Sleepy Hollow Trail

This week, with my old grandma walking buddies out of town (j/k Kathy and Lisa! you old ladies) I've been on my own. Yesterday I decided to go on a jog instead of a walk. On my jog, I went to the Dimple Dell trail and thought I'd see how far I could go in 30 minutes before I had to head home, to give me my one hour of morning rejuvenation. I usually don't go this way (started at the north blue trail and headed south, see map below). In the 6 years we've been here, I've only been out here once before. But I went, and then to really mix things up, I took a trail to the left rather than going straight! (took a left on the green trail after the blue trail turns west...)

It headed down the hill and started back toward home (continuing north on green trail). So I figured since I was headed in the general direction of home, I could probably keep going and hopefully I wouldn't have to back track. So I knew where I was but I didn't know where I was. I just kept going toward home. I took a small trail that headed up a hill (close by the purple trail but a little more to the east). It was steep. Then, lo and behold, I was at Sunrise Point! Wow!

Well look at that. I know where I am now. I wanted to bring the kids and show them my discovery, but I also knew they wouldn't make it up or down the steep hill. And I was ahead of schedule for my return, so I ran other trails (bike trails I think) to see where they led. I found a way that I thought the kids could handle (the purple trail, aka Sleepy Hollow). And I've walked by a big board on the blue trail that says "Sleepy Hollow" but I've never noticed or seen it before today. Weird. I wonder what other things are in plain site that I don't notice...

It had loose sand, but the kids could do it. So today, right after lunch, I told them to get in the car, I want to go for a walk. It was daytime, but it was overcast, so I wasn't scared to be in the sun (which is why I exercise early in the a.m.) They left their Park City challenge chores and told me I could have an hour. Off we went. 

Sophi and Natalie running down the trail after the hill was over.

Sophi with her nature book (a'la Nature Cat) where she could write down her nature findings. She is a serious student. 

We met up at the picnic table I saw, only this time there was water. There wasn't a stream here this morning, not sure how that works.

They couldn't resist crossing the stream. I didn't want you guys to get your shoes wet... (it's a mom thing) but they crossed the stream and got wet and helped their sisters cross, which was sweet.

But I didn't want you guys to get wet, I didn't know you would get wet, that water wasn't here this morning, I wasn't prepared. I don't like surprises. Ok, that's enough, get out of the water!

We headed in the direction I had gone this morning. Sophi made more discoveries and more studious notes.

And they found more water. Then I gave up. Ok, fine, get in, get wet. But all the sand is gonna stick to your shoes/feet when we walk back up!

They just love being "out into nature"! That's a good thing.

They went up and down the stream. They raised an ebenezer (1 Sam 7:12)

And more ebenezers. Little stone statues up and down the trail. I raised one too. It was fun.

And here is my little 2 cents lesson on evolution: Say you see a stack of rocks like this out in the desert or on a mountain somewhere. Wouldn't you be pretty positive that it was made by a person? By a person or being with intelligence? Could it have just happened randomly? Or given enough time, a million years, the wind and rain could stack those rocks into a pyramid? Some things, you can just tell, were made by a Designer. If you found a cell phone, even without electricity making it work, you would still look at that and you could mostly likely positively state that it was made by someone. Ok, so stacked rocks or a cell phone - they were created. And a rock pile is easy enough for a kid to make, and a cell phone is harder but it can still be made by technicians. And yet, we are going to look at the human brain (which the most brilliant of mankind is only beginning to understand, don't even think about creating one) - we can't make a camera that works as good as the human eye, we can't make a living slug, we can't create life even with our effort and desire to do so. Yet we're going to claim that those things, infinitely more complex than a stack of rocks or a cell phone, just happened? Given enough time, they just evolved and came into being? I don't think so. A pyramid of rocks doesn't just happen (and that would be easy in comparison!), and neither did mankind. Hyrum, pondering these deep and profound words that I shared with him.

Just kidding, I didn't tell Hyrum my deep thought, I just told that to Wes. Wes said "Wow, I've never thought about it that way..." Hyrum here is doing a I'm-looking-off-into-the-distance-pose-for-a-possible-instagram-photo. Looking good buddy. You look very profound. Just like your brother Ethan in his casually looking off into the distance photos.