Saturday, April 3, 2021

Old Rag Mountain

Ella, Brooklyn and I just got back from an amazingly fun three day trip to Virginia where we hiked 9.5 miles on Old Rag Mountain trail in Shenandoah National Park with a small group of friends and youth from church. The hike was amazing, scenic, and we got to do some awesome bouldering and canyoneering over, under, and through some enormous boulders and caves. We had perfect weather, despite the chilly forecast, and had some snow flurries on our way down the mountain. I loved having some quality time with Ella and Brooklyn.

We stayed at rustic historical place called Graves Mountain Farm and Lodge in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains near Syria, Virginia, which has been run by the same family since 1740. We also went horseback riding and stopped in Washington DC on our way home to see the cherry blossom trees, which were in full bloom!

Brooklyn and Ella enjoying the view from the front porch of our lodge... 

And we're off for a 9.5 mile adventure...

Ella and I are having fun so far...

Rachel and Ella...

Me and Sheri Topham our trip/hike organizer...

Ella, Brooklyn and Olivia taking a quick break...

Brooklyn is still wondering why I dragged her on this trip...

Beautiful views...
Our adventure group: Olivia Ware, Neal Topham, Sheri Topham, Rachel Herway, Brooklyn, me, Ella...

Finding our way over, under and through the boulders...






Crazy boulder just hanging on by a thread... or another boulder...



Lunch at the top then back down the mountain...


Meeting the pigs on the farm before our horseback ride...

Clear skies (although freezing cold) and horses!...

Washington DC and cherry trees...


And while we were gone, Ryan, Kendall and Hudson rode their bikes to Wawa for treats...

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