Nearly Perfect Day

The only thing missing on this beautiful day was Madison, who was with a friend. It was labor day weekend and we decided to take the Razr out for a ride and hike to some mountaintop lakes. It was really fun although a bit strange having two kids instead of three :-)

A view of our destination - the mountains way in the distance. We drove the truck quite a ways in then parked it and took the Razr the rest of the way.

We parked near a really pretty stream so decided to eat our lunch here rather than haul it with us. We also found a perfect camping spot here that we will return to one of these days

From our parking/picnic spot we drove the Razr the rest of the way to the trailhead. It was probably 6 miles of rough, rocky roads. There were tons of trees so it was nice and shady and it was such a pretty drive. Just before the trailhead we saw this old cabin and had to check it out. I love finding old buildings. This area was an old mining area so there was lots of buildings and old equipment strewn around.

On the trail heading to the first lake. It was only 1/2 mile but it was very steep. We didn't bring the backpack for Hannah so that was a drag

It is so fun to come around the last bend or over the last hill and see your destination. No matter how tired you are it gives you a little boost. It is really fun to see it all play out in the kids - the excitement and joy as they find new energy to run over and splash in the water. We especially see it in Isaac because he is our lazy one who complains quite a bit about being too tired to walk! Somehow, his "too tired legs" are suddenly running, leaping and skipping around. :-) Of course I myself feel the same way; however, I refrain from skipping, running and leaping. I am sure Brock (and the other adults around) are thankful for this :-)

We decided to hike a bit higher to see a couple more lakes. It was only another 3/4 mile but was very steep and by this time Isaac needed to be on Brock's shoulders and Hannah on mine. We found another old structure along the way and couldn't resist testing our balance.

I tried it too but my picture was too dorky to put on :-) It was really freaky - much higher than I expected and my horrible balance wasn't helping :-)
Our incomplete family picture at the second lake. Maybe I can photoshop Madison in between Brock and I :-)
We continued walking and exploring knowing there was possibly another lake nearby. Isaac is constantly picking up sticks and rocks that he doesn't want to part with. He found a walking stick and some "deer antlers". He thought they were pretty cool :-)

Once we saw this stream we followed it up and found another lake :-) I love this picture of Isaac - you can tell he is having so much fun and his happiness is so natural

While at the last lake we saw a big pile of grizzly bear you know what. It freaked me out a bit and I found myself scanning the area continually. I felt like it was somewhere watching us and waiting to attack! Maybe I have heard too many horror stories :-) Needless to say, I was ready to head down after that. Of course I know that there is always a possibility of grizzlies when we are out in the woods but it was a lot different going from a possibility to a fact! Isaac is always worried about bears so we made sure he didn't know what we saw.
We made a few stops while on the Razr and heading back to our truck.

This was a really small reservoir that we were able to ride right up to. There were tons of raspberry bushes along the bank so we gathered up some (ended up being a whopping couple each!) Hannah was happy to just sit and wait for us

We walked around the trail for a little while until we came to the stream. Brock always walks out on the logs across the water. I don't even like to watch others do it let alone do it myself. Maybe it is that bad balance of mine that keeps me off the logs and firmly on the ground.

Brock let Isaac drive on the way down. It is a blurry picture but I was taking it from the passengers seat, holding Hannah and we were going pretty fast. Isaac did a great job and was very proud of himself. As you can see, he is taking his driving lesson very serious :-)

What a fun day we had. We can't wait to go back there and camp (just not up at that last lake where the grizzly was) :-)