Wild Medicinals Hike

On Saturday, we met up with a group at Little River Canyon to take a hike with Darryl Patton.

We met at the falls parking lot and walked to the overlook and back and he went over several plants and trees and how to use them.  The best thing I learned on that trek was how to ID winter huckleberry.  We munched on those while we hiked later in the afternoon.  : )

Reindeer Moss

He went over about 60 plants that grow literally in the yard and woods within 500 feet of the house.  Many, I knew already but was unsure how to prepare them, some were a total surprise.

 Thank goodness Chandler took such good notes, my brain started shutting down with all the information he was giving us.

 This is plantain, it will cure poison oak rash if you rub the leaves on the rash.

 It was a glorious day, the height of the fall color.

 Gathered at the Eberhart Point trail to start out .75 mile walk down to the canyon floor.

Crow Foot

 Just so you know, we really do have scorpions in Alabama!  

 Hiking back out after our lnch break by the water.  The trail is STEEEP and I don't truck on hills.  Ben and I were nearly the very last ones up.

After we left the group, around 2:30, we decided to take the boys to the Welch Caves.  They were not with us when we went with Chan this past spring and Jake in particular wanted to see them.

 

Ben is in the last cave, the one you have to belly-crawl to get in to.  I gave it a pass this time.  He chatted with me a minute and then got his nerve up to look down to the valley floor.  He looked back at me and said,"doin' the worm, doin' the worm" as he inched back from the ledge.  

 

Jake was first out of the small cavern, and he created quite the dust cloud!

 Chan somehow managed to barely get any dirt on her.

 

Ben was coated, as Jake had told him he'd get through the tight spot faster if he'd roll... You'd think after a dozen years of being lied to, he'd pause to question the wisdom of what Jake says, but...he rarely does.

 

The kids wanted to play on rocks, I wanted to, um...use a real potty, we all wanted something to drink.  So, we headed back to the state park store where all three were taken care of quite easily.

We always get a thrill seeing this particular stretch of water-it's Crystal Lake!
The kids are convinced it's fenced in to keep people from disturbing Jason. 

 It's not that I can't climb up tall rocks, it's that I can't climb DOWN.  Matt and the kids walk up slopes like they are crossing the road.  I don't.  So, I stay on the ground and take pictures!

 King Daddy! 

We headed on home after watching the sun set from the brow and we were all wiped out.  Matt and the kids slept the whole way home, we got in and they made dinner while I had a nice hot bath.  We ate and all went to bed by 10, it was a great day!