Share It Sunday, Tales & Tails!

Nominated by last weeks' guest BZ Dogs!

Starting The Year Off With An Adventure

Bunny here at the keyboard to share the first adventure of 2014.

We have a bit of a family tradition to go out hiking on the first day of the new year.  This is a tradition that I am very fond of, and so is everyone else here.  Every year, we go to Starved Rock State Park to see the frozen waterfall in Saint Louis Canyon.  Morgan and I were both eager to get our adventure underway.  We had new gear and it was a perfect opportunity to try it out.  Flattery and Küster stayed home because Dad was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to make it up and down all the steps if he had to carry Flattery.  I hear there is a hike planned with the two of them for this weekend.

Hiking Buddies!

Usually, it’s a pretty short hike, which is okay for the first hike of the year.  This year, the road down the hill to the parking lot was “closed for the season.”  That doesn’t stop intrepid explorers like us.  We parked at the top of the hill and were glad that it was going to be a longer hike that we could really sink our teeth into.

Red berries in the snow!

To make things even more perfect, it began to snow as we were getting ready to go.

A New Year’s Day hike is even better with pretty snowflakes falling down.  Earlier in the day during morning turn out, Dad noticed that Flattery and I were both picking our feet up a lot because of the cold.  Mom said that sealed the deal and she was sure I was going to wear my boots for the hike.  I admit, I wasn’t thrilled about her picking my feet up to put them on, but once we got started on the trail, I was glad to have them. They kept my feet dry and warm and the rubber on the bottom gave me some extra traction.

The pink team!

Mom tried out her YakTrax, too, and she was glad she got them.  The new pink hiking shoes stayed at home because she wanted to wear her warm boots.  The walk down the hill to the trail head was pretty slippery, but Mom and I were as sure-footed as mountain goats.  Dad and Morgan did a little slip sliding around and Dad said he’s going to get himself a pair of YakTrax.  Morgan insisted that Shepherds don’t need such frippery and she’s probably right.  I don’t think she felt even a little bit cold and her feet didn’t get wet, so that wasn’t a worry.  She does have some Pawz boots that she carries in her back pack, but she kept them in there.

The red team!

The sign about the road being closed kept a lot of people from making the hike to the canyon this year.

This was the first year we’ve seen the road closed, but every year it gets harder to maneuver.  We have a feeling they closed the road so that people wouldn’t slide down the hill in their cars and not be able to stop at the parking lot.  It also seems to have kept a lot of the riff raff out.  Last year there was a rude herd of Boy Scouts down there running around and breaking as much ice as they could.  This year, only the hearty souls who really wanted to see it ventured down, and the falls were a lot more pristine.

We certainly were not disappointed when we arrived at the end of the canyon.  The frozen waterfall was gorgeous and beautifully formed.  It looked a bit like an ice castle.  It’s not hard to dream of fairy tales in a place like that.  It’s hard to believe it was ever tainted by violence.  It’s also hard to believe that it’s the same place that we see during other seasons of the year.  You’d never guess that the waterfall could be that spectacular if you saw it in the spring, summer or fall months.

Admiring Mother Natures' handiwork!

The brisk air definitely made me feel energized to get moving.

Mom has been a little concerned that I haven’t been too peppy on our last couple of hikes.  She said she’s not sure if it was the snow, the brisk air, my feet staying warm and dry, or the fact that Flattery wasn’t with us that made me so energetic.  The truth is, it was a little bit of everything.  I admit it, I pranced like a show pony for the entire hike.  I was a very happy hound.  Morgan was really happy, too.  We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

It was nice to have time to get out, away from the distractions of everyday life and have some time seeing the real world.  There’s nothing like a giant frozen waterfall to make you realize how small you are in the world.  It’s also different reconnecting with your loved ones without the familiar distractions of everyday life around.  Experiencing something with all your senses has a way of making you feel more alive. I hope everyone else’s 2014 is off to as great a start as ours!

Dwarfed by the falls!

Tales and Tails!

Continuing to give something back on my 'Share It Sunday'. We all share and we grow together. Pop over and say hello and make a new friend.

From the author Molly The Wally.

And we got this fabulous award from the wonderful Speedy over here and we say a big heartfelt thank you and we will pop it on our awards page with pride.

Thank you.