Into the Woods

We went into the woods to get away from it all...

I am paraphrasing Thoreau here, very loosely, but his quote about living deliberately in the midst of nature was rolling through my mind during the few days we were there. Even though I was off all summer, I was surrounded by noise: car horns, power tools, barking dogs, televisions, people loudly having speakerphone conversations, media, etc. In the woods, there are noises too, but they're the kind that lull you rather than irritate you-- birds chirping, leaves rustling, water trickling.

We usually go cabining in the winter. There is something so incredibly peaceful about being in the middle of nowhere listening to the whisper of snow coating the woods. I love the ice-covered trails and the crackle of the fireplace while we play games over a glass of something mulled and clove-scented.

In August, it is so green. The light was filtered through trees that we're used to seeing stripped of all but a layer of snow. We arrived late in the afternoon on Friday and cooked hot dogs over the fire and enjoyed the hot tub as the sun went down.

Ambiance of a citronella candle 😆

Even though we didn't use the fireplace, I still love how it looks. 

Arrived at last!

We rent from the same people every time we go out, and now it is extra special because it's where we got engaged. Saturday, we woke up ready to do some hiking. We went to the Cantwell Cliffs, which is an area of the park we'd never been to before. As we started the descent to the trail, everyone was coming up out of breath and soaked in sweat, which caused us to exchange a somewhat nervous glance.

From the top of the gorge, the cliffs were beautiful. I leaned over a gap to take a cool shot and my pocket knife (a birthday gift from Shelley) jumped out of my pocket and right down. I tried to play it off but we ended up scrambling down and around the base to try and find it. A kind couple stopped to ask what we'd lost, and the wife-- a true Good Samaritan-- climbed into the wedge to get my knife, and sent it clattering down to where we stood waiting beside her husband (who was happy to take a break!). I was so excited that it wasn't lost!

Playing off the fact that I just lost my pocket knife

Into the canyon

Shelley was freaking out about me being at the edge of the cliff. 

View from the bottom-- before we headed to the top again!

Best hiking partner ever!

Delicious!

Charcuterie board of goodness

On our way back from the hike, we saw a local winery and decided to stop there for a tasting and some charcuterie. Every wine was made right there, and the atmosphere was everything I adore: outdoors, twinkle lights, and the love of my life. They also sold chocolate truffles, so we had a cherry and a campfire one (our favorite flavors) to pair with the dessert wine. 

Winery Vibes 

The Torch Master 

That night, we had booked a torchlit canoe trip, which was pretty adventurous for us since we'd only been canoeing one other time together. While we were waiting, we met a family who was from the exact town we live in and ended up talking to them. It was nice to talk to kind strangers over the course of the day. I feel like in our day-to-day lives, we are often so caught up in what we have to do that we fail to make contact with other people unless we already know them. People are generally good, I think, and in spite of the crazy, horrible tragedies that had taken place right before we went into the woods, it's important to remember that.

Crazy faces as we tried not to hit any more canoes!

We are not skilled at canoeing, we learned. I was in the back-- the space for the more experienced one-- but I do not have much upper body strength so I was having a hard time keeping us on course. I found this hilarious. We ended up brushing against trees, spinning in circles, and hitting other canoes.

Shelley was less amused.

Near the end, we figured out what we were doing enough that we stayed on course, although we were the last canoe to finish up the five mile trip down the river and make it to shore.

I enjoyed being out on the river in spite of the struggles. It was so beautiful to see this row of canoes lit by nothing but torches and the moon (and the occasional glow stick) and hear the water lapping against the oars and people having murmured conversations.

After all of the adventure of the day before, Sunday was indeed a day of rest. We went to a petting zoo in the area in the morning and spent the rest of the day relaxing at the cabin.

I may or may not want a baby goat now...

This goat was named Greg, which we thought was so funny. He was a huge fan of Shelley and kept following her around. 

This one had ears like Zorro.

Who knew goats were so cute?

This horse couldn't have been less interested in me.

I had a couple of things I wanted to do while I was out there, including make s'mores and play guitar by the fire, so I was super excited to be able to do both on Sunday evening. 

Side note-- if you are looking for a solid hiking boot, I can't recommend Sorel enough. I got mine from Backcountry but they sell them everywhere. They're sturdy, waterproof, and slip resistant, which is huge 1) if you know me at all and 2) for hiking, say, slippery cliffs.

Making s'mores 

Playing guitar! 

Waking up on Monday was bittersweet. I am so grateful to have had the chance to go out for a last summer hurrah and have so many positive experiences together. It was weird to be back and hear power tools pretty much immediately upon returning-- definitely didn't miss that. Next time, maybe we will be brave enough to camp in our tent! 

Morning Views