No bike content here, that’ll be a separate post.

2009 was a strange year. We spent most of the year in Pennsylvania, having moved there in October of 2008 when Sarah was offered a job there.

Her job was great, but we hated living there (really, we hated the Wilkes-Barre area, not the whole of PA). We missed our families, both of whom live in Indiana. We took a long hard look at what was important to us and we realized we belonged back in Indiana.

So, in September of 2009, we moved back home. Once we returned, we went through a lot of effort to attempt to put our lives back the way they were before the move. And, we did such a good job of it that now it almost feels like the 10 months we spent living in Pennsylvania never happened. Like a weird dream, or an extended vacation (even though our time there was largely miserable).

I also found myself unemployed at the beginning of 2009, and started my own company. That went relatively well, but ultimately I learned that I hate working for myself, at least in that way. After we moved back home, I got a more normal job, and it feels great.

So, in a way, it was a year-and-change of mis-fires: moving to Pennsylvania, starting my own company. But we learned valuable lessons about how we DON’T want to live, which in turn reinforced how we DO want to live. It was a year of taking risks, but also of taking control of our lives, and learning how to steer the ship. We oversteered a couple of times, but we managed to correct for it.

Moving back home was even risky. Sarah had to quit a good job so we could do it, and we spent a lot of our savings to make it happen. But we saw what we wanted and went for it, and I am proud to say that we did. We are now both gainfully employed and loving being here … near our families and friends. It’s great to be home.

Sarah and I did another hike with my nephew, Avery. This time, we hiked the three-mile Rock Shelter Trail, a longer and more difficult trail than we have done with him in the past, and probably the longest hike he has done. Here’s a map.

View 2009-10-25 Rock Shelter Trail in a larger map

The hike started on a fire road, and went downhill for a while before turning to a narrow trail and descending more steeply. We taught Avery how to follow the blazes on the trail, and he turned it into a game to see how many blazes he could find.

Once we reached the bottom of the ravine, the trail followed a creek, crossing it many times. We tried to catch some frogs, but they got away from us.

Avery did, however, find part of an acorn — which is almost as exciting as a frog.

After following the creek for a while, we reached the Rock Shelter. Avery scrambled up to the top and coronated himself King of the Forest.

We hung out in the “Rock Shelter” for a while.

I believe Avery and Sarah were singing a song in the following shot. In fact, I think the dog is singing, too.

We sat to have a snack. Problem with that was, Rob was very interested in what we were eating, as can be seen here.

We moved on, following the creek a little longer. Then, the trail climbed rather sharply, for a while. But everyone did very well, and no one complained.

We passed a pond, and soon were on another fire road, on flatter ground.

More songs were sung; I believe there was one that never ended, followed by (paradoxically) a few others. Maybe something about a leaky bucket.

I loved this hike. It’s great to spend some quality time with my nephew; and as he gets older, there are more and more things we can do together.

On our way home, we stopped at the Musgrave Orchard to buy some fresh cider. Followed by dinner at mom’s house, and then pumpkin carving. It was a wonderful, full day.

We had planned to do a hike with my family, but it ended up being 40 degrees and raining. I still wanted to hike, Sarah was willing to give it a shot, and my nephew, Avery, still wanted to hike as well. So it ended up being just the three of us. We headed out to Brown County State Park to hike around Ogle Lake.

A little background: Brown County State Park is a big tourist destination in the fall. People travel hundreds of miles to go to Brown County, see the leaves, camp/hike/bike/ride horses, fish, hunt, and shop in the nearby town of Nashville, Indiana. Nashville, and the state park, can get quite crowded sometimes, especially on fall weekends. It’s popular for a reason: it’s incredibly beautiful. But the crowds can be a bummer at times.

Being locals, we are fortunate that we get to see this beautiful area year round. And, we can head out there on a Wednesday evening if we feel so motivated. So, that’s exactly what we did. And on this weekday evening with chilly rain, the park was almost empty. Fortunately for us, the rain stopped about the time we started hiking.

I always enjoy spending time with Avery. He’s a great kid, and he reminds me of myself at his age. Conversation topics ranged from the reason for the change in seasons, how some people can curl their tongue while others can’t, mileage markers along the trail, beavers, fish, deer, etc.

And of course, I love hiking with my wife. And the dog, who fell into the water trying to drink at one point.

On our way home, I stopped at a couple of the many vistas the park has to offer. It was nearly dark, and the hills were shrouded in fog. Beautiful. In the last shot, you can see the Hesitation Point mountain bike trail running across it.