Fabulous Fall Hike in Vermilion, OH

The beautiful hint of Fall on the little tree welcoming us to our hike!

Fall is beginning to sneak out on the trees here in northeast Ohio! And I'm absolutely loving it! It means cooler temps are coming, gorgeous trees will be everywhere, and most importantly: my birthday is coming! (I'm an October baby.) My sweet husband and I have hiking and camping fever so we strapped on our hiking boots, leashed up the dogs, and went on a three and a half mile hike today. It was unbelievable and did everything we could have desired to invigorate our souls.

Chief (L) and Ruby (R) ready to hit the trail!

We got a new harness, just like Chief's, for Ruby this week. She is terrible on the leash, pulls like a sled dog, and we're doing our best to train her on the short leash to heel and walk nicely. But on a hike, we like for the dogs to have free reign and be able to run and sniff. I think they get as rejuvenated on our hikes as we do!

These are my two favorite nature-y things that we saw on the hike (we didn't really see anything un-nature-y, though!). I lovelovelove purple asters (at least that's what I call them, who knows what they are really called!). I looked for them the entire hike and finally saw them in the field! Both Matt and I thought the fungus was really cool. It doesn't show in the picture, but it was super bright white.

The river was clean and beautiful! Perfect for the dogs to take a quick dip!

Chief loves the water, Ruby is just learning to appreciate it. Chief wades right in and waddles around to get cooled off. Ruby is still a bit hesitant, but with time and watching her big brother, I'm sure she'll love it, too!

Ruby debating just how fast she wants to run across this boardwalk!

All in all, the hike was magnificent. We spent quality time together and with our beloved dogs. The kids, who were pooped from a busy weekend, got to relax at home. We'd love for them to come join us on our adventures, but hopefully with time it will happen and the desire will grow. I'm not so sure as a 13yo and 8yo I would have wanted to hike three plus miles in the bug infested woods either! 

We have officially started our endeavor to get ourselves and the dogs in better shape for longer backpacking trips. (O! BTW, I found a pack that I love and fits me superbly, too! I'll tell you about it soon!) We also decided that we won't be taking the dogs on our mountain climbing trip next year to the Presidential Traverse. But, we will be taking them on our overnight backpacking trips! Hopefully the kids, too!