134/365: May 13th

{ Sidenote:  Danielle did not have her camera with her today :( still waiting on sissy to send me her pics... sister, if you're reading this... hint, hint :) }

Mom and I very much enjoyed our morning together—walking Dogwood Canyon’s 6 mile loop trail, which follows the canyon floor along a paved gently sloping path.  The walls of the jagged ravines frame a dramatic valley bursting with hardwoods, evergreens, oak, pine, cedar and, of course, the parks’ namesake Dogwoods.  We sighed at the preserve’s unspoiled expanse of bowed ridges, deep hollows and sheer limestone bluffs honeycombed with numerous caves.  We gawped at the crystal-clear streams flowing through the spectacular valley and the even more impressive waterfalls.  We inhaled the lovely floral scent of nearby billowy blooms.  We stopped and gazed at the wildlife hunting for their breakfast and paused to inspect the butterfly garden.  We talked about anything and everything… a fabulous start to celebrating Mother’s Day…         

Afterwards, famished, we stopped in at the only breakfast joint we could find, Panera Bread (yum!)… I think we couldn’t spent all morning enjoying our sit in the sun, sipping our iced teas… but we had further plans—thanks to dad who sweetened today’s plot—to soak up this beautiful sunny afternoon with the family at Silver Dollar City!

And so, to Silver Dollar City we went :) ready for a little chill and a little thrill.  The weather was perfect—a mixture of warm haze and gentle sun—and (bonus!) the lines were short enough to allow us to ride all the rides twice :)  

However, the days main attraction = time with the family; being together, creating a memory.

At the end of the day we split off into two groups, one that went off in search of treats to combat the low blood sugar levels, and the other set off to ride one final coaster.  I only mention it, because it was a sweet end to this Mother’s Day at SDC… because I looked around at our group, who was now approaching the entrance to Wildfire and noticed that our group consisted of mom and her original four kiddos… totally unplanned and kinda sweet.  We laughed together, because her fantastic 4 has now become the magnificent 7… :)