On "hiking" with children

We are settling into a new Saturday rhythm now that the local Tailgate Market is over for the season.  We have been going out to breakfast at Louise's, a sweet little breakfast place right in downtown Black Mountain.  It is housed in one of the town's older houses, and they have herbs and vegetables growing all around it, which is, of course, very exciting to me.  Anyway, it's good and not too expensive and local and the coffee is good and it is fun. 

Then we go for a hike.  And Jesse and I have discovered the secret to hiking with (our) children.  It is this: just go somewhere that is already high and walk along the ridgeline. Because, unless the hike is very short, we are not going to make it to the top and see the view.  Five minutes in to the hike, and our kids have things to do and explore that do not have to do with making tracks down the trail. Today, we went up to Ridgecrest.  The trailhead starts with a huge scenic overlook, and you can see the mountains overlapping eachother for miles.  Then we set off down the trail, and walked for, at the very most, ten minutes.  Then Pea plumped down, and began work on her fairy village, which she worked at for a good forty-five minutes, while her brother found sticks, explaining that they were his guns (we watch no TV except for the occasional Caillou on YouTube when Dumpling has not napped) and that he was going to kill the monster.  Dumpling and I walked a little bit farther, and saw a woodpecker, and then Jesse made a little foray.  All in all, it was a great morning.  We got to see a view, and our kids played in the woods.