Saturday, September 5, 2009

Kelly's Island - Quarry Hike



I liked this hike second best because it really was beautiful and the kids enjoyed it more than the first hike, but it sure was hot!  In fact, I think it was almost the hottest it has been for us this summer. You'd think going to an island in the Great Lakes the last half of August would be cooler, but it was in the high 80's and very humid.



The area was used as a quarry from 1933 - 1940. The small lake in the middle of the quarry is called Horseshoe Lake.



We walked down to the water's edge. Right away the kids wanted to do their favorite activity: throwing rocks into the water. Soon, Steve was impressing us with his rock-skipping abilities, and we were all trying to do it too.



































At one point, a butterfly landed right on top of my sister's head and stayed there for a little while. It would almost land on a finger that you held out.















On this hike, the kids picked up big sticks, and we called them their walking sticks.  Up til that point they had started to be a bit whiny and wanted to be carried, but the walking sticks definitely helped to keep them walking on their own.

After walking halfway around the rim, we were all getting a bit tired, especially the kids, so we decided to cut across the middle of the quarry. It was a bit of a steep downward climb, but the kids looked at it as an adventure.















Halfway across the middle of the quarry, we noticed that people had been piling stones on top of each other to make kind of a stone monument, sort of like a modern Stonehedge. Alexa did her part and added to the little monument.





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