One of the joys of seeking experiences over stuff is we do not have to join the world in shopping on black Friday. For those that know us well, you know we never did go out on Friday morning for “Black Friday” deals. I usually went into work and wrote performance reviews celebrating a day lacking meetings and emails.

This “black Friday” we took in the local Middle Creek Park in Burlington, Kentucky. We enjoyed the hiking and the stepping away from all of the traffic that exists anywhere near a mall. The venue was quiet and we were part of a small group of hikers; we saw a few others out on the trails. The park has almost nine (8.49) miles of trails.

No cell phone reception and watch out during hunting season–which when we looked it up was when we were out. No hunting in the park, just the neighboring area.

The excitement of hiking in the fall is that no insects are out to ruin your day. It was only 50 degrees out so we were wearing long pants. The other benefit is that no prickly bushes were scratching our legs as we hiked up and down the hills. On the other hand, we are noisy as we walk through the leaves that have almost all fallen, scaring away the local wildlife and sometimes obscuring the path.

Good thing we saw the sign post.

The trail we hiked was a multi-use trail for horses and people. Horses must use the trail as we saw evidence of their hoof prints and, fortunately, no other evidence. The ground was muddy in places. The hiking up and down the hills was just right. We enjoyed the glimpse of the Ohio River that is afforded at the top of the trail.

View of the Ohio River from the park

One of the retirement benefits is taking off when the weather is nice and visiting local parks. We are sure that many others had the day off.  

View of Middle Creek

The lesson learned from this travel is that near or far, a good time is often determined by our own attitude. We set out for an adventure, and even though this one was closer to home, it was a get away from town and any normal routine that we have established in retirement.

Another lesson learned during the last few weeks was emphasizing the importance of family and friends. We have traveled to a few funerals and attended some locally. It is great to get together with the family and remember a life. It is even better at Thanksgiving and other times to get together and just be together. Making memories together is part of the journey; we are looking to continue to celebrate that journey on our travels.

We hiked about 3.5 miles on this adventure.

Our minimum outdoor bike riding temperature is 55 degrees or a little cooler if the day is warming up. I taught an indoor bike cycle class instead of taking a bike outside.