Tag: Hiking

When the Setting is Paradise

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The plot takes second place

Kauai, Hawaii photo by the author

Before we went on our vacation to Kauai this September, my husband Andrew and I watched dozens of travel videos on YouTube. We rounded out our research with movies set on the garden isle. One of these, The Perfect Getaway starring Steve Zahn, Milla Jovovich, Timothy Oliphant, and Kiele Sanchez, was a murder mystery thriller where the main characters were hiking part of the Kalalau Trail. The movie was entertaining, although I kept getting distracted by the beautiful scenery. There was enough mayhem, however, to convince me to pass on attempting that trek. Anytime there is a steep cliff in a movie, or in real life, there is potentially someone waiting to toss you off of it.

Wailua Falls – Photo by the author

If you looked at the photo above and recited “The plane! The plane!” congratulations, you are old. Saturday nights in the 1970s found me stationed in front of the television, waiting for that opening shot of Fantasy Island. The waterfall is more impressive in person, even if we did have to stand in line at the overlook in order to snap a photo.

Curious goats – Photo by the author

Our first full day on the island we hiked parts of the Heritage Trail. Meandering along the coastline, we saw few people and almost the same amount of goats. Neither group looked like they might be planning someone’s murder.

I ventured into the ocean – Photo by Andrew

Andrew did complete the hike on the Kalalau trail all the way to Hanakapiai Falls. I passed on that exercise, but joined him on the Kuilau Ridge Trail on a later day.

Photo by the author

Photo by the author

Photo by the author

Kauai is steeped in history – many of the buildings in the towns were constructed during the sugar cane and pineapple plantation era in the 1800s. We spent our last two nights on Kauai at Waimea Plantation Cottages. Their cottages were built in the late 1880s to 1930s and moved to the resort site and lovingly restored.

Waimea Plantation Cottages – Photo by the author

Sunset on the black sand beach at Waimea – photo by the author

I thought I would do some writing while on vacation, but that didn’t happen. My days were spent enjoying the setting and abandoning the plot.

Photo by the author

Abandoned, But Not Forsaken

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Exploring the Old Zoo Nature Trail in Cisco, Texas

Entrance to the Trail – Photo by the author

There is something about deserted spaces that draws out the explorer in me. Horror fan that I am, I know these are the spots where the paranormal linger. I would trespass into every vacant house if it weren’t for the threat of arrest. Instead, I feed my curious spirit with estate sales, circling rooms recently emptied of their human inhabitants and filled instead with the bric-a-brac they have left behind. No ghosts linger there, the only thing wafting through these places is the scent of mothballs and menthol.

I’d love the chance to wander through an empty asylum, a shuttered convent, a derelict hospital building. Any place filled with spiders and memories. I first heard about the abandoned zoo in Cisco through a YouTube video. “We have to go there,” I told my husband.

Zoo Trail Marker – Photo by the author

We arrived in Cisco at noon, early enough for a picnic lunch, then headed outside town to the zoo. The zoo had operated in the 1920s and closed in the 1930s. In 2021, A nonprofit organization, SAFE (Students, Athletics, Families, and Education) stepped in to clear the trash and build hiking paths.

The Start of the Trail – Photo by the author

The trail wound through the crumbling remains of the concrete structures built to house the animals.

Photo by the author

We wandered past rusted metal bars, peered into cave-like structures.

Photo by the author

Had our path been lit in twilight instead of bright, mid-day sun, I might have imagined the sad calls of the creatures who had lived in these enclosures.

Photo by the author

I wondered what had happened to the zoo’s inhabitants once the place closed. Even though I listened closely, I heard no whisper of ghostly growls – just the occasional whistle of a song bird.

Photo by the author

We continued along the trail, past the animal pens.

Photo by the author

Despite the sign’s promise – I spotted neither spiders nor a spider-shaped rock. As we passed the remains of an old foot bridge, the high notes of childish laughter drifted to us. Other hikers, not the specters of visitors from a century past.

Photo by the author

We climbed to an overlook, to a spot marked “Cougar Rock.”

Photo by the author

We left before sundown, before the spirits of past inhabitants appeared. No ghouls, just a lovely place for a spring stroll through the reminders of a past reclaimed in Cisco, Texas.

Thankful for Small Steps

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I turned 60 this year, and for the first time in my life I’ve realized I have far fewer days ahead of me than behind. It’s a startling revelation, one that leads me to portion out my days like a miser hoarding gold. A very small stack of gold. One that I should have appreciated much sooner.

There is no good time to live through a pandemic. I wonder if I would have felt the theft of days as acutely if Covid had happened when I was 50, 40, 30. Be thankful, I tell myself, you don’t have small children at home. I’m fortunate that I have a job that can be done remotely. The only health damage my husband and I have sustained is the extra pounds that have crept up on us. I’m not replacing the batteries on our digital scale. When it dies we’ll stop monitoring our gains. That, at least, will have a finite ending.

We decided to forego any gathering of friends and family for Thanksgiving and instead reserved admission to Dinosaur Valley State Park in Glen Rose, Texas. It seemed safer to spend the time outdoors, passing strangers on trails.

Outside, with the clean scent of juniper and cedar surrounding us, it was simple to tie my shortness of breath to the steepness of our hike, and not to the irrational fear of illness. Worry dissolved with each step over tangled roots, each rustle of leaves blanketing the trails.

We stopped at an overlook to admire how high we’d climbed and I ate an orange, impossibly sweet, from my pack.

I snapped a picture at a spot I’d stopped at a few years back, intending to look up that photo and compare it to the present, but I decided I’d rather keep the current image in my mind without regret for the changes brought by time.

The trek downhill was harder, perhaps because it marked the winding down of the day. My knees complained and my ankles, not to be outdone, insisted on wobbling with each step. Someone had installed a small wooden step at a particularly steep portion of the trail. As I tested the sturdiness of the steps I clutched the trunk of a cedar tree leaning over the path. The usually shaggy bark was worn smooth, polished by the thousands of hands that had gone this way before me.

At the end of the trail, as at the beginning, we had to cross the slow-moving Paluxy River. Andrew hopped across the stones laid in rows in the shallow water while I, not trusting my balance, decided to take off my boots and go barefoot through the crossing.

I tested each step, carefully navigating over slick, moss-covered stones worn smooth. Cold water up to my knees, I felt both a child-like joy and the very adult fear of falling. If I made it back to dry land safely, I decided I would devote time each day to the yoga tree-pose.

I find gratitude in nature, for the ability to set out on larger journeys with small steps. I forgive myself for the ennui that has gripped me this past year and I realize that instead of wasting time I’ve been healing. So that when this pandemic is over I can go out and face the world like the bad-ass, mature woman that I am.

“There are always flowers for those who want to see them.” Henri Matisse

A Day at the Lake

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Lake Mineral Wells State Park

I was excited when Sherry Kappel announced this challenge. I love black and white photographs, the texture of the subject comes through so well. It was perfect timing too, we traveled to Lake Mineral Wells State Park and Trailway in Mineral Wells, Texas last weekend for a night of camping and I still had these pictures on my camera. The challenge gave me the incentive I needed to get them on my computer and edit them.

Hiking trail at Lake Mineral Wells State Park

Our first night at the state park we hiked along a trail in the dark. The photo above was taken during the following day, but the black and white print gives you an idea of what the trail might look like at night when colors are less visible. We had flashlights, and since the trail ended in a loop there was little chance of getting lost. Still, it had a bit too much “Blair Witch” feel for me, and we ended the hike early.

Rock Face at Penitentiary Hollow in Mineral Wells

Penitentiary Hollow at the state park is the rock climbing area. I didn’t try it, preferring to stumble along the ground instead.

A little cove, perfect for launching a canoe or kayak

The lake is perfect for fishing, canoeing, or kayaking. There’s no skiing, tubing, or jet skis allowed so the place is calm and quiet.

Thanks again for this challenge, it’s always a pleasure to share and see what everyone posts!

Come on Baby Light my Tick

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I started following Guadalupe Mountains National Park on Facebook because Andrew and I are headed there on our vacation, and I hoped to see some photos of beautiful scenery and maybe some suggestions for hiking. However, they began posting photos of snakes. The other day they shared an article about ticks.

Right after I read about the dangers of tick borne illnesses I logged in to Amazon and began searching for tick removal devices.  After viewing about 2,000 different ways to remove ticks, and reading some 146 reviews, I ordered this item, the TickEase Tick Removal Tweezers.

Tick Ease

It comes with a little magnifier, so I can get a close look at any disgusting creatures feasting on my blood. The device description on the back of the package includes the words embedded, demons, engorgement, and pleasure. It almost sounds like I’ve bought some really kinky pornography.

I showed the tweezers to Andrew, and he expressed doubt that they would work.

“I’ve always just used matches, or kerosene” he explained. Upon hearing this I imagined him pouring flammable liquid on my extremities and lighting them on fire. Yes, the ticks would probably release, along with the outer layer of my skin. He explained that he doesn’t use a flaming match, he lights it and then blows it out so he can press the smoldering tip against the tick. I was not comforted by the difference between flaming and merely hot enough to produce blisters. After all, a branding iron isn’t actually on fire, but it’s not exactly comforting if someone tries to touch you with it. 

“The kerosene is only if you have a lot of ticks at once,” he continued. This description was not helpful either, as I was overtaken by a strong desire to search my body for ticks, even though the closest I’d gotten to the outdoors that day was parking under a tree.

“I’ll use the tweezers, you can set yourself on fire.” I told him.

I took the TickEase out of the package to show him the sharp points on the end, and promptly poked a hole in my thumb. While I wrapped a bandage around my finger to stop the bleeding, I read the customer comments on the back of the package. One of them mentioned that the TickEase worked great, but that they wished it would also set the ticks on fire. Absolutely I am not showing that comment to Andrew.