Ijams Nature Center

Saturday, January 17, we finally got what we were hoping for -- a beautiful, warm day! Michael did a little research and decided we should try Ijams Nature Park, a 300-acre sanctuary just to the east of downtown. It only took us about 20 minutes to get there, and we soon realized we were not the only ones with this idea. The parking lot was packed and there were people everywhere! I have never seen a nature park so crowded. They had a few birds of prey on display but we couldn't get too close because of a crowd. We will have to go back and check out that area more. We quickly picked a trail and got moving. We ended up winding through the woods to the bank of the Tennessee River. There, we saw some cool caves carved by the water as well as some metamorphic folds -- rock that has been basically folded due to pressure. After walking along the boardwalk, we stopped at a picnic table for a snack before heading on to the next site.

Cave!

Beautiful view of the Tennessee River

Notice the cool rocks to the side :)

Looking out across the river to a cute little farm with cows grazing on the hill.

Snack time!

I just love these two so much!

More pictures of the cute farm

It was such a gorgeous day!

Metamorphic folding in limestone. It takes a tremendous amount of heat and pressure to do this to rocks and I think it is super cool. Heat and pressure like this over millions of years would eventually result in transforming the limestone to marble, which is found close by and was mined for 50 years.

 We found some train tracks, which we had to follow since Paul loves everything train-related and would get upset if we veered off the path. We kept going and saw Mead's Quarry, which was first mined in 1881 and used until the Great Depression to provide marble for monuments not only in Tennessee, but also in New York and D.C. I was really struck by the color of the water and how peaceful the area was. There was a big rock that I just had to climb up.

I am at the top of the rock here, taking a picture of Michael and Paul below me. Below was my view.

We hiked all the way around the lake, which was very steep for much of the way. It was a beautiful hike, providing gorgeous views of the now disused quarry lake and at one spot even Mt. LeConte in the distance. Paul loved running up and down the trails and did not need to be carried much.

See him running ahead? He is adventurous for sure.

He soon collected a stick which he would swing at the trees and roots with, just like Mowgli in the Jungle Book, a recent favorite.

He stopped for a bit at these rocks to play drums.

And sing, too.

Onward! At this point I decided I needed to lead the pack so that Paul would not run into other hikers or their dogs! Not to mention make sure he knew what the path was.

We stopped here to check out the view of Mt. LeConte in the Smokies off in the distance.

Paul looked pretty tired near the end of our two-hour trek, so we carried him for the last 15-20 minutes. It was a wonderful family adventure and although we were very tired once we got home, we made some great memories and can't wait to go back for more.