39 Weeks: Time for a Hike!

The first vista on
the trail seemed like
a good place to experiment
with our seldom used
phone cams.

After what seems like countless weeks of rain and thunderstorms, the weather finally let up today to reveal a brief hint of summer.  Consequently, Bryan and I took a break from our usual weekend chores (unpacking boxes, pre-washing diapers and baby clothes, and generally getting our new home in working condition) in order to enjoy a rare respite in the great outdoors.

We headed out of town (but not too far out) to check out a small portion of the ~35 mile-long Rachel Carson Trail.  It was lovely.  Ferns growing proliferously over the forest floor.  Sun dappling through the trees.  The recent rains babbling noisily through trail-side creeks and gutters.  We enjoyed one or two vistas of the Pennsylvania hills, but mostly this section of the trail passed through picturesque forest.

This was an excursion full of "one day we'll have to's".

One day we'll have to go back and continue where we left off--as the trail as a whole is said to traverse a much wider variety of landscapes, though, for today, we thought just a handful of miles was ambitious enough.

Some horseback riders, moving
too quickly away for me to
catch a shot of anything but
their distant rear ends.

One day we'll have to go back with some horses (we'll figure out the details later) so that we can complete at least part of the trail on horseback.  We passed several groups who had opted for that mode of transportation, making us feel pretty ill-equipped on our old-fashioned feet.

And, of course, one day--hopefully one day soon--we'll have to take our little Archie hiking with us on a trail like this one.  We're really looking forward to that.

For now, however, an incomplete trail hike, on feet, without a baby (though with a fetus) will have to do.  And who knows?  Maybe this hike will bring us a little bit closer to at least one of those "one days".  (They say that walking is a great way to get baby into a good position and jump start labor.  We shall see...)

On the trail @ 39 weeks.