Twenty-four TrailBlazers made a scenic drive to Petit Jean under the command of Buffalo Bob to search for all seven elusive hollows. Once again our crack forecasters got it wrong – instead of warm, sunny and windy, it was cooler and cloudy with an occasional welcome breeze – great hiking conditions! To prove that we are flexible, we did the trail counterclockwise. After a while Bob headed off to do some spelunking on his own, so Tom grabbed the early lead until Kenya took over. Fall color was late this year and is lasting longer, so we saw wonderful photo ops as we walked through the canyon with its towering bluffs and colorful trees. Here and there the trail has steep steps making it tricky for vertically challenged people like Yours Truly. 

When we reached the side trail to the grotto, Bob had already emerged from the bowels of the earth to meet us. Lunch in the grotto featured entertainment in the form of a patriotic young Canadian who stripped down to his mean and lean black satin skivvies that featured a large, strategically-placed, red maple leaf. He jumped into the water and cavorted around under the falls - cameras clicked and he earned a standing ovation – at least from the ladies! He certainly wasn't camera-shy! Takahik, can you top that? 

Next some of us went up through the Natural Bridge and on up to Turtle Rocks where the views were spectacular and Yours Truly road a turtle bareback. Randy managed to get caught on greenbrier, shedding blood for us as an encore to the maple leaf show in the grotto! Becky came to the rescue with a bandage. Beautiful hike!