Anniversary hike

This week J and I celebrated our 4 year wedding anniversary. It's hard to believe it's been 4 years. We typically don't do much in the way of gifts. J's birthday is the same week as our anniversary, and we both prefer spending time together over spending money. This year, J surprised me with what I consider one of the best anniversary gifts ever. He came home Thursday asking if I would be willing to take Friday off to go up into the mountains for a hike. I have been wanting to go hiking in the fall in the mountains for weeks. Of course the government shutdown put a stop to that until Thursday, which was perfect timing. After okaying the day off with my boss, we headed out to the mountains. It was a nearly perfect day - slightly cool, sunny, and the fall foliage was in full bloom. We picked a 3.7 mile hike at Stony Man Mountain. The views were spectacular.

There weren't a huge number of people on the trail (it being a weekday), but we found a nice couple to take a few pictures.

The trail itself was beautiful with all the brightly colored leaves. However, due to the leaves and recent rain, it was a bit slippery and a little slow-going, but we made the best of it.

The recent rain made a small mountaintop pool of water.

Just thought you all might enjoy the beautiful views from our hike. We were pretty wiped out from the hike, but it was a lot of fun. The drive on Skyline was also breathtaking. I am so glad the national parks are back open. It was well-worth the day off. And exactly what I wanted for our anniversary. Hope you all are having a great weekend!