And We Are Walking...We Are Walking...

I thought winter was here. Claude and I worked in the yard with him cutting the grass one last time and me cutting back my flower beds. Basically being sure all the yard was put to sleep for the winter. Then...the weather turned to summer almost. The skies are sunny. The temperature reaches a high of 70 during the day. It is just amazing. We really wanted to take advantage of that and were trying to think of a safe way for us to enjoy the world and not run into the virus. 

I went to bed Thursday night with my brain whirring about what we might be able to do. I prayed about it and instead of being able to sleep my brain started running through possibilities. It occurred to me that we could find new places to walk. We could also use our Billion Graves app on our phones and go to cemeteries and photograph headstones. I moved to the guest bedroom so I could let Claude sleep and I started searching for potential walking trails in our area. I was able to make a list of several in Lexington, one in Paris and another in Cynthiana. Any could be done in a day and not have forever to drive to get home. 

Friday I presented these ideas to Claude and he was happy with them. Friday we spent getting back and forth to LaGrange. This left Saturday for walking. 

Saturday, November 7th, we decided on Raven Run Nature Sanctuary. However, when I checked further you have to make a reservation to be in the park for a 2 hour visit to limit the size of their crowds. This only has to happen on Saturday and Sunday. I called and all their slots were filled for Saturday. On to Plan B.

We determined we would drive to Paris, Kentucky first. We stopped in Georgetown to get biscuits for breakfast from Chick-fil-A. Then on to Paris. We found Stoner Creek Trails and enjoyed the half mile walk on a paved path to the creek. This path goes around the outside of their soccer fields with trees hiding Stoner Creek on the other side of the path. When we got to the end of the path there was a wooden fence. We went over the fence and found our way down a little hill to Stoner Creek. Then we walked the half mile back to our car. These are pictures of Stoner Creek and the area during that walk.

We knew there was a drive-in theater in Paris. I was thinking it was on Hwy 27. We headed that way to see if we could find it. Hwy 27 would take us toward Cynthiana. I was checking Google Maps and realized the drive-in theater was really on Hwy 68. We were on the wrong road. Not a problem. We decided to go find the other place to walk in Cynthiana. I checked Google Maps again to be sure of the location. It was not in Cynthiana proper. It was about 30 miles north of Cynthiana. We decided to drive on out and find it. The final road for us to take was one of those that really only supports one car at a time driving it. 

This park is Quiet Trails Nature Preserve. The land was originally owned by the Wiglesworth family. They donated the land to Kentucky to be used as a nature preserve with the intent that school children could come and study nature and scout troops could come and camp, etc. With Covid-19, none of this is happening this year. There are two trails, the Challenger Trail and the Deep Hollow Trail. These trails join and form a loop through this 165 acres of preserve. There is an extension where they join on the opposite side of the preserve that allows you to hike down to the Licking River. In total there is 1.7 miles of hiking trails. It would take us several hours to walk all of this. The trails are not paved. They are full of rocks and tree roots. I am learning this is called a naturalized trail. This time of year that is all covered with leaves. We had to be very careful about our footing. We started our walk on the Challenger Trail. These pictures were taken along the Challenger Trail.

At this rock wall we took the extra leg down to the Licking River and back. As you walk down to the river, you pass an area that could be used for picnicking. It has a well in it. I truly can't imagine hiking all that way with picnic gear but there are others younger than me who would really enjoy it. These are the pictures of the hike down the hill to the Licking River and then of the Licking River.

With a couple of pauses we made it back to where the two trails join. Now we needed to decide which trail to take back to the car. The second trail is titled Deep Hollow Trail. The name alone causes concerns to tired legs and knees. But we really wanted to see the rest of the trail to the car. We determined we would stop frequently to catch our breath and take the Deep Hollow Trail. These are pictures of the Deep Hollow Trail. We may have been getting a bit loopy with exhaustion at this point, but we each saw something and named it. I saw rocks laying on each other with the center rock being whiter than then top and bottom rocks. I called it an Oreo Cookie. Claude saw a tree stump with the limb laying over and asked me to take a picture and name it a Rural Drive-thru. Can you find these pictures in this group?

When we got back to the car we sat for a bit with the windows down. Claude turned the car on and got the air conditioner working before we headed back down that tiny road toward Sadieville. We had thought about getting something to eat on the way home. We were both now ready to just be home. We discussed how one would rate this walk, easy medium or difficult. For us in our 70 year old bodies, we would rate parts of it as difficult. Really it is probably more a medium. We should have taken water with us but we really didn't know what we were getting into. Lesson learned when exploring new places. We both pronounced ourselves very happy we completed this walk and we were pleased with our efforts. 

Sunday, November 8, 2020 we were up and ready for Church to begin at 9am. This time the broadcast of sacrament meeting would be via Facebook. It took them a bit to get the sound right but when they did it worked very well. We were happy to be doing Church by watching from home. We received an eMail Sunday morning from our Bishop stating someone that was a Church the Sunday prior had tested positive for Covid-19. All people in contact with this person have been notified.  As careful as one can be, the virus is still a concern. Claude passed the sacrament to himself and me in our home. This is always a tender moment for us. We read in our scriptures and watched what we fondly call The Darin Show. Claude had a Zoom meeting at 3pm. I went to my sewing room and started this Blog entry and a letter to my father. I also got some scanning done for a Christmas present. We had a very good Sunday tucked in our safe home. I love my home.

Someone posted this funny meme about Christmas this Year of the Virus.

We also learned that Alex Trebek died. He is the host of Jeopardy which Claude and I love to watch. He was 80 years old and had pancreatic cancer. 

As of Sunday night our positive numbers were at an all time high in Kentucky. Our positivity rate based on a 7-day rolling average is over 7%. 5% is where they begin shutting things down. They have had 3 positive cases with the staff at the nursing home. Two are well and one is healing. No residents have the virus as yet. Thank heavens. So grateful for the care Signature Health Care has taken with our family members during these 8 months. They are heroes!