The Ledges National Park

Another first for us, we went hiking at the Ledges National Park in Madrid, IA.  A lot of my nurse friends in the Emergency Room talk about how beautiful it is up there, so I decided a nice picnic after a fun hiking trip is just what I needed.

There are a lot of gorgeous photo opportunities here, we even talked about having our family pictures taken here in the fall.  The paths were very well cleared and had fun historic sites throughout.

The sandstone was gorgeous, naturally formed to create the coolest shapes.  If you have been to the Ledges and seen the signs, I didn't know I wasn't supposed to climb up here until after we took the picture, I apologize!

There are a lot of lovely paths to walk on, we decided a nice stroll through the stream would do just fine.  Here you can see my lovely kayaking sunburn!

This entire day was dedicated to our 3 year anniversary, so to commemorate the day I made my husband a fun plate.  I painted many of the scenes that makeup our relationship, places we have been, etc.

The Las Vegas sign, because we were married in Vegas.  The Pyramids, because of my recent adventure through Egypt. My husbands Ecuador soccer jersey, the soccer ball is a part of this, because I have been his cheerleader our entire relationship at all of his soccer games.  The Chicago sign, and what is SUPPOSED to be the Sears Tower, because of our trip to Chicago to visit my family last Christmas.  And finally, the Rocky Mountains, were we spent our honeymoon.  Our babies' handprints are slightly visible in the center and around the edge I wrote "Despite our differences, we fell in love.  And from that something beautiful was created."

There are 95 campsites at the Ledges, thirteen miles of hiking trails up and down slopes and so much more.

If you would like more information on the Ledges State Park, please click here to visit their DNR (Department of Natural Resources) webpage.