister as the boulder fields extended away from the peak.  As the elevation decreased, the environment around us changed and we found ourselves back in an high elevation alpine forest with blankets of wild flowers leading into the thick trees that created dappled spots of sunlight and shade in order to provide the perfect scenario for the snow to linger.  I felt many times. Here is an example of me falling (and Karl capturing it)

Truly though I do not joke when I say A LOT. Like multiple times falling and not just the small slips, the full out land in the most awkward position and submit your various parts of your body to sudden unexpected threats.  Palms were scratched as I put my hands out to catch myself, twigs dug into flesh looking for blood, legs post-holed deep into the snowy trails that turned out to be a mini snow bridge creating the slab stick situation of me with a leg immobilized, face planting into the icy crust of the snow.  Crying occurred, a full out yelp of surprise that turned into frustration bawling. BUT, it was only once, and it wasn't for long.  Sometimes though I find releasing those tears is like a reset for the mindset. Admittedly, on days like this I do not see myself as a "Force of Nature" like all the REI ads promoting women in the outdoors. Days like this make me feel weak, yet strong; tired, yet exhilarated; like I failed to live up to certain expectations, yet a I succeeded by not quitting. Yet, even I sometimes have to force myself to be out in nature and find my way, which I always seem to do. Maybe I am more "One with Nature" than a "Force of Nature".  

Or maybe I am just thinking too much about our trip nearing its end... who knows.

Until next time.

<3 S