Guess when Michelle was driving!

For bonus points: Guess the speed limits!

It was Sunday, and the weather was beautiful, so of course we were at Coopers Rock.

Location: Coopers Rock State Forest
Trails: Climbing Area trail, Raven Rock trail, McCollum trail, Roadside trail
Distance: 5.6 miles
Elevation: 1091 feet

First, the views from Raven Rock.

I think you can see to Maryland there.

You can definitely see Pennsylvania here.

Despite the view, I can’t say Raven Rock trail is a favorite. It’s extremely rocky, which just isn’t particularly comfortable to hike. (At least not with my ankle.)

Amusements along the hike:

The root structure being left behind as the stump disintegrates.

We stumbled upon the mating of the picnic tables. I was embarrassed.

This happy tree!

Watters Smith Memorial State Park is only 45 minutes down the road from us, and we’ve passed the sign for it countless times, but the name made me think it was more like Stonewall Jackson or Blennerhassett than a regular state park with hiking.

There is hiking, but there is also a preserved homestead–the first in that area.

The hiking was lovely, and so was the homestead.

Location: Watters Smith Memorial State Park
Trails: Dogwood Trail, White Oak Trail, Oak Ridge Trail, Pioneer Trail, Black Cherry Trail
Distance: 4.1 miles
Elevation: 906 feet

The homestead was not part of the hike, but well worth visiting.

The Homestead

Slow reading month, for the good reason of Being Outside Doing Stuff.

Historical Fiction / Mystery

Lord John Grey
Lord John and the Private Matter (2003) Diana Gabaldon (9/10)
Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade (2007) Diana Gabaldon (8/10)
Lord John and the Hand of Devils (2007) Diana Gabaldon (8.5/10)
The Custom of the Army (2012) Diana Gabaldon (8/10)

Mystery

Inspector Montalbano
Game of Mirrors (2011/2015) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli  (7.5/10)

Supernatural Fantasy

Felix Castor
Dead Men’s Boots (2007) Mike Carey  (8/10)

A Key, an Egg, an Unfortunate Remark (2014) Harry Connolly  (6/10)

Audio

The Rivers of London
Foxglove Summer, Audible Version (2015/2015) Ben Aaronovitch narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith  (10/10)

So I only read eight books, but that’s okay because I got to spent lots of time outside, hiking.

Book format was heavily ebook, with the only non-ebook being an audio book. (Audio books are going slowly right now, because I have an occasional lunchtime walking partner, which cuts into my audio book time.)

Genre was heavily mystery, with the three fantasy books also being mysteries. The single fiction book is the final Lord John book, which doesn’t have a whole lot of mystery compared to the previous books.

Fantasy: 3
Mystery: 7
Fiction: 1

Gender was evenly split, 4:4 with female authors still slightly ahead for the year (but they don’t look to stay that way, since I’m currently re-reading te Inspector Montalbano).

Some of the flowers we saw on our hike at Watters Smith Memorial Park

Bluets (Houstonia caerulea)

Star Chickweed (Stellaria pubera) ?

Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida)