Day 3.320: Fire and Ice

We had another fire this evening following from the success of yesterday's. It certainly turns the bedtime story experience (currently The Tales of Beedle the Bard and The Magician's Nephew) into a more magical and memorable one.

However, that is not the fire I was thinking of. After a bit of Black Friday shopping (albeit rather non-traditional - at the Fair Trade Market in Delmar) this morning, we braved the cold to have a short hike at Thacher State Park this afternoon.

These photos and more in the Flickr set

When we arrived we were rather surprised to find a large group gathering for a picnic - and less surprised that their first act was to start a fire. It was cold. Well, I should say it felt cold as I'm sure that in real terms there is much much colder to come.

Even though we were feeling the chill in the air, we were still surprised to come across a patch of ice on the trail - the days of it being a novelty are surely numbered at this time of year.

The top of the ridge was warmer - surprisingly. Presumably it was due to getting a bit more of the fading afternoon sun's warmth. Also, our path was mainly downhill once we made it that far - which probably helped the positive feelings. By the time we passed the picnic again, there were sausages cooking on the fire - all very appetising, but we were more than content to go home to eat!