Spring!

It finally feels like spring in Gaylord. I took my first long hike of the year today. I hiked almost 12 miles along side the Ausable River. My how the water levels have risen!! It was also my first hike in my newly purchased hiking boots. Other than the pads of my feet being a little sore, they felt great! I just need to walk around outside barefoot for a couple of weeks and my feet will be hard and callused, than I won't even notice the pain. I carried about 15 pounds of mostly water and of course my camera in my day pack. It felt pretty good. I bought my actual backpack for my long trip last week. I spent over three hours walking around REI with the pack full of stuff and my boots on. I could easily curl up inside of one of their tents and just live in the store. And it really isn't that big. I wish there were a store closer than 3 hours from my house. It would be a great place to meet a lot of interesting people. One of the salesman entertained me for over 30 minutes just talking about his experience on the Appalachian Trail. I would even consider quitting nursing and working in a place like that instead. I'm sure they would get great discounts!

It has finally warmed up enough to the point where the frogs are coming out to mate. I am able to tolerate keeping the window cracked a small amount, so that I can listen to the frogs all night. It is enjoyable for awhile, but it gets to the point where they can get terribly loud. On that note, time for bed. I have a rather busy day off tomorrow.