Fun Friday: Chester Frost

The boys have entered this stage of regularly hitting (punching) each other and I find myself constantly refereeing their fights that quickly escalate from playful to angry.

When I reach my limit with this and nothing is working, it’s time to get outside.

So we headed to the lake to throw rocks in the water and dig in sand (them), and lay back and stare at the clouds floating by (me).

Nature does so much to calm all of our souls.

We have plenty of playgrounds nearby, but sometimes you need to hop in the car and drive 30 minutes to the lake for a reset.

And I’m pretty sure we need to go camping stat.

The lake did the trick in redeeming our day. When the kids were good and sandy and starting to get hungry, I gave Daniel a call to make plans for dinner.

Since he was working at Chickamauga Dam that afternoon, we decided to meet in town for supper. So I took the kids to the library to wait for him to finish up a work.

It was a good way to end our school week! 

We normally try to meet up with friends on Fridays, but schedules don't always align. But we don't let that stop us from enjoying a beautiful Friday afternoon.

If you've been following along, here are our previous Friend Friday adventures this school year:
August: Coolidge Park
September: Creative Discovery Museum ⎮ Greenway Farms Picnic ⎮ Chattanooga Zoo ⎮ Big Soddy Gulf
October: Reflection Riding Center (Monday Friend Day) ⎮ Charlotte's Web 

November: Creative Discovery Museum ⎮ Pioneer Days at Audobon Acres

December: Christmas Cookie Party ⎮ Christmas Cookies and Bird Ornaments
January: Creative Discovery Museum ⎮ High Point Climbing
February: Challenger Center ⎮ Hidden Hills Farm Maple Syrup Day ⎮ Valentine's Day Cookie Party ⎮ The House at Pooh Corner
March: Hidden Hills Farm Tractor Day ⎮ Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum

Vernal Equinox Hike: Green Gorge

It’s Tuesday which means Nature Day! 

It’s also the first day of spring and Jack and I were learning about toads and frogs and the Vernal Equinox (which I actually knew about thanks to Nature Cat on PBS!). 

We had a big rain last night so the creek at Green Gorge was really flowing. It’s amazing how different a trail can look as the seasons change. 

This is one of my favorite short hikes. 

I love the silence of walking next to the quiet creek during the winter, and the roar of the creek and the way the water sings as it makes its way over different configurations of rocks in the spring.

Watching the seasons change during the year on this trail, and some of our other regular trails, has really made me appreciate nature even more.

I guess I have always felt pretty tuned in to nature, but taking time to purposefully watch the natural world change every single week has really made me even more aware of the world around me.

Notes from this hike:
Location: Green Gorge on Signal Mountain, TN
Date: March 20, 2018
Time: 9:30-10:30
Weather: 50F and overcast

Observations: "Frogs don't have poison behind their eyes!" – Jack

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Check back on Tuesdays to see where our nature studies have taken us...
Previous Nature Hikes with Jack: 

September: Green Gorge, Althaus Park, and Mabbit Springs

October: Reflection Riding Center (Monday Nature Day with friends) ⎮ Joyce Kilmer Wilderness Among Trees (hike we did as a family) ⎮ Greenway Farms Nature Day (family archery lesson and hike)
November: Glen Falls ⎮ Mushroom Rock (with Mommy and Daddy) ⎮ Raccoon Mountain

December: The Boulders ⎮ Toccoa River (family hike)⎮ Amnicalola Falls (family hike)

January: Green Gorge ⎮ Rainbow Lake
February: Stringers Ridge ⎮ Green Gorge ⎮ Mushroom Rock ⎮ Family Hike to Mushroom Rock ⎮ Family Hike to Possum Creek ⎮ Greenway Farms 
March: Creative Writing Exercise (Mushroom Rock)

Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum with Cousins, 2018

Several years ago, we met up with friends from Huntsville to go see Thomas and Friends at the Tennessee Valley Railway Museum here in Chattanooga. We had a really good visit, but had never made it back.

A friend from church had mentioned that they had got an annual pass for their family to the museum and really enjoyed going to ride the Missionary Local (train) often with their kids.

When my brother, sister, and her kids were here I initially thought it would be fun to take them to Rock City, but the morning we planned to do this excursion ended up being pretty cold.

So instead, I had the bright idea to go to the train museum and ride the Missionary Local.

So on a last minute whim, that is what we did.

Our crew is slow moving in the mornings, so we opted to make it on the last train of the day that would be leaving around noon.

The train ride is only six miles, but takes you over several bridges and through a tunnel in Missionary Ridge. It ends at the old East Chattanooga Station. It takes an hour because you ride to the end of the line, then disembark at a train yard where you get to watch the engine spin around on the turn table.

While they hook the engine back up to the train, we were taken to the train shop where they work on trains from all over the continent.

It was pretty impressive.

Thankfully my sister came prepared with snacks, because the kids mostly wanted to snack. But they still had a good time!

I went ahead and got a pass for our family. The kids enjoyed the ride and also exploring the parked train cars in the museum yard (this was probably their favorite part!).

We are hoping to do some more excursions, and even upgrade to some of their longer scenic routes when the leaves change in the fall.

This turned out to be a perfect activity for what started out as a cool morning.

Afterward we went to eat a late brunch at the Daily Ration in North Shore. Thankfully it was warm enough to enjoy sitting outside in the sunshine while the kids played corn hole!