Hanging Lake Trail, Glenwood Springs, Colorado

Today, our whole group (four families) headed west towards Glenwood Springs, Colorado, to hike Hanging Lake Hiking Trail.  One family in our group hiked this trail in the past, so they told us, along with Derrick's brother, Chris, that it was worth the 1.5 hour drive from Frisco to do the hike.

It was chilly when we started, but soon our hearts were pumping and we shed our outer layers.  We were all prepared with packed lunches and lots of water, as we headed out on the 1 mile, 1000 foot elevation gain, hike to the top.  Derrick put Elliot on his back, as the steps were very big and uneven and I carried the backpack of our supplies.  Everett, of course, had his moments of not wanting to hike, whining he was hungry, and then regaining his "energy" and sprinting ahead of us as we hiked along.  Ethan was at the lead with a few of the other kids, and most of the time I barely got a glimpse of his face, looking back at me to make sure we were still close enough for him to advance on with his friends.  The kids loved the hike and quickly made it to the top.

At one time, when Everett was really having a hard time, I pulled out my secret stash of peanut M&M's and told him he could have two, but he needed to keep hiking.  He ate them, then a few minutes later, as we hiked along he said, "Mommy, remember a little while ago when I lost all of my energy?  Well, I found it!" and he sprinted ahead about 20 feet up the mountain.  He's such a funny kid sometimes!

Pike kids hanging out behind the waterfall

Ethan and Elliot, behind the waterfall

Everyone was ready to eat some lunch!  

A bird visitor wanted some chips.

The rest of our group eating lunch.

The Vorm Family

Sprouting Rock

Elliot was ready for the ride down.

Heading down was a bit intimidating.

Elliot called this large rock "the car".

After hiking we headed over to Glenwood Springs to check out the thrift stores and grab some food before heading home.  Right before the exit we spotted a few Big Horn Sheep along the road.  We pulled over on a side road to get a little closer.  Elliot was pretty impressed.

They tag some of them for research.

It was a good day and we had a lot of fun hiking with friends.  We stopped at the Grind, a local restaurant for take-out before heading home; I was hungry for another Grind Salad and All American Burger and Derrick ordered some amazing fried mushrooms along with his burger.  (After the Adventure Park the first day in town we ate there for lunch with the Vorms and enjoyed the food.)

When we all arrived back at the condo, the kids enjoyed playing games.