Day Three Hundred Eleven: Cerro de la Gloria

It was another beautiful day here in Mendoza, so some of us decided to do a short hike. Mendoza is surrounded by several large hills, so we took a cab to the top of one of the more famous ones, Cerro de la Gloria, where there is a huge monument dedicated to General San Martin, who played a fundamental role in liberating Argentina from Spain in the 1800s. After checking out the monument, we hiked down the hill and through the largest park in town, which also honors San Martin. It was a lovely day, and we had such a great time!

A tribute to San Martin and his liberating army

A nice view from the top of the hill

 Coke break at the lake after our hike

Day Two Hundred Seventy-Eight: Machu Picchu

We checked off a huge bucket list item today by visiting Machu Picchu. It is a place I have been fascinated with since I was a kid, but for the longest time I never even imagined it was a place people actually visited. It seemed like it was a sort of made up place created only for the pages of National Geographic. But we went there today and stood in a National Geographic photo, and it was amazing! It was also special to me because when I hurt my knee, I told my physical therapist that hiking Machu Picchu was my goal. It felt good to know that I had strengthened my knee enough to be able to do it! I would have been glad to visit anytime, but I love that I got to go there during my Year of Firsts, and I'm thankful I got to share the experience with all my people!

Machu Picchu

Sharing a special experience with my people!

Day Two Hundred Thirty-One: Urban Hike and Cidercade

We wanted to enjoy this beautiful day with a hike, but we wanted to try a trail we had never done before. Our research revealed the Katy Trail in downtown Dallas, which we were eager to try since we had never really done a true urban hike. It was such a lovely day and a wonderful trail, and we took our sweet time getting from one end of the three-mile trail to the other and then back again, stopping for a picnic and some play time along the way.

Fun along the Katy Trail

After our hike, we headed over to the Bishop Cider Co. which is better known as Cidercade. Talk about a unique venue! This brewery only serves cider, but they have about 30 choices. They also have more than 100 vintage arcade games. For the price of the $10 cover charge, you have unlimited access to all the games. We had a blast sipping cider (and non-alcoholic drinks for the kids) and playing all the games, some of which Jeff and I haven't played since we were kids.

Bishop Cider Co. (Cidercade)

Day Two Hundred Nineteen: Devil's Den

Today's adventure took us to Devil's Den State Park in Arkansas, which is absolutely gorgeous and full of wonderful trails. We hiked a moderately difficult three-mile trail this morning, had a picnic by the river at lunch time, and then hiked a less strenuous two-mile trail in the afternoon. It was the kind of day that makes my heart happy, and I was so glad to experience this First with all my people!

Day Two Hundred Eighteen: Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge

Our goal for this gorgeous day was to find a nice hiking spot, and we definitely succeeded with a visit to the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge. We did two very easy one-mile hikes that took us through forests, along rivers, and around lakes. We spotted some turtles sunning and swimming, an eagle catching a fish, and lots of ducks along the way. We even found a beaver dam, though the beaver itself stayed hidden from view. Clay was a little concerned we might see a "water neckison" snake, but, thankfully, we did not. We had a picnic and collected an untold amount of sticks, rocks, and seeds. It was an absolutely lovely adventure!

Day One Hundred Seventy-One: Ft. Worth Firsts

Today was the first day in months that we that we had a completely blank day on the calendar with no activities of any kind scheduled. We jumped at the opportunity to check out a couple of the things on our local bucket list. We started with brunch at Blue Mesa Grill in Ft. Worth, which is a place we've never tried before. We are definitely suckers for an all-you-can-eat buffet brunch, and everything was delicious! Afterwards, we headed out to the Ft. Worth Nature Center and Refuge for some hiking around Lake Worth. It was a beautiful place, and the weather was perfect! What a wonderful way to fill the blank spot on our calendar and work in a couple of Firsts as well!

Blue Mesa Grill in Ft. Worth

Ft. Worth Nature Center Trail map

One of the lovely views from our hike