Cliffs of the Neuse

Field Trip Friday today was to the Cliffs of The Neuse State Park in Seven Springs, North Carolina.  We introduced the kids to a little geology.  By definition, geology is "the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change."  HOWEVER, geology is more commonly known by me as the only science I ever understood in college: biology, chemistry, and physics were just a confusing blur, and I have no idea how I got through them.  (Unlike my husband the science lover!)  And geology was more jokingly known around my college campus as "Rocks for Jocks" because all the athletes took it to get their science credit.  Ha.

The Cliffs of the Neuse are the highest cliffs in the North Carolina coastal plain, reaching about 90 feet from the river to the top of the bluffs.  The cliffs are made of layers of sediment - sand, clay, and pebbles.  Clues in the sediments help geologists determine the origin of the layers.  Fossils of sea creatures reveal that the layers were deposited when this area was covered by the ocean.

The Cliffs of the Neuse State Park is located on an inactive fault line, so its jagged terrain makes it a great place to take a good look at the Earth's sedimentary layers, illustrated in a diagram (above) in the visitor's center.  (Below) The real-life version of the diagram.  Although we didn't find any, this area is supposedly a great place to find sharks' teeth, and even megaladon teeth.

 The cool root formations along the water reminded me of Psalm 1:1-3:

How happy is the man
who does not follow the advice of the wicked
or take the path of sinners
or join a group of mockers!
Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction,
and he meditates on it day and night. 
He is like a tree planted beside streams of water
that bears its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.

We found cool animal tracks in the muddy river bank, including these made by raccoons.

We looked for fossils in special rocks at the Visitor's Center.

We took some time to investigate the cool cyprus tree formations along the springs.  They looked like stalagmites (or are those stalagtites?) in caves.  But really they were just tree roots and stumps shaped by times of high water.

Of course, this history-lovin' mama and daddy had to get a little historical perspective of the area in...

And I'm not sure that there wasn't a little phys. ed. thrown in for good measure, too.  Note to self:  When it's called "Cliffs" of the Neuse, you're going to have to huff it up to the cliffs.  Uugghh!  The ground is apparently not the only thing that has gotten sedentary: I realized  today that this is one out-of-shape gal!

 Mostly, however, we just enjoyed being outside. 

 It got up to 82 DEGREES on December 6th!!!  

This is definitely not what our family is used to at Christmastime...

And as a special treat today, Christopher offered for the first time to carry his dad's pack.... which weighs approximately a billion pounds.  He kept that big ole' thing strapped to his back for quite some time and didn't complain a bit.
This is one proud mother.  :)