Claude Moore Farm Trails

Life interfered with hiking for the past three weeks.  Aaron and I were able to walk about our small neck of the woodlessness, but we were not able to get out and do any hiking.  Aaron got laid off, he's been job hunting aggressively, I've started a new job with hours that do not lend themselves to exploring the world at night, and so it goes.  Best laid plans, and all. 

So for Mother's Day Weekend, I wanted to hike.  We had Sky Meadows planned for Saturday, and were looking forward to it.

Saturday dawned with a grey dampness that can only be described as being inside a wet pelican.  Saturday, then, was a yard sale and a bit at a park, just playing, until the undue sticky could no longer be tolerated, and we fled for the safety of air-conditioning. 

Sunday I teach in the morning, and afterwards, it was time.  We decided on a nice, flat, nearby place.  We choose Claude Moore in Sterling, which is, I must say, really adorable.  The hiking trail we were on was 2.6 miles, nothing fancy.  The trails are interesting - some are like roads, but our choice was this trail which wasn't so much a trail as a slight break in the trees and a path entirely of knee-high grass.  It was lush and green with the new green of early spring - not a Kermit fuzzy green but a caterpillar eye.

And oh, was it muddy.  And snakey.  And tadpoley.  Millions of living things are beginning to wake from winter slumbers and each and every one of them wanted to say hello.  The tapoles in the streams and pond water striders skittering across the surface, were excited to be a part of this crisp and cool day.  Squirrels without number, chipmunks and even what I suspect was a young clutch of birds watching us nestled in a stump were abundant, and yes, even snakes were out with their whippy tails and their glass skin.

It was a gorgeous day! 

The nature center had this wonderful little scavenger hunt of the living world.  The only thing we did not find was a blue heron - I suspect we would have, had the mud not driven us away from certain areas.  The mud was the slick sort and not the sticky sort, so that knees and legs were spattered just as evenly across all people.  Julia, Kate and I all slid but nobody fully fell - Julia came closest.

And then there was a farm museum, which was tiny and adorable and had tractors for exploring outside, windmills to teach about responsible energy, and a bathroom to chase away Julia's hives.

Happy mother's day to me!

Time Spent on Trail:  90 minutes.  Too wet to explore most places.

Difficulty:  None.

Bonuses:  It's ALIVE!

View:  Beautiful if you want trees and greenery and swampy wetland things.  Not so much if you want mountains and expansive view - it's the micro and not the macro here, but the micro is just as lovable.

Kid-friendly:  Yes.  It's designed for children and has "hikes" as short as 1/2 mile.