Snake Pit Wednesday

I did a small easy trail run today. Kind of an unfocused week for my training, so I decided I'd explore every new trail I saw that I haven't been on yet. Plus I did my usual yellow trail loop & red trail loop both backwards. Woo - hoooo, living dangerously! Total mileage 6, 4 running & 2 hiking.

Funny, when going the opposite direction you really do see things differently. Some side trails that typically look so minor were like open invitations to run down. And I did. Kind of warm day, and I saw deer, squirel & chipmunks all busy and scampering wildly when interupted by random human running down their trails. Most interesting sighting: one new trail led past an old house foundation. I stopped for a few mins and explored around. Stone bldg, with 'newer' front & back patios of yellow brick. Those looked to be 1950's -ish add ons to an older (1920's ish??) house. Basically I suck at knowing how to date these things so I could be way off. House collapsed both into the basement and along the sides. Piles of stones, just a few bricks. Up & just a few feet away was an old hand dug, stone lined well (more in a sec on that). Down the path about 50 feet was another stone foundation that appears to me as a work house of some sort. More crudely built and it's right over a spring that runs out an arch at the one end. Still standing, some wood & hinges intact. But back to the well. I peered down for a moment - hard to guess the depth but maybe 20 feet. Lots of sticks down there, no water visible in the bottom. The 'drum' which used to hold the rope & bucket have been dropped down into the well. Cool stuff, i like to explore old sites like this. Anyway I thought I saw something like maybe made from leather stuck in the wall most of the way down. Maybe some kind of climbing gear that was left behind by someone? Would I dare to climb down there and trust that I could get out? I moved to the other side to get a better view - and damn if the thing didn't move!! It was a big black snake. Very thick and strong looking. Then my eyes focused on several more down there. 2 big ones and 2 smaller. Three appeared black, at least one of those with a white underside. The forth guy was maybe a garter with short stripe pattern (not lengthwise), or maybe even some other type of snake. Freaky snake pit ! I wonder if they were getting ready to hibernate of if they've fallen in there and can't climb out?

Anyway, it was way cool as I like to explore & discover stuff like that. When I got home I quick grabbed my boys and we went back with flashlights so I could show them. We were all Indiana Jones snake-pit exploring style. I try to instill them with a sense of adventure with stuff like that. In fact, we were having so much fun that I lost track of time and my son was late to soccer practice. Oops.
I did alot of exploring around when i was a kid. The best line of the day: my younger son said, "I wish I could invent a time machine so that Joey & I could go back in time to when you were a boy. Then we could do nature hikes & explore with you when you were a boy."

Awesome.