The St Elizabeth’s summer hike club is in full swing, so I jumped at it on my Friday off. The rain was pretty steady, so Becky stayed at home with a tired Piper while Henry and I layered up our heavy duty gear and headed for the Eagle River Nature Center. The turnout was better than expected – about 6 moms, a plethora of kids, and Henry and Daddy. I knew a few of the ladies, but ultimately was just happy to hang out with a smiling Henry and his tightly zipped Muddy Buddy.

I think we hiked a little over a mile, but it’s probably more accurate to state that we spent almost 2 hours tramping along the trail, stopping often to climb logs and take pictures. There was some fussiness at the end in some corners of our group, though I am happy to report that Henry remained stoically focused on getting to the warmth of the visitors center in spite of being tired.

He beamed and chewed on a fruit snack. “Daddy, I powered through.”

Yes, you sure did.

The highlight was when I plopped Henry into the tree stump and then told him he looked like a tailgunner or tank operator.

 

Piper felt better by the next morning, which makes it all the wiser that she was kept home. A 50 degrees constant rain wouldn’t have helped her.