I went hiking through Happy Days a few days back. It was great to get back to a place that I have so many childhood memories in. When I was a kid my dad used to take my brother and I here and we would climb up on the rocks and into the caves. I remember we used to start out the hike going through a tunnel that ran underneath the road. I used to snap my fingers and listen to the sound echo through.
I think they rent out one of the lodges and someone was having a wedding shower. I liked the way the tunnel was decorated leading up to the lodge.
The trail is a few miles and connects to a few others, but I decided to walk slower and do the loop that lead up to an overlook and a number of campsites. There were quite a few people on the trail that day.
I love how the path winds into a pine grove, the smell of the sap and the pines is so nice. It's tranquil and it's a great place to think and meditate.
When we were little, my brother and I used to go into this cave with flashlights. It actually went a long ways back. But it has now been blocked off with steel bars. Apparently there is some sort of bat illness that humans carry that are killing bats called White-nose syndrome which grows on bats during hibernation and causes them to wake up prematurely and expend all their winter fats. It's all fun and games until someone has to carry white-nose syndrome into a bat cave! Anyways, it was a good hike with a lot of interesting surroundings.
Take care,
