Crystal Springs

A town newsletter came in the mail indicating that a new park had opened up. As far as entertainment goes, Wytheville doesn't have much to offer so we raced over to this "park" immediately. After driving down some gravel roads in the middle of the country we parked by the sign that said "Crystal Springs" and walked inside. I scanned the scene for the swings and slides but they were nowhere to be found. What we found was better.

We walked across the field.

We headed for straight to the trail in the woods.

Upon entering, we found a box with a back pack inside. In the bag was a magnifying glass, binoculars, jars, nets, and all sorts of instruments and tools for catching bugs, exploring nature and watching the birds.

There were pamphlets with pictures of things we needed to look for and a journal for you to write down what you found. We trekked across the bridge with our borrowed pack.

We started on a little family hike.

We looked for bugs and mushrooms.

We found spiders,

and tons and tons of butterflies.

We found a wild pear tree and had a snack.

Enzo with the magnifying glass.

After a short hike I quickly realized that my skirt and sandals weren't cutting it in the woods. So we decided to go back the very next day. This time we were prepared with walking sticks:)

And jeans.

We stopped at one spot that had a fire pit, picnic table and a stream. The boys found frogs, water striders, salamanders and craw fish.

We roasted hot dos and marshmallows over our fire. As we relaxed and explored another family was passing through. We invited them to have some marshmallows with us. We ended up hanging out together for a couple of hours.

We went again two weekends later and roasted marshmallows again in the same spot by the creek. And that SAME family just happened to find us there again!! Totally by chance.

As much as we enjoyed this place, and hiking and roasted marshmallows...being with these guys is the best part.

Wish you were here with us.