Our first almost fourteener.

There is no doubt about it, we are a mountain family and simply loving having the Rockies right our our back door.  I finally went out and purchased a couple of hiking books so that come Saturday morning we weren't scratching our heads with where to go.  Having a little munchkin makes the hiking a bit more tricky because we can't do anything too long and we always have to make sure that the hike is traversable with her on one of our backs (who am I kidding, Bob's back).  O it is such a delight to go up to the mountains.  When I picture heaven this picture has got to be a part of it for sure!

Grandma Jill came in for a visit over the weekend and we just had to take her back up into the mountains.   Most fourteeners in Colorado are 10 miles plus, which is very un toddler friendly, but Mt. Evans is a 5 miles round trip summit which made it a possibility.  I say possibility because really only the toddler will tell.  The drive up to Summit Lake was breathtaking.  Our hike consisted of 3 individual summits.  The picture up top has Mt. Spalding to your right and Mt. Evans to your left.  Yep, that is a small glacier up at the top.  We got out of our car in our shorts and tank tops only to be hit with the harsh reality of weather at 10,000 feet.  It was so cold.  We put every possible layer we could on including socks for gloves and loaded the little one up.  You can tell that the cold didn't affect her one bit.  She loves it!

Before starting on the climbing part of the hike we stopped at this amazing spot for a picture.  To call it a scenic overlook seems drastically underrated if you ask me.  Yes, this is where I live. 

I kept saying that the mountains speak to me in ways nothing else does and Jill asked me to explain a bit.  The Mountains remind me how Big God is and how infinitesimally small I am.  It humbles me to know that the God who is ultimately greater and more majestic than these mountains calls me His child and cares about me. God didn't make these mountains in His image, He made ME in His image.  If that doesn't speak to you, I just don't know what does!

The hike was pretty challenging if you ask me.  This picture doesn't really do the trail justice, but gives you a taste for what we climbed.  People really gave us some looks with Vibrams on our feet and a baby on the back.  

As a runner I am always amazed at how long miles become when you are hiking or climbing mountains.  What takes us 30 minutes on the flat ground to run takes us nearly 3 hours up there. It almost seems surreal.

 Time gets away from you very quickly up in the mountains and as you can see, nap time comes whether you want it or not.  How precious is she??

We made it up to the summit of Mount Spalding which sits at about 12,628 feet or so.  It was quite a challenge to make it up to the top but we prevailed and it was so worth it.  I was really feeling confident that we could actually summit Mt. Evans at 14,264 feet.

We stopped and woke the baby, got her out of her confinement, fed her some much needed nourishment and let her get her fill of Grandma love in the hopes that we could make it to the top.  Once back in the "pacak" (Lily's word for backpack) we kept heading towards the top.  Lily was a bit vocal and I thought that once we started moving she would perk up and we could finish our journey. Oh boy did I misjudge......

She quit hard!  See that face?  I will translate: "I don't want to be in this pakak anymore and should you try to go up further I will turn on all my toddler tears and make you feel like the worst parents ever."   So, considering the fact that we still had to go down the mountain we got her out again, changed the diaper and took the opportunity to snap some more pictures.  

On the way down we ran into these 4 legged mountaineers.  The Colorado mountain goats are simply an amazing animal.  They traverse cliffs and mountains like nothing.  It is incredible.  Lily kept calling them "Buddy" which I think is her new word for any creature we encounter while hiking in the mountains.  She was mesmerized with them which created a great tear distraction and kind of restarted the toddler for the trip down.

We all made it down in one piece with just a few tired muscles and 4 very hungry bellies.  What a morning it was.

White Fence Farm

I was going through the past month and realized that I never posted about our visit to the White Fence Farm.

 The Farm is actually a fantastic restaurant that serves great home cooked fried chicken and all of the fixin's.  They have a small working farm attached so you can stop by and see the pigs, goats, cows and chickens.  Lily had a blast.  Eating was literally the last thing on her list and we all had to take turns running around the grounds with her. It was sad because Uncle Chuck and Aunt Christie were visiting so we missed out on any real quality conversation.  O well.

After we all managed to finish our dinner we had a great time playing in the cool evening.  Lily and Bamma got to ride in the carriage pulled by the big horsey.

 Lily loved it and squealed with delight.  Once off of the carriage she spent most of the evening in and out of the creek, on every horsey she could find, in the gazebo, on the playground and anywhere someone would chase her.

 What a doll.  Life is simply more fun with a toddler.

Meet Buddy

This is Buddy,  Lily's new little mountain friend.  We had a great time getting to know this little guy on Saturday.

With all of the trauma and drama surrounding the shooting Bob and I decided that the respite we needed was a day in the mountains.  We headed up to the Rocky Mountain National Park and enjoyed the most amazing hike.

 It was so refreshing and rejuvenating!  Lily is such a trooper and simply loves being outdoors and in the fresh air.  We got into the park with no plan and found the first trailhead we could find.  The round trip up to Deer Mountain was 6 miles.  Honestly we were not convinced that Lily would make it the entire way so we headed up and decided to play it by toddler.

What amazing views.  I simply could not snap pictures fast enough.  The pictures don't do the landscape justice either.

Lily faithfully carried her juice and Boo Boos up the mountain and had a blast riding on her Daddy's back.  She didn't fuss once.  It's like she has the mountains in her blood.  After about 2 and a half miles of walking we stopped for a much needed snack and leg stretching break.  I grabbed some kisses and snuggles from the littlest mountaineer.

 How could I not?   We met with some 4 legged hikers to Lily got to love on more horseys.  She just lights up when she sees them.

The top of Deer Mountain was everything it should have been with a spectacular 360 degree look of the breathtaking Rockies.

 We toodled around up at the top for a while snapping pictures and letting Lily get some of her energy out.  This is where we met Buddy.  The chipmonks up there are not afraid of anything and will literally come right into your lap for any snacks you might have to offer.

 I know we probably shouldn't have fed the wildlife, but it was just too much fun.  Once Buddy crawled up into Lily's lap for a snack she was mesmerized with him and searched high and low for the little guy when he would dart off.  We sat up at the top playing with Buddy and his friends for quite a while.

The hike back was faster since we had to outrun the rain.  We got back to our car simply exhausted and starving.  Both Bob and I wanted to take a nap.  Oddly, the mountain air had the opposite affect on Lily.  She didn't sleep a wink all day and had triple the amount of energy to burn.  What a great day!