"Nature is Cool!"

After our early Saturday morning soccer game we took off for Catoctin Mountain Park. This is a very special place for me. When I was growing up we came here every fall to hike in the woods and climb the boulders of Cunningham Falls. Afterwards we would hit a farm stand and buy bushels of apples for applesauce making. Our visit did not disappoint- even though it threatened to (rain, cold, wrong directions, no snacks or water!). Mahlon loved the stories I shared about my dad- especially when I recalled something about crystals being in the ground. Sure enough only a few steps into the woods and we had already unearthed some quartz. Mahlon was enthralled. He also made me photograph every mushroom in the woods, of which there were a (surprising) lot of different varieties. At one point he declared, "Nature is cool!" and it made my heart sing. The hike was well over 3 miles (their sign is a bit misleading as that is to the entrance, not the actual falls) and the kids were champs. And just like the old days we stopped and picked up a bushel of apples (Cortlands) on our way home. As for the applesauce making, that is for another blog post...

If you decide to go, we parked at the Visitors Center at the Catoctin Mountain Park (a National Park) for free. We then walked across the street and followed the sign to Cunningham Falls. The other option is to follow the sign to Cunningham Falls State Park and pay the $3 fee and hike up from the lake. We were just trying to recreate my childhood memory and I 'think' this is the easier hike for kids.