After a full year in our new town we feel like locals. We can drive to the grocery store without the GPS, recommend restaurants to visitors, and sip coffee at hole-in-the-wall establishments. However, this feeling is only on the surface. We realize there is much more to learn about what our town has to offer and decided to get off the main roads a take a bike ride around our neighborhood.
{The most adorable swing}
{Hitting golden hour on the trek home}
{An old granary turned restaurant}
In an attempt to cherish the outdoors before the weather turns bitter, Ian and I drove to a vineyard five minutes down the road. It is nestled at the base of the Niagara Escarpment, which produced a picturesque backdrop for the live music event. Ian and I spent the evening sipping on wine, warming up by the crackling fire and watching the sunset. The night was a perfect transition from the blistering music festivals of summer to the quitter evening of autumn.
Ian and I were itching to get out of the house and he set two guidelines:
Still being relatively new to the area, the second guideline was not hard to follow. We hit up trusty Google and searched for a State Park within driving distance. High Cliff State Park was the winner!
We learned High Cliff State Park used to be an old quarry and were surrounded by beautiful rock formations throughout our hike. At dusk, we stumbled across a grouping of Indian Burial Mounds which made for a very somber walk through the woods. I find burial mounds fascinating and was saddened to learn many of the mounds were destroyed by the quarry.
Overall, the hike was educational and breath-taking. It was a great way to get outdoors and explore our new county.
Beauty and Blooms 