The Forest

Mondays were special this summer; I watched two of my grandsons every Monday. We did not stay home even one of those Mondays but went out to find an adventure each week. We tried the various local parks for the first two or three weeks. They were OK, but we really hit on the right place when we went to the Prince William Forest Park in Triangle. Wow! What a treasure!

I had gone to Prince William Forest Park last fall with a friend for a walk. We checked in the visitor's center to pay for parking, and they told me of the best bargain you can imagine. While it costs $5 per car to park every time you visit, I could buy a lifetime senior citizen pass for $20, and it's good at all national parks! Hurray for being old!

Anyway, we started with the easiest trail which took us to the forest floor on that first day. It was rainy and very dark by the time we reached the bottom. It was still and quiet, and we didn't see another soul. Jackson commented, "Wow, this is kind of spooky." It was spooky, but we persevered, read some of the signs labeling the plants and trees: white oak, yellow poplar, Virginia pine, mountain laurel, red oak, and American beech. We learned that the forest is home to a variety of wildlife, and we saw three white-tailed deer that day. The signs told us snakes and garden spiders also live in the forest, but I am happy to report that we didn't see any.

On each return trip to the park, we tried more trails, each a little more challenging--for us--remember that we are a team of Grandmother and two little kids. On our last visit there we tried the "Laurel Loop" trail, 1.3 miles. That doesn't sound too long, but it is very steep and hard walking. We had tried it from the other end of the loop one day and turned back, not sure whether or not we had gone half way. This time we determined to finish it. So we made it all the way to the Quantico Creek at the bottom of the forest floor. We looked up at the canopy soaring above--possible 80 feet high. It was quiet except for the soft noises of birds and moving water.

I said, "God made a beautiful world. Yes, God made a beautiful world."

We successfully climbed back to the top, back to civilization. The kids played on the playground for a while, and then we started back home. I pulled onto I-95 which was traveling at a crawl because of road construction, and even with air conditioning in the car, it was hot. I began to feel tense.

Then from the back seat Elliot, age 4, said, "MawMaw?"

"Yes, Elliot."

"God made a beautiful wuwld...God made a beautiful wuwld."

"Yes, He did, Elliot. Yes, He did."