A Trip to the Bog

Last week, I joined E and Z's class on a field trip to Hidden Valley Nature Center.

As we trooped down the trail to our forest study site, they kept angling for detours:

"Let's see what's down this trail!"

"Let's go to the bog."

It told them they had to stay with their class, but that we could return to the Nature Center over the weekend and go anywhere they wanted to go.

Meanwhile, thinking to myself, "A-ha, a chance to get these grumpy homebodies out of the house!"

By Sunday morning, of course they had changed their minds.

But I insisted that we were going anyway.

And they said, "Fine. But we're only going to the bog."

Which is what we did, with a small detour to check out their study site and the progress on the under-construction timber-frame classroom.

The bog was beautiful in October--everything's gone red, with a few ripe cranberries here and there (and a few raisin-like leftover huckleberries) and little plugs of ice in the throats of the pitcher plants. It's a place that seems like it belongs in some remote wilderness, not just a few miles from our house. I kept waiting for a moose to wander into the scene. There are miles of trails left to explore. I'll have to think of ways to get those boys out and hiking with me.