As I mentioned in the last post, we are having to make adjustments to our route. Our original plan was to make it to the state line by our anniversary. Well yesterday was our anniversary and we are not there yet. We are still going, just trying to work the route a little differently so we can get there before the snow starts falling. And truth be told, the area we've been walking in for the last couple of hikes has been sadly lacking in scenery. I know, I know..flat boring land in the midwest should not have been a surprise. But still we've decided to alter the route a little so we can get back to hiking in the woods.

So we took our route a few miles south today (but still headed toward the state border) and found ourselves back on wooded trails. The tall red pines were gorgeous.

The forest floor was covered in pine needles and the air in the woods smelled like Christmas.

Instead of following the canal, we hiked out to this calm blue lake.

Our hike wasn't a long one today, but it was very different from our last few. The trail went up and down a lot of hills, making it challenging in a whole new way. We found this great spot for a rest and water break.

The lovely views, the sounds a pine forest makes as the tall trees sway in the wind, the twisting, winding trail...and a day in the woods with my husband...a perfect way to spend our anniversary.

Our last hike wasn't a hike at all. It was really just a nice walk. Short but sweet. I don't even think we covered a whole 3 miles. But I was still getting over the flu and we didn't have a sitter for the kids. So we just decided to make up a short section that we had skipped close to home.

Yep, we skipped a section. Unfortunately, we had to make the decision to skip a couple of short sections along the way in the interest of time and making our deadline. We don't like having to skip and plan to make up any parts of the trail we miss in the Spring, since we know we are probably missing something great. One of the two sections we skipped so far was almost all road walking. Admittedly we don't feel too guilty about that one. Walking on pavement for long stretches is not fun for the feet. Plus we just prefer staying on the wilderness trails as much as possible. If we are going to make it to the state line by our anniversary (which at this point we are realizing is probably not going to happen) or even before Winter hits hard, we are going to have to take a few shortcuts. But we will make up for it as soon as we can. It would be a shame to miss any of this wonderful trail.

My camera wasn't working properly the last time we walked so most of the pictures didn't turn out. But I thought this one was cool. This neat old building is across the canal and visible through the trees. Definitely haunted, don't you think?