I discovered this guy hanging out on the roof of my car yesterday. I’m no expert but I believe it’s a good old fashioned katydid.
They’re hard to spot in nature seeing as how they look like a leaf with legs. Luckily, he stood our nicely on my red car! He even seemed to stop and pose for a picture before continuing on his journey.
I always marvel at how much they resemble a leaf, right down to the veins. It’s the perfect camouflage.
Isn’t nature amazing?
Travel is an opportunity to get a taste of the local culture and the literal taste of local cuisine. I avoid chain restaurants as much as possible when I travel, choosing instead local joints and small businesses when I can.
This strategy works out great sometimes. Others, not so much.
On my last day in Colorado, we wanted to have a good breakfast and go for a hike before heading to the airport mid afternoon.
Diners are my jam so I was excited to find a nearby diner that had been featured on the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives.
It was ok.
I know – how arrogant does that sound?
Hear me out. We had some great meals on this trip including a couple of delicious breakfasts with great service, decent prices and terrific atmosphere. This just wasn’t one of them.
We were there on a Sunday morning and it was understandably busy. We waited about 45 minutes for a table, heightening the anticipation that it would be worth the wait. The menu is huge with plenty of variety so that’s good. The look of the place is cool and I always give restaurants brownie points for atmosphere.
But the food wasn’t that good. Bland potatoes and eggs with some sliced American cheese on top didn’t do much for me. The egg to potato ratio was all wrong as it was a ton of potatoes with two scrambled eggs on top. My friend didn’t love hers either.
However, lots of folks around us seemed pretty happy. So what do I know?
I am always hesitant to tell you about the things I dislike and prefer to focus on the positive. However, this was a valuable lesson that what’s popular isn’t necessarily what’s good for me. What’s not featured on tv may still be pretty awesome.
Tomorrow I’ll tell you about a Colorado breakfast joint I did enjoy immensely.
After a long day of exploration, my friend and I came off the trail at Cook Forest State Park still not ready to head home. So we took a little drive and found a gorgeous area to pull over and admire the water.
Clarion River is a popular spot for kayaks, canoes, inner tubes and all manner of things that float. I searched the shore for pretty rocks and made friends with some ducks while my friend waded out for a little river yoga.
Her yoga.
My duck.
To each her own. We both were happy in the moment.
There’s a place where you can rent your equipment or just take your own. There’s also a place where you can get ice cream – in case you need to know!
Read about our hike at Cook Forest State Park here!
The quiet was so deep that their feet seemed to thump along while all the trees leaned over them and listen. J.R.R. Tolkien
Stepping into the Forest Cathedral Natural Area at Cook Forest State Park feels a little like stepping into a Tolkien novel. Quotes from The Hobbit come to mind.
This is one of the largest old growth forests of white pine and eastern hemlock in the eastern United States. Many of these trees are over 200 feet tall and are too big to wrap your arms around. These trees likely date to the era of William Penn, the first governor of Pennsylvania.
The trails here are wide and well maintained and meander through the hills. This is a place where fairies play and where you might spot a unicorn or two if your eyes were just a bit quicker. I wish these trees could talk. Some look like they are poised to pull up root and walk away.
These trees look like two old friends sitting together on a boulder. They appear to be holding hands.
This place exists because a lumber baron named Anthony Cook saw value in this incredible forest, reserving the best of it for conservation purposes. He also convinced others to join his cause, starting an important era of conservation in Pennsylvania. By the time of Cook’s death in 1891, two-thirds of Pennsylvania’s forests had already been cut so it is hard to place a value on Cook’s work.
His is an important and lasting legacy.
This place is gorgeous. The very idea that it exists because of the forward thinking of someone long ago is awe inspiring. Here’s to the future.
I am tired. Mentally and physically tired.
This is partly of my own doing since I have been out adventuring as much as possible in recent weeks. I stayed home Saturday to clean my house and did too much in a single day. Yesterday, I volunteered for Patriot Day, dragging myself home tired and sore after a day of physical labor.
So, yeah, I have been asking for it.
I continue experiencing symptoms associated with my thyroid and suspect that some of my trouble is related to this ongoing issue. But I try not to think about that as I’m actually sick of life revolving around the whims of this obnoxious little gland. I would make a terrible hypochondriac given how I prefer to just ignore an issue than dwell on it.
So, here I am. Thinking that this needs to be a quiet week. Hoping that this will be a quiet week.
I badly want to go back to this place pictured above. It’s a trail in Cook Forest State Park in Pennsylvania. It’s incredibly peaceful, stunning in its beauty. Restorative.
Luckily, I have plenty of forest nearby where I hope to go this week to mend my mind and soul. I believe in the healing power of solitude in wilderness. If I can walk without cringing tonight, I plan to be out on the trail amidst the trees and birds and meandering streams. At least for a while.
Sometimes we need to simply give ourselves a break and do the thing that gives us peace.
All of us who were living on September 11, 2001 probably remember where we were when we heard the news. It’s hard to believe that there is an entire generation of young people who don’t know a pre-9/11 world.
They also are living in a world where divisive politics define the tone of all things. They haven’t experienced a time when Americans were united under one flag without regard to politics. Remember how people came together? While first responders rushed to help, the rest of us gave blood, gathered supplies, prayed and did what we could to help in our own way.
Now it’s an official day of service. This brings me hope as our nation badly needs to embrace unity and service to others.
I’ll be spending my day volunteering in my community and I am grateful for the opportunity to do some good.
The pictures are from the memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. – hallowed ground where a plane full of strangers worked together to make the impossible decision to crash in a field rather than allow terrorists to reach their destination.
May none of us ever have to face such a choice.