Our Hiking Adventures in Pictures

        In case you haven't noticed, I greatly enjoy getting outside for exercise, to enjoy nature, and just to clear my head. I've been having a great time this summer going for walks and hikes with Myka (and my husband on occasion ;) ) that I felt like sharing some pictures from our excursions. Some of these are from us going out on our own and others are from the ranger led hikes here in the national park. We live in a "mountainous" region (they are hills to me), so I am super proud of myself for actually getting through the ranger led hikes without killing myself...or at least passing out. :D (They are 3-4 hour hikes and usually between 3 and 5 miles, roughly.) I know that sounds cheesy, but it's not often I'm proud of myself for ANYTHING, so yah, I am bragging a little bit! Regardless, I hope you guys enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed being in the places to take them! 

These are just a few of the pictures we took on the Caddo Bend Trail at Lake Ouachita (pronounced wash-i-taw, in case you're curious) State Park. It is absolutely gorgeous here and I can't wait until it cools off enough for us to go camping this fall! The best part is it only takes about 20 minutes to get there!

 I can't remember if I've shared these ones with you guys before or not, so if I have I apologize. This is from a short hike the 3 of us did on West Mountain in Hot Springs National Park. Don't tell my husband I posted a picture of him. It will be our little secret. ;)

These pictures are some random ones from different trails/areas we've stopped at on Hot Springs and North Mountain in Hot Springs National Park on our ranger led hikes. The top left is from the North Mountain overlook, top right is a view from Goat Rock, and the bottom is obviously my daughter in her super nifty carrier from Kelty! If you do a lot of hiking, backpack carriers really are a must have lifesaver. :)

Last, but certainly not least, are a few pictures from our ranger led Sunset Trail hike in the national park. The entire thing is AT LEAST 9 miles long, so, since we have a time limit on the ranger hikes, it goes without saying that we did NOT do the entire thing! lol Which is quite alright with me because the portion we did was enough of a workout for me. The top left is a view from Balance Rock, top right is the mountain we started on (doesn't seem that far, but we went AROUND, not down and up), and the bottom is another view from Balance Rock.