Red River Gorge - Day 2

Day 2 started off with Jeremy being a manly man and getting up first to make us a fire 'cause it was chilly! Once we got that going, we enjoyed some yummy hot chocolate and made breakfast. I was determined to use my cast iron dutch oven given to us by Jeremy's parents several years ago and it was a huge success! I was so excited and Jeremy was so fun, being his usual extremely complimentary self. He really liked our meals. So anyway, for breakfast I just made a simple breakfast casserole with hashbrowns on the bottom, then eggs, ham and green onions, and topped with some cheddar cheese. We then toasted some English muffins over the fire to go with it and it was delicious! The perfect breakfast to fuel us up for our big hike that day.

 Oh yeah baby...Dutch oven perfection. :)

Then it was off to our hike! My friend Katie told us about this hike they did that they loved. They did the whole loop, which combined three or four trails, totaling about 8 miles, and I knew there was no way that would work for us, but she said the part she liked most though was the Auxier Ridge Trail which was just two miles each way (four total). I thought it would be a stretch since we've only done about 3 miles with the kids before, but I figured with enough breaks and snacks they could do it! And I was right! They were amazing! The hike itself actually wasn't that grueling. It had a few pretty steep parts, but it went up and down, so it wasn't just all up one way and down the other, which was really nice. It also worked out perfectly that we hiked the two miles to the ridge, stopped and had lunch for about a half hour, and then hiked back. We passed and let pass quite a few other people along the way and when we got to the end they were all amazed we made it, haha. :) One guy said "To be honest, I did not expect to see you guys here. Good job!" There were definitely no other little ones on the hike, unless they were in backpacks, so I was really proud of our little hikers! They attracted a lot of comments.

Setting out on the journey! Below - you can't tell from the photo, but behind us is a sheer cliff. They call it the Auxier "Ridge" Trail for a reason, most of it was up on a narrow ridge. We stressed the importance of staying on the path! Lots of life lessons learned on the trail...

There was a hint of fall color, but not much...

 (Why did no one tell me my visor was crooked? Ugh.)

They were ahead and found a nice step to wait for us on.

Below - at the end of the trail up on the ridge! It was an amazing view! And yes, maybe we were crazy bringing our kids up there, but we know their limits (and know their level of obedience), and it worked out really well. But we didn't go to the edge of that rock!

Jeremy's panorama shot:

Above and below show you the ridge with views to the right and left.

Another panorama:

Family photo!

We really need to go back next year when the fall colors are in full force. It would be amazing!!!

Heading back...

It took us about 3.5 hours total, with a 1/2 hour break for lunch and a couple small breaks. The kids were really pleasant and Anna was the only one that complained really and even then it was mostly when we stopped for lunch and she got cold and then right at the end (when I started feeding her one M&M every 5 min. or so to keep her going, haha).

We got back to camp around 3ish I think and relaxed for awhile, played a game, and then got started on dinner! I busted out the skillet AND the dutch oven that night and made some pretty awesome chili and cornbread. It was really good, let's be honest.

Cornbread in the skillet/oven....

These boys were in camping heaven! I'm so grateful my kids have such great imaginations. They had a blast playing around with sticks and rocks and I never heard the dreaded "b" word (bored), even when Jeremy and I were busy packing up the next morning.

Gracie liked the cornbread too!

Jeremy gets the prize for best marshmallow toaster. His were beautiful. Lucky for me, he shared since I was usually too occupied with graham crackers and chocolate to patiently toast mine to perfection...

Stylin' Grace.

Grace was such a good baby. She spent the majority of the trip in the baby carrier, but she didn't seem to mind. She's a mama's girl and enjoyed being close to me constantly. :)

Another great thing about camping in the Fall as opposed to the summer is it gets dark earlier! Major perk with little kids. They get to stay up until dark without staying up super late. Everyone wins.

The next morning we had hot chocolate and granola for breakfast and got packed up and headed out. We were sad to miss General Conference on Saturday, but we were able to listen to the Saturday morning session on the drive home on Sunday and then be home for the two Sunday sessions. We were planning on listening to Saturday afternoon at the campsite (I brought our bluetooth speaker and everything), but we had no reception. We're catching up though so it worked out.

It was a great trip! Even after doing the six loads of laundry that followed I still wanted to do it again, so I think that's a good sign...We also noticed that there were strangely hardly any bugs or any critters. I'm not sure if it was the cooler weather or what, but it sure made it more enjoyable!