What is a microadventure? One might ask themselves if extensive travel is involved to qualify as an adventure? The Grateful Boomers believe there is an adventure in every square inch, but one has to stop and look. 

So, in early May, they hiked in nearby beautiful Holliday Lake State Park located in Buckingham and Appomattox counties. In Spring, the ephemeral wildflowers put on quite a show and at every turn, gentle colored flowers greeted them from the woods floor. Going during the week to HLSP means you have the place to yourself.

With trail map in hand and water bottles in their daypacks, they headed out to search for wildflowers. Some of the flowers found were lady slippers, wild jam, wild geranium, heartleaf foamflower, perfoliate bellflower, mountain laurel and native azaleas.

With each using their “Seek” app, they were able to identify flowers they didn’t know. Looking up close and observing the exquisite details of each flower and photographing them, made for a wonderful learning experience together and a springboard for discussion of perennial flowers.

A 6.7 mile, well-marked, wooded trail runs around the entire lake. There are strategically-placed benches along the way and an observation deck that juts out into the placid lake. The State Forest that surrounds the lake is nearly 20,000 acres, the largest one in Virginia. Park rangers are always helpful and friendly and trail maps can be gotten at the entrance booth. There is a fee for parking, but for a nominal amount one can buy an annual parking pass good for all Virginia State Parks.

Who are the Grateful Boomers?

And if you’re wondering who the Grateful Boomers are, they’re a group of friends from Buckingham County, all over the age of 60, who want to enrich their lives through both meaningful friendships and challenging outdoor adventures.

They believe that aging gratefully with a high level of curiosity about everything, will create the best environment to remain mentally and physically active. Collectively, the group’s interests run from biking to hiking, kayaking and photography to reading, knitting, gardening and travel. They hope that by sharing their adventures, the group will inspire others to do the same.

To read about more of the Grateful Boomers’ trips, you can click here or here.

Editor’s note: Katherine Brooks wrote this for the Farmville Herald