Today’s weather was absolutely gorgeous! Sunny, blue skies with a high of 65 (F) – I live for days like this. Needless to say, we took full advantage of the beautiful day and spent it outside exploring Mother Nature. :) We set out to new territory today – we went hiking in Brecksville Reservation, a Cleveland Metroparks within Cuyahoga Valley National Park. I can’t believe we have never checked out the park before today, after living in Northeast Ohio for almost a decade. I’ve got to say that I am really impressed with the little bit of what I saw today, and I especially love the many scenic gorges and hills around the area. We will definitely be back for more!
We parked at Harriet Keeler Picnic AreaHad a quick snack before our hikeHeading towards Brecksville Nature CenterChecked out the map to get our bearings straightBrecksville Nature Center - after talking to one of the staff, we decided not to walk all the way to Deer Lick Cave (we were not sure if Alex could do it)Instead, we hiked on a short loop trail by the nature centerAlex loves the built-in wooden stairsand bridgeCrunch, crunch, crunchYou can't see it here but Alex was actually thinking of going down a pretty steep hill (off trail) - guess Mom and Dad were party poopers in this case :)Love the Fall sceneryKeith and Alex stoppingto check the map...note that I don't ever hold the map (we would all be lost if I did)Finally managed to get in front instead of trailing behindAnother bridgeand more steps - the trail had a good share of hills interspersed with the flat ground which kept the hike interesting for Alex (he gets bored easily)Up another hillI thought the woods looked so beautiful with the sun streaming through the bare trees - there were moments I felt like I was walking through an enchanted forest :)Drove to Deer Lick Cave - took forever because we got lost TWICE :)Alex was looking tired but we were determined to see the caveTrail mapView from theoverlookOn the way down, the boys decided to be "squirrely" and cracked open an acorn (reminded me that I was starting to feel hungry)Ahh...the cave in sightOkay...I guess I should let you know by now that it's NOT really a cave, just a huge rock overhang but it is still cool!Climbing up the sideAlex wanted to climb further up but it was basically a vertical slope onward with nothing to grab on to, so Mom and Dad dashed his hopes AGAIN!Made Alex pose for a picture :)Calling it a dayA couple more nature shots - the brown/yellow leaves caught my eyes as I was walking by,they sparkled golden with the sunlight on them, gorgeous!
