Heather's 5k

Since the start of school, Heather has been participating in her elementary school's cross country group. They've been practicing twice a week for the past two months. All the practice was leading up to this past weekend's 5k run. She and about 12 or so elementary students, her principal, and a few other teachers all made the run. Although I didn't run, I still got a decent workout trying to stay warm in the frigid morning air cheering them on.



The warm-up stretch.


The pre-run group cheer.






And the finish!

Shenandoah Valley - Old Rag Mountain

Last year, Heather and I were totally lame and didn't do anything to enjoy the spectacular autumns here on the east coast. We were determined not to repeat that mistake again. So this year, we decided to go to one of Virginia's most scenic spots: Shenandoah Valley National Park. After doing some research, we found out that Old Rag is the hike with the best views. And even though it was a bit more crowded than we liked, it was a great hike.

Even though not all the leaves were in full color, some trees had started to turn bright yellow, red, and orange. It was beautiful.


Old Rag is the highest mountain in the area, so the views are pretty stunning.






A little over 1 mile of the 7.5 mile hike is what is called a "rock scramble." It's not quite full-on rock climbing, but it did entail scrambling up, down, and around small-house-sized boulders. Naturally, we loved this part.








Here's us at the top.


Heather's making her "pretty face." Isn't it cute!




The hike is one large loop. The section on the way down was much less exciting compared to the rock scramble on the way up, but it was still very pretty.