Hiking at Turkey Run State Park

 

 

 

We usually try to do a daytrip the Saturday before Memorial Day.  Last year we drove up to Lake Michigan and had a beach day, but it was way too cold for the beach this year.

 

Instead of putting our toes in the sand, be put on some tennis shoes and headed to Turkey Run State Park for a day of hiking.

 

I love Turkey Run!  It’s about an hour and half west of where we live, but it has some of the best hiking trails in our area.  Most of the trails are pretty easy, making it a really nice park for families, but they also have more rugged trails for those who prefer a little more of a challenge.  The park is not as large as some other state parks, but the beautiful scenery and the well-maintained trails that are easy to navigate make the park a real gem. 

 

The weather was cooler than average on Saturday, which made for great hiking weather.  After picnicking at one the many picnic locations in the park, we spent the remainder of our time hiking.  We spent several hours on the trails, hiking about ten total miles.

 

Here are a few Instram pics of our day.

 

Autumn in the Park......

 

         Over night…..that’s how fast it happens.  The warmth of the yesterday’s upper seventy degree temps have been overtaken by today’s lower forty degree temps.  Autumn is my favorite season, and yet it always seems short-lived.  Just two weekends ago, there was still quite a bit of green on the trees, and today as I look out my window, most of the leaves have fallen from the trees leaving behind branches that will be barren for the next six months.   I do love the colors of fall, but oh how I wish the colors would stay longer than they do!  I love nothing more than being outside in perfect weather with the beautiful colors of fall all around me.

         The weather has been perfect this week, and the forecast was letting us know to enjoy it while we could.  Wanting to enjoy what looked to be the last nice day for awhile, I sent my husband a text yesterday letting him know to meet me in the park after work.  As soon as I got off of work, I went home to grab the picnic basket, a blanket and a change of clothes for my love.  I had just enough time to make a quick stop to good ol’ Trader Joes to grab some items for our picnic dinner before the hubs met me for our date.   Surrounded by trees that still had a few autumn leaves left on their branches, we ate our dinner and enjoyed one another’s company in the comfortable temps of the autumn air.  Today those leaves have probably fallen, as a cold front blew in over night.  Today looks and feels more like winter.  With daylight savings time coming up soon, our evenings will be getting shorter too, so I’m really glad that yesterday we made time to have one last autumn night in the park.  There was no better way for us to spend the evening than being outside in God’s beauty and in one another’s company.