over the river and through the woods.....

...not quite, although we crossed a small stream on yesterday's hike.

the bosses weren't getting back into town until last night, so i packed up the kids and SO, and we headed up to caesar's head state park for a long-overdue hike to raven cliff falls, near the north/south carolina border.

since the park is a good two hour drive from columbia, i took the kids on a "test hike" at congaree national park the last time their parents were out of town- to make sure the five year old could handle a 4 1/2 mile hike without pooping out somewhere in the middle.(she passed with flying colors and very little whining, i'm pleased to report.)

we'd packed a variety of snacks, our national park passports (we were hoping to have enough time to boogie across the border to the carl sandburg home but, alas, we ran out of time), our gnomads, and the nine year old's webkinz (a current obsession).

all were hauled out at one point or another, as you can imagine, though we had to settle for the caesar's head state park address stamp on our passports. (the kids were still excited, which is the important part.)

i'll spare you the mundane details regarding our root beer floats, SO's recurring belching (much to the five year old's delight, as each explosion was followed with a spot-on steve martinish "excuuuuuuuuse me"), and the lectures regarding the (lack of) wisdom of running near the mountain's edge.

however, i will make you suffer through some pictures :)

the webkinz claimed shotgun


hot dog, who's taken over bodhi's blog while he's on his world cruise, with caesar's head


raven cliff falls

i suckered SO into buying two hiking books for me at the caesar's head gift shop- he's already been tipped off that i'm planning on dragging him out to frolic in the wilderness when i get done with my radio shift next weekend....assuming he's walking normally again by then.