No. 35  Holmdel Park

My nephews spent the last week in June with me.  We had the best time!!  Since they live out-of-state, and we never get this much time together, I packed a lot of fun into our 5 days; the beach, a farm, swimming at Aunt Tina’s, Basecamp and the movies. And of course…hiking!!  We did a little over a mile in Holmdel park for the first hike of the week, and I’m excited that they enjoyed it so much!!  They were amazed by the enormous snapping turtle we found in stream.  The water was really low because we haven’t had much rain and the old guy was cooling off in a deep spot.  The boys loved running through the woods with sticks and stopping for snack time.  The little guy, I have discovered, likes to take as many pictures as I do!

No. 36 Goat Hill Overlook

 

The boys enjoyed the first hike so much that we ventured out to the Delaware River to explore the woods and rocks and views of Goat Hill Overlook.  This is a great hike with little ones.  It’s short and easy, but with a great payoff.  The view and rock scrambling have these kids hooked on hiking!! Which obviously makes me happy.  I see back-packing, weekend hikes and camping in our future!  I couldn’t have asked for a better day to get these guys excited for the outdoors.  They loved the thrill of standing on rocks high above the river with the wind wiping all around!  At the top of Goat Hill we were rewarded with an outstanding view of Pennsylvania and an unexpected friend.  The boys were so excited to meet the horse Sky and his rider, I was too!  It was such a great hike and is definitely in the top 10 hikes of my 52 Hike Challenge.  Besides having fun on the trail, spotting wildlife and enjoying nature, these kids thought eating snacks while hanging out in the back of the car was great fun too.  I love it!! Clearly we are family.  I miss them so much and can’t wait to have another fun week with them.