"If you ask me what I came to do in this world, I, an artist, will answer you: I am here to live out loud." ~ Emile Zola

26 July 2010

Outdoor Frolic

With T on vaca from her massage clinic recently, we finally had a chance to do some fun outdoor activities we've been wanting to do- a hike at McConnells Mill State Park and a kayak trip on the Allegheny. Yay summer fun!

T loves being on the water, and while I love the water and being near it, I don't love being ON or IN it for reasons that will go unexplained here. Well, after years of insisting I would never go kayaking, I decided to go with T on her birthday. It was a BLAST! I love, love, loved it! We took out a tandem kayak from the North Shore of downtown Pittsburgh and up the Allegheny River to Washington's Landing, then back- a total of about 4.5 miles. I thought I did a great job at the front of the kayak, but T cracked up the whole time about my paddling. :P The waters were strangely calm and quiet, perfect for peaceful reflection and avoiding the fear of getting bowled over by a bigger boat. Fun times!













Another adventure was a trip to
McConnells Mill just north of Pittsburgh, 2,500+ acres of the Slippery Rock Creek Gorge created by the draining of glacial lakes thousands of years ago. A gristmill was built there in the 1800s to harness the power of the water. We chose a difficult, hilly hike that would take us near several falls and down into the gorge, and it was an awesome trip. The falls were fast and rushing, the trails were wet and shady, and the pathways were lined with colorful mushrooms (pics of those in another post). :)



This one was taken from the inside of an old lime kiln.








If these video boxes look empty to you, play them anyway- the images and sounds of the falls do show up. :)





1 comment:

VeggieAmanda said...

The pictures and the videos are lovely. I am glad you went kayaking! Congrats on trying something you would not normally try. :-)