Anytime I travel, I make an effort to hike one of my usual trails soon after returning home. It’s one of my rituals and is as important as unpacking, doing laundry and restocking the fridge.

It’s a way to ground myself, to settle my mind and reconnect to my surroundings. It’s the perfect way to find myself again.

That’s exactly what I did last night, hitting a familiar trail with an old friend and a new one. Ohio’s heat wave has broken so it was a perfect temperature for an almost six mile loop through pines and past a lake.

This was exactly what I needed before returning to work and to the stress that seems to naturally come with life lately.

I’m grateful for the time away and for the adventures that came with it but am glad also for a chance to engage with the natural world.

Come back tomorrow. We will talk Michigan adventures!!