Gibraltar Rock

The kids and I went exploring at Gibraltar Rock yesterday afternoon, on the recommendation of Mrs. Besler.  The girls said that they didn't like it as much as Devil's Lake, because they prefer climbing up rocky steps instead of a gradually sloping trail, but we still had a great time.  I thought the trail was a lot easier while carrying Nate than the steep and slippery steps at Devil's Lake, and the fall colors were certainly beautiful!  We heard and then saw a woodpecker, and we also saw squirrels, blackbirds, ladybugs and a caterpillar.

We took the easy paved trail through the forest, and we were surprised to arrive at the top and discover that we were at the top of a steep cliff.

I was a mean mom and wouldn't let the girls go to the edge of the cliff to look at the view, instead I made them stay on layer of rocks above the edge of the cliff.  I never used to be afraid of heights, but I'm definitely afraid of them where the kids are involved!

At the top were some really interesting trees;  I wish I'd had my camera, but it was nice to carry only Nathaniel and our backpack with snacks and water.

Since I wouldn't let them play near the edge, the girls had fun climbing up tree roots and following little paths.

We took a different trail back to the parking lot, and the girls took turns leading the way.  The second girl got to spot all the yellow marks to make sure that we were staying on the right trail, which interestingly was part of the Ice Age Trail.  Megan was so excited to get a chance to be the leader; she loved to skip and run down the hill.

About halfway down, Amelia said she had to pee really badly, so she got to experience squatting behind a tree.  She thought it was kind of cool after the fact, and of course Megan had to try it just a few minutes later.  They were too embarrassed to tell Ben about it when we got home though.  Towards the end of the trail, Jeff texted to ask if we wanted to facetime; we sent him the following photos instead.

As we drove back to the highway, we stopped on the side of the road to take a look at the cliff we had climbed.  Do you see the rocky cliffs on the top right side of the hill?  The sun was setting, and the colors were just beautiful!

We stopped at A&W for dinner on our way home; the girls chose blue raspberry slushies as their treat, but I had a float.  Nathaniel ended up eating chicken fingers, bread and ham from my sandwich.  He really seemed to like the ham.  Other than a few instances of whining (Megan), complaining (Amelia), and arguing about whose turn it was to go first (both), we had a lovely time!

I realized I hardly mentioned Nate, poor guy.  He rode in the Baby Bjorn, and was content almost the entire way to just look around him and eat a graham cracker.  He's such a good baby!  He loved it when people would pass us walking their dogs; the dogs always made him giggle.