🐾 Lucy’s Journal
October 7, 2026
The Great Coopers Rock Leaf-Peeping Adventure
Dear Journal,
Today was one of those perfect October days when the air is cool, the sky is blue, and the trees at Coopers Rock look like somebody spilled a giant box of crayons all over the mountains.
After our little geocaching disaster last week, you would think the crew would have learned a lesson.
We did.
We learned that getting lost is actually a lot more fun when you do it on purpose.
So this morning, the whole gang gathered on the porch.
There was me, Lucy, the tan-and-white Shih Tzu and official expedition leader.
Peanut, the gray tiger cat and self-appointed expert in maps, directions, leaves, squirrels, rocks, and things she has absolutely no qualifications to understand.
Kiwi, our green-cheek conure.
The Quackers, the identical twin yellow ducks.
Gracie, the black-and-white Shih Tzu.
And, of course, the Ghost of Maybelline, our brownish pit bull ghost.
Peanut announced:
"Today we're going to Coopers Rock."
Everyone cheered.
Then she added:
"And this time we're going to get lost on purpose."
Everyone cheered louder.
The Ghost of Maybelline just slowly covered her face with one ghostly paw.
She remembered last week.
🍂 INTO THE MOUNTAINS!
We packed lunch, water, snacks, blankets, binoculars, a camera, and—most importantly—NO GPS.
Peanut said GPS would "ruin the adventure."
I think she just didn't want anybody reminding her where we were.
When we arrived at Coopers Rock, the forest was absolutely beautiful.
The leaves were everywhere.
Red.
Orange.
Yellow.
Gold.
Some were still green, like they weren't quite ready to join the party.
The Quackers immediately began collecting leaves.
Within five minutes they had approximately 47 leaves piled on their backs.
Nobody knew why.
They didn't either.
🍁 THE LEAF-PEEPING CONTEST
We decided to have a contest to see who could find the prettiest tree.
I found a beautiful red maple.
Gracie found a golden oak.
Peanut found a tree that had fallen over.
She announced:
"This is clearly the most interesting tree."
Nobody voted for it.
Kiwi flew up into the branches and announced:
"I FOUND THE PRETTIEST TREE!"
We all looked up.
It was spectacular.
The entire tree was glowing red and orange in the sunlight.
Kiwi proudly announced:
"I WIN!"
Peanut protested.
"You can't win. You can fly. That's cheating."
Kiwi replied:
"Being able to fly isn't cheating. It's a skill."
The Quackers immediately agreed.
Mostly because they wanted to fly too.
🦆 THE QUACKERS TAKE FLIGHT
The Quackers suddenly spread their wings.
They ran downhill.
They flapped.
They flapped harder.
They flapped even harder.
And then...
THEY FLEW!
For about twelve feet.
Then they landed in a pile of leaves.
FWOOF!
Two little yellow duck heads popped out.
Everyone started laughing.
The Quackers climbed out of the leaves looking extremely proud.
They immediately tried it again.
This time they flew about thirty feet.
Kiwi flew beside them.
Suddenly we had three birds flying through the autumn leaves.
It was beautiful.
For approximately ten seconds.
Then Kiwi yelled:
"RACE YOU TO THAT TREE!"
The Quackers took off.
And I yelled:
"DON'T FORGET WE'RE SUPPOSED TO GET LOST!"
Too late.
They disappeared around the ridge.
🌲 UH-OH... WE'RE LOST AGAIN
We followed the trail.
Then we left the trail.
Then we found another trail.
Then we followed that trail.
Then Peanut announced:
"I think we're going the wrong way."
Everyone stopped.
I asked:
"How do you know?"
She pointed at the ground.
"Because we've already seen that squirrel."
The Ghost of Maybelline looked at her.
Then floated over to a nearby tree.
She pointed.
There was the squirrel.
The squirrel looked at us.
We looked at the squirrel.
The squirrel looked at Peanut.
Peanut looked at me.
"Okay. We're lost."
I smiled.
"Perfect!"
And off we went.
✨ THE MAGIC OF COOPERS ROCK
As afternoon came, something magical happened.
The sun began shining through the trees.
The autumn leaves glowed.
The wind gently moved the branches.
Leaves floated down around us like colorful snow.
Even the Ghost of Maybelline looked almost solid in the golden sunlight.
We all stopped.
Nobody said anything.
For once.
Even Peanut was quiet.
Kiwi landed on a branch.
The Quackers sat together.
Gracie curled up beside me.
And we simply watched.
It was beautiful.
Then a leaf landed directly on Peanut's head.
She didn't notice.
Another landed on her nose.
Still nothing.
Then one landed in her mouth.
She finally spit it out.
"I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF NATURE."
Everybody started laughing.
🥪 LUNCH IN THE WOODS
We found a beautiful overlook and spread out our blanket.
The view was incredible.
Mountains covered in fall colors stretched as far as we could see.
The Quackers had sandwiches.
Gracie had treats.
I had a little bit of everything.
Peanut had stolen half of Dad's lunch.
Kiwi had absolutely no interest in his food.
He was too busy trying to steal ours.
Finally I caught him.
"Kiwi!"
He looked innocent.
Then he said:
"I was just inspecting it."
I told him:
"With your beak?"
He said:
"That's my inspection equipment."
🦌 THE FOREST VISITOR
While we were eating, we heard something moving through the trees.
Everyone froze.
Something stepped out into the clearing.
A deer.
A beautiful deer stood there watching us.
Even Peanut stopped eating.
The deer stared at us.
Kiwi stared at the deer.
The Quackers stared at the deer.
The deer stared at the Quackers.
Then one of the Quackers said:
"Quack."
The deer walked away.
Apparently that was all the wildlife diplomacy we needed.
🌄 TIME TO FIND OUR WAY HOME
As the sun began dropping lower in the sky, we decided it was time to head back.
Except...
Nobody knew exactly where we were.
Which was precisely what we had planned.
Peanut looked around.
"Okay. Which way is the parking lot?"
Everyone pointed in a different direction.
The Ghost of Maybelline pointed straight through a tree.
Gracie pointed downhill.
I pointed toward the road.
Peanut pointed toward the mountains.
The Quackers pointed toward a pond.
Kiwi flew up into the sky.
A few minutes later he came back.
"Parking lot is that way!"
We followed him.
Then the Quackers flew up too.
They came back and confirmed it.
For once, our flying navigation team actually knew where they were going.
🍂 THE RIDE HOME
As we walked back, the sun was setting behind the mountains.
The sky turned orange and pink.
Leaves continued drifting down around us.
The whole forest seemed to glow.
We had spent the entire day laughing, wandering, getting intentionally lost, eating too much, chasing leaves, flying, and enjoying one of the prettiest places around Morgantown.
When we finally reached the car, everybody was exhausted.
Gracie climbed into her seat.
The Quackers curled up together.
Peanut immediately went to sleep.
Kiwi tucked his head under his wing.
The Ghost of Maybelline disappeared into the back seat.
I climbed in and looked out the window.
The trees were glowing in the evening sunlight.
And I realized something.
Maybe getting lost isn't always a bad thing.
Sometimes you have to wander a little.
Sometimes you have to take the wrong trail.
Sometimes you have to stop following the map.
Because when you do...
You might discover something beautiful that you never would have found otherwise.
And sometimes...
You might even find your way home with a little help from two ducks and a green-cheek conure.
Until next time,
Lucy 🐾
P.S. Peanut says next week we're going somewhere that has absolutely no trees, no squirrels, no hiking trails, and no opportunities to get lost.
She suggested the living room.
We're going to ignore her.
