A walk in the mountains

The kids and I decided to take a picnic lunch up to the Shenandoah National Park, about 20 minutes from our house. There is a really nice visitors center, and some Ranger classes at a place called the Big Meadows. It is a very large meadow near the top of a mountain. It is full of wildlife and plant life as well as remnants of the people who used to call this place home before it was made a part of the National Parks. We went on a short hike and took a ranger class on "Photography in the Park"

Just some pictures of the views.






Like I've mentioned before, the deer are wild but used to people. Hannah got this shot of a deer in a small field just outside the visitors center.




Here is the Big Meadow. As you can see, there are lots of deer hanging out. Aaron became quite captivated by them.

And started running towards them. Just like Aaron, full of uninhibited curiousity and complete joyful abandon. Unfortuanately, the pictures don't have sound, so you can't hear the delightful shrieks of excitement and laughter, but you can imagine.

A watchful mom???

And now we know why. Eagle eye Lauren spotted this new fawn in the tall grass just off the walking path. It was an amazing and precious sight.

We learned from the Ranger that mommy dears give birth in the tall grasses and then wander off, so as not to attract predators to the new baby. The fawns are born without a scent so they can't be detected by other animals, so the mom won't stay close for long in order to protect the fawn. But as we saw, she is still watching closely.