A New Perspective

After leaving work early on a Friday due to some comp time, my husband and I decided to take an impromptu road trip.

We have an annual state park sticker and my husband likes to get as many uses out of it as we can. Combine that to the near end of colorful-fall-foliage season, a free afternoon, and a longing for our favorite state park. There you go.

Willow River State Park.

Before moving the 2.5 hours to where we live now, we used to live only five minutes from this park. Generally, we would visit the park at least once or twice a week (when the trails weren't buried under in snow, of course).



We love this park.





I know we love it anyway, but now we're pretty sentimental about it.





We even went there for a hike when I was in (early, stalled) labor with our first baby. Technically, I wasn't supposed to leave the hospital.





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That's him. Always the little trail guide.





This is at the top of the first ridge.

Because we did not have this trip planned in advance and we left so late in the day, we got in to town about supper time. So we decided to take the time to stop and eat before getting to the park, and you can see the colors of the setting sun in this photo.

Beginning the decent to the river.

It was a beautiful, crisp time of day to be there. It really lent itself to some dramatic shots.
(facing the sun)

The Falls.

(on the same bridge, two seconds later, just with my back to the sun.)

At the top of the next ridge I just had to climb.

And the walk back down.

Back at the top of the original ridge on our way back through the park to the van. This is what the skyline looked like at that time. Beautiful.

This is a very bad shot.

BUT, this is what the sky was like when we were leaving the top of the ridge to make the hike back to the van to go home! And that's not a very short walk so it was quite dark by the time we got there.

By this time, Lance was getting very grouchy and the kids were getting very whiny. I was having a great time, on the other hand. After all of that time, I don't think we had ever been at the park that late and had the opportunity to see it at the end of the day. So while there were worries from the boys about seeing bears and while there were worries of losing the trail and falling down and getting hurt from Lance, I was pointing out our shadows that were being made by the moonlight. And while there were cries of tired legs from the boys and complaints of missed photo ops from Lance I was marveling at the night sky and having fun identifying the Big Dipper and the North Star. (It was all very dangerously amusing on my part.) It was quite a challenge to try to salvage and encourage everyone's optimism!

I will admit to having a few worries of my own in the darkest parts of the woods on the way back to the van, but we all made it back safe and sound, without a trip, a fall, or a bear attack.