Muir Woods

We had a great weekend trip up to Muir Woods (about 40 mins north of the Golden Gate Bridge). We haven't really been hiking here in California, which I know should embarrass me to admit, but I think it's really not that surprising if you know about the mountain lion problem. Anyway, Muir Woods is beautiful and, according to John Muir (objective third-party observer), is the "best tree-lovers monument" in the world.

Emily and Chad Pehrson actually came up with the idea, and we followed the indomitable Ruby as she chose the most difficult path up the mountain and back down.

For the most part Will rode nice-n-comfy in his sweet backpack (which is about as heavy as it looks).

We engaged in the usual activities on the hike. Chad and Ruby argued over the route:

Will got down as soon as possible and ran around like a mad man:

and also communed with nature:

I almost fell off the path, nearly taking Will with me (turns out there wasn't a merit badge on "balance," or at least not one that I was aware of):

And Will and Ruby blatantly ignored the warnings to stick to the paths and not trample the wildlife (in their defense, they are great climbers):

All-in-all it was a great time. Good exercise for the adults and a refreshing break from staring at a computer screen waiting for new email (not that that's how I spend my days) and for the kiddos lots of fun playing with trees and watching the birds.