Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve

My mom had told the kids the story of the 'bagel stealer' (a chipmunk had stolen my bagel on a hike when I set it down and I had to chase after the chippy to get it back) before we left and they couldn't stop talking about it once they'd found their own 'bagel stealer.'  He hung pretty close to our campsite anytime we were cooking or had food out.

 We were driving to our hike when I saw these awesome clouds. 

We went to the Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve today for a hike.  The hike had lots of bridges, rapids, wildflowers, and views.  We hiked up to Phelps Lake (3.36 miles.)

 I guess Q was meditating here, she looks very peaceful.

 She wanted me to take lots of pictures of us snuggling.

 Lots and lots of columbine:

 I'd never seen this columbine before:

 The Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve was a fantastic place to visit.  The building was modern and minimalist, the exhibits were to the point and all about appreciating nature.  The kids liked this relief map of the area.  We were able to point out our hike that day.

 More of the cool, minimalist exhibits:

 The image was made from thousands of tiny images of the area:

The composting toilets were also notable. The vault like doors made it seem like you were entering an exciting place.  Alas, it was only a bathroom.

After this we headed out to Mormon Row.  I'd read up on this site on the internet.  The photography nuts made it out to be much more exciting than what it really was.  It turned out all right though since Q got a nap and C got to rest, and it drizzled a little.  I might have been more excited about it if I could have seen the mountains but it was not meant to be.