After sitting at my desk for almost five hours earlier today working on my Environmental Education Committee tasks and Girl Scout projects, I decided I needed to get outside and move. I embarked downstairs to find my husband folding laundry (his favorite weekend pastime), two of the kids in front of different screens, and the youngest off at a friend's house. I declared that it was time to turn off the machinery and go for a hike! "We'll go hunting for baby frogs in the pond. We'll hike down to the old paper mills and explore the ruins. We'll splash in the creek and keep our eye out for snakes." No bites. I picked up the youngest child and got the same adamant refusal to participate in my plan to get out of the house and in to nature. After a bit of pouting I threw my bike in the car and left the rest of my family to a game of UNO and I headed to the river.
The Chattahoochee River is a few miles from my house and along it are miles of wonderful walking and biking trails. After learning from a serious biking friend that you can follow the roads for miles after the trail ends and it's still bike-friendly, I decided to venture to new places on this 90 degree Sunday afternoon. I just love being near the water and in the woods.
When I go kayaking on the river I go out each time with the intention of noticing something I have not noticed before. I've been successful each and every time. (It pains me that I haven't been out on my kayak in a while but I've sprung some sort of a leak that I need to take to the pros. It might be time for a new boat, I'm thinking.) Before too long I realized that I could make this an objective of a bike ride as well, especially when exploring new territory.
The trails along the river offer amazing shade on these North Georgia afternoons. On my mountain bike, being passed by all the street riders, I was loving the sound of the river along side the road. Sometimes out on my kayak I wondered what streets I could see beyond the trees. Even more so I wondered about the houses that lined the banks of the Chattahoochee. How dreamy would it be to be able to walk out on my back deck and see the water rushing over the rocks, catch a crane perched on a little island, and witness that mamma duck taking her chicks out for the first time in the spring.
As I was daydreaming about this I noticed some movement in the woods. I was taken aback for a moment and slowed down to see what it was. Assuming it was maybe a deer, I was surprised to see two donkeys frolicking amongst the trees. Donkeys? I noticed the dead end sign ahead and the dirt road that turned to the right, which of course, I now had to follow. I had stumbled upon Rotten Wood Farm, a run-down looking piece of property with signs posting "Don't Feed the Animals." Besides the two playful donkeys, the only other animal I saw was a baby goat, but it was a neat little find--one I'll surely visit as a biker-by again. After passing the farm I continued down this dirt and gravel road that was lined with beautiful riverfront homes. It was so quiet and peaceful. This was Old Riverside Street and it is now my new favorite street in metro Atlanta. About every 3rd house was old and in need of repair, but the riverfront property made them gems. The houses that had been renovated, or build new on the property, varied in style but all were oozing with charm and had incredible porches or lawns or glass rooms that took full advantage of the beautiful piece of nature they were perched upon.
After soaking this all in and imagining how wonderful it would be to live in one of these houses on this campy little gravel road, I headed back toward the trails that would lead me to my car. I explored the woods and got caught on a very narrow trail that was impassable at one point due to a fallen tree. Turning around, I explored more bike-friendly trails, got good and mud-splashed and made it back to my car.
When my kids were littler I used to look forward to the day when I could take them camping, mountain biking, and rafting. Well, I'm there. It's going to take some cajoling but once there's a hint of fall in the air, we're hittin' the road. I'll start them off slow but it is extremely important to me to expose my family to nature and all the beauty and fun we have at our disposal as soon as we walk outside. The PTA and the Girl Scouts and all the other activities are important, but I also have had a vision and a dream for my family that needs to be tended to. So next on my to-do list is to pick a weekend this fall to pack it up and head to the mountains for a good old fashioned family camping trip. I'll teach all of them how to open your eyes, ears, and hearts to find something new in each hike, ride, and paddle. Those things are priceless and they're no where close to what you can see on a screen.
peace, love, and the great outdoors...
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