Hi world! Chris here. While I know it’s been about two weeks now since Father’s Day came and went, this post is all about the gift my mom decided to get my dad that day. Apparently she was listening to K-Love and heard that the best gift for fathers is the gift of experiences. That is how we wound up climbing through Hanging Rock State Park even though I have no idea if my dad likes hiking or not.

All sarcasm aside, we had a very nice time. The weather was nice (until it started raining) and my sister even brought her two dogs to enjoy the trip.

Just like my first post about hiking (The Chimney Rock Challenge) I won’t be talking much. Instead, I want to share some pictures and let them speak for me. Enjoy!

I don’t know if anyone else thinks this, but there’s something so pure about seeing the sun shine through leaves. It always makes me feel so peaceful and happy. Definitely makes me think of being a little kid again, but it also kind of reminds me of doing yoga and how steady I feel afterwards. I don’t mean to get all hippie on you guys, but it was just on my mind.

Given the name of the park, it’s obvious trees aren’t the only beautiful thing about this trail. The rock formations were worth walking for too. Seeing things like this always brings back old science classes where I learned about the different kinds of rocks. I’m obviously not a scientist (I’m an English major after all), but given the lines in the stone I think these are sedimentary (I looked it up and I’m right). Sedimentary rocks can’t be formed without water, so it’s really crazy to think that this mountain used to be under water at some point in time.

The Earth is so interesting if you really let yourself stop and think about it.

By this point in the trail, we were basically at the end. It turned out to be pretty great timing because the sky was just starting to turn grey from the oncoming storm. There was a breeze carrying in the rain clouds and the thunder was getting loud enough for us to realize what it was. It may sound scary to be at the top of a mountain as a storm is forming with lightening and rain, but it wasn’t.

To be fair, we had a good deal of time left before the rain actually arrived, but we didn’t know that. At the time it just felt kind of cool to be so close to the shift in weather.

As you can see, there were several other people hiking that day. Don’t worry, we all kept our distance from anyone that wasn’t in our group.

I’m not sure why, but I thought it was really cool to see this little bush/tree thing growing out of the side of the rock. I always like those plants you find growing through the sidewalk or out on a ledge. It’s like they all exist as a testament to determination. They’re all living examples of surviving hardships and learning to grow your own way. I just love it.

Almost everyone decided to leave at the same time because of the oncoming storm. However, we all moved at different paces so it stopped the descent from being too crowded. Rae and I tried to maintain a leisurely pace both to stay close to mom and dad and so I could enjoy taking a few more pictures. In the end, I assume it was this walking style that ensured we all got rained on before we made it back to the car.

If you ask me, it was worth it!

Compared to other trails and other parks, this hike wasn’t really difficult. It’s definitely something families can do together and members of almost every age would be able to keep up and enjoy it. If you have a dog in your family, they would be great to bring along too!

I know this post was pretty casual, but I’ve just been chilling since school ended so I wanted to make it relaxed. Hopefully you enjoyed the conversational tone and the pretty pictures it came with. Next week should be another Redhead Review so that will continue with a more ‘academic’ tone.

Until then, stay safe out there!