We did it!

before the hike..so energetic

Ok, so kicking and screaming I dragged my daughter and 2 cousins out this morning for a nice 5 mile hike around Black Diamond Mines. I don't think they actually believed me when I said we were going for a hike..but they sure did as we arrived at the park. We met up with the rest of the people who had signed up and I felt a little unsure as they all had walking sticks and hiking shoes and hats...ugh! As we started the hike with Eddie, our guide, he pointed out many different things around the mines..most importantly..there were no bathrooms and no water where we were going. I packed 2 big 16oz bottles per person so I figured I had enough and lunch for us all. We started out up a hill, which I was not prepared for and headed to the Cemetary. I love old cemetaries. They are so amazing to see the handcrafted tombstones and how old and young so many of them were. After that we headed to "nortonville" which was the largest of the 5 mining towns that made up this mining area. We learned that when the mines shut down, people took everything (and I mean everything) down to the nails that held the boards. We did see some remnants of brick walkways, but that was it. Eddie has a bunch of old pictures to show what the valley looked like before, it was amazing the difference. After that we headed up a narrow path and went up and up and up to "Jim's Place" Jim's place was nicknamed by the parks department, it wasn't actually Jims place. BUT what it was is a hole in the mountain that they assume someone lived in, but don't really know. At this point we are 3 hours in to this guided walk and the kids have all but killed me. They are not pleased at all with this hike. I am exhausted myself, but smile and say..oh it's not that bad and we're halfway through. We continue on a little ways further and our guide takes a lunch break. We had eaten our lunch about a mile back so we lay on the cool concrete. Now additional note, the weatherman said it was going to be 83 today, but my thermometer said it was 93...such a liar! It was hot, luckily at the top of the hill, there was a wonderful breeze. After eddies lunch we continued up and up and up..begging him to let us know when this was going to be over. We were rewarded at the top though, with stunning views of Clayton and Pittsburg and the Delta.
Then it was all downhill baby! Of course, I had to hang back with my daughter as she needed to use the facilities..and by that I mean cop a squat on the side of the road! According to Eddie, this was perfectly acceptable. I heard that nick ran ahead and let it rip too...too funny! The best part of the hike was the kids reaction when they saw the parking lot from the hill. I'd never seen such excitement. They ran down the narrow path until they got to the fire lane to complete the walk to the car. It was a fun day overall, but we all got too much sun and I now have a headache, that is not being helped by the fact the I'm watching a sad movie and crying. Cause thats right I cry at movies...accept it and move on!