Hiking Blue Sky to Coyote Ridge

Day 2 of day 3 to tire the kids out so they'd stop squabbling.  Day 1 consisted of walking the kids to school and back.  It's not that far (1.25 miles one way) but every little bit of exercise in the winter counts and they obviously hadn't been getting enough!  This is one of the less inspiring hikes around but it's close to town and we didn't have to go out and back.  Q still managed to find some nooks to hide in.

We did see a couple of deer and

lots of prairie dogs

and even this bunny pretending to be a prairie dog! 

C even tangled with a wild Prickly Pear Cactus...by the looks of things I think the cactus won!

Taking a break!

Hike: Blue Sky to Coyote Ridge
Trails Used: Blue Sky to Coyote Ridge

Distance: 7.04 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Overall average: 2.2 mph
Overall Time:  3 hr, 7 min
Total Ascent:  749 ft.

One of the most studied watersheds in the world: Loch Vale (Rocky Mountain National Park)

In an attempt to get the kids in skiing shape, we went for a hike up in RMNP.  The Loch proved to be a beautiful lake and a relatively easy hike.  We stopped at the Donut Haus (very tasty and great service) in Loveland for the breakfast of champions.  After an hour-ish drive up the curvy Big Thompson Canyon and another curvy road into the park to the Glacier Gorge Trail head my little girl (who read most of the drive) was feeling queasy.  Luckily, we got her out of the car in the nick of time but not quite quick enough to save her shoes from a splash of the sick.  She's quite the trooper...within five minutes she was ready to get going and joking around with everyone.

 The trail winds through some nice Aspen.  It was snow packed and not necessary to wear snowshoes if you stayed on the trail.  Yak Traks and poles would have been helpful on the steeper sections of this trail.

 The trail splits after a bridge early on and there are no signs to tell you which way to go.  We went right and bypassed (unknowingly) Alberta Falls.  I believe this was a more direct route to the Loch. On the way back we took the path towards the Falls.  We essentially did a loop.  The right we took merged with the other trail right before this sign.

On one of our breaks we saw what we assumed to be ice climbers.  They were still in the same position on the way down so we don't know if they were actually going to do it or were just checking out the ice.

 The camp robber was just waiting for us to drop some goodies.

 The Loch was impressive.  Taylor Peak & Glacier rise from the background along with Thatchtop Mountain and The Sharkstooth.  Judging by the ice and snow on the lake this area can get pretty windy but we had no wind that day.  The kids had fun walking on the ice and trying to break through.

 We had a great lunch spot with views of all the peaks and many Camp Robbers (at least six) stopping by to see if they could pick up some loot.

 On the way back down we went by Alberta Falls.  I thought they would have frozen cool but was disappointed with how they looked.  We didn't miss anything by taking the other way on the way up!

 At the steep sections the kids got on their butts and sledded down the hill.  After starting this hike off with one star the kids were giving it four stars by the end raving "We should definitely do this hike again!"  Funny how their attitudes can change so quickly...

 The only casualty of the trip was the puffer.  It got torn by a tree branch!

Hike: Loch Vale

Trails Used: Glacier Gorge Trail Head to Albert Falls to Loch Vale

Distance: 6.05 miles
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Overall average: 1.7 mph
Overall Time: 3 hr, 32 min
Total Ascent: 1286 ft.

A Blue Sky Day @ Devils Backbone

This hike started out with the usual belly aching but ended up with both kids in a decent enough mood. 

Telling a story:

Exploring:

When you're low to the ground it's easy to spot these caterpillars:

Hike: Devils Backbone

Trails Used: Devils Backbone

Distance: 5.2 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Overall average: 2.1 mph
Overall Time: 2 hr, 26 min
Total Ascent: 675 ft.

Indoor Football...who knew?

My husband won a four pack of tickets to see the Colorado Ice play the Tri City Fever (Kennwick, Washington...actually had to research this) this weekend.  We had a good time watching some football on a snowy, blustery afternoon.  As you can see not too many other people were doing this!  

 My son has to take Flat Stanley places for two weeks and write about them in a journal.  He's experienced some exciting things lately!

We left after halftime due to hunger issues (the kids) and the fact that this game is just as long as regular football!  My recommendation to the league would be to play speed football!  It would be much more exciting for the fans!  The score was 38-6 when we left and looks like it ended up at 55-28 for the Ice.  Guess things were just warming up when we left! 

Running Devil's Backbone on a HOT day!

Nice day for a trail run.  Saw a couple of deer.  Started after a tennis match so it got pretty hot near the end. Bring water.

Hike: Devils Backbone

Trails Used: Wild Loop to Main Bike Trail to Laughing Horse Loop to Hunter Loop to Main Bike Trail

Distance: 6.67 miles

Difficulty: Moderate

Overall average: 5.4 mph

Overall Time: 1 hrs, 13 min
Total Ascent: 752 ft. (doesn't seem like there is that much of an altitude change)

Steam Train, toot tooootttt.....

We had fun this past weekend riding a steam train (One of only 90 ever built) in a friend's backyard.  How many people do you know who would have a backyard big enough in Colorado for a steam train?  We now know one couple.  This was a great experience for the kids to see how they get the train ready to run.  They built a fire inside first

then once it was warm enough they threw in the coal to create the steam.

 

Oh, the places you'll go...

 

 

 

 Of course, no train would be complete without a bridge to go over a tunnel to go through!

Boyd Lake

 The bike ride started out at Seven Lakes Park in Loveland.  The flax were out and beautiful.  The playground occupied the kids for quite some time.  They even had some different play elements here:

 

 I thought they had outlawed the good old fashioned merry go round.  Apparently, not!  The kids had fun trying to balance on it.

 

Had a nice tour of the lake.  It was a quiet time of year without too many boats.  I don't imagine there will be many more days like this until the fall.

 

 

 I saw this tree and thought it looked like a great photo op...was I ever wrong!  "It smells like a bathroom in there."  The honesty and directness of children is always refreshing!

 

 Fun trees to walk on and look at:

 

There were 3 different parks throughout Boyd Lake and we stopped at every single one of them!

It seems like this has been a snake year.  I don't think we've been on one hike without seeing one.

  

Bike: Boyd Lake

Trails Used: Seven Lakes Park to Boyd Lake and Back
Distance: 7.31 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Overall average: 5.5  mph
Overall Time: 1 hrs, 19 min
Total Ascent: 97 ft.