One Fish, Two Fish

We decided to try out my new stamp I carved by stopping at Hartwick Pines on the way home to find letter boxes.  We have been to Hartwick pines many times, but the letterboxes are hidden along the Au Sable trail which we had not been on before.  It was a beatific trail, more remote with less traffic and unfortunately more bugs.  The Mosquitos were horrid and I had to walk quickly back and forth along the trail while trying to stamp and log in the log books.  It's a good thing I can laugh at myself!  I imagine I looked pretty funny, and I am surprised there aren't any smashed bloodstained carcasses in my log book.   The trail was somewhat more enjoyable once I had found all the letterboxes and we could go much faster.  I would really love to come back to this trail in late fall or early spring when I can saunter and enjoy it more.  Highlights of the trip included seeing some beautiful early summer flowers, I especially loved the pink lady slippers which I had not seen in the wild before.  We met a botanist from MSU who was thrilled to hear there were pink lady slippers ahead on the trail.  We only met a few others out there but it occurs to me that we are all out in the woods on our own quests.  Steve and I to find letter boxes, a botanist to find elusive wild flowers, a family with their dog to find some time together away from the busyness of home, and a runner probably out to find some piece of mind.  

Good luck on your own quests my friends!