August 1: Paint Creek Trail adventure

My wife's been talking about hiking down Paint Creek Trail in Rochester for quite a while now. So, today, while the kids and I debated whether to go putt-putt golfing, bowling or see a movie, my wife decided we were going to go hiking...down Paint Creek Trail no less. I was a little skeptical at first. I'd never been on this particular trail before and a long walk just wasn't on my agenda for the day when I woke up this morning. But, I love that my wife is always encouraging our family to try new things, so I bought into the idea rather quickly. I'm glad I did, as it was an incredible experience. Well, Paint Creek Trail itself was okay, but we veered off the beaten path and cut though Dinosaur Trail. On the way, we came across a family of deer, not 20 feet from us. It was amazing! The deer were calm, didn't even run off. I'm sure they're probably used to humans walking the trail, but I sure wasn't used to getting that close to deer in the wild. Shortly thereafter, we stumbled upon the Nature Center where we encountered two of the friendliest folks around. They were kind enough to explain many of the "stuffed" animals in the Center, and share some of the upcoming events they would be hosting. On the walk back, we had a bit of a scare. I'm not sure how exactly it happened, but a trio of deer - 1 adult and 2 fawns - were close to the path near a road and somehow became startled by the cars, bikes and people. Their reaction was to bolt, and, unfortunately, we were smack dab in the middle of their escape route. Luckily, two of them veered off to our right before reaching us, but the third, one of the babies, ended up dashing by us, directly to the left of my daughter and me. No one was hurt, and no one was too shaken by the incident. Although, my wife and I did reflect on what could have happened later in the day. I can definitely say, I've never experienced that before in my life!