*This entry is going to be a bit different than the others. I am going to type up all the fun things from today then in the next blog post put all the pictures...much easier that way. I struggle with Blogger and getting pictures how I want them, easier to just put them in a separate post!
Today has been an amazing and EXHAUSTING day! I honestly didn't know that Twin Lakes was as much of a hike as it was.
I am seriously second guessing my love and desire to hike Lake Blanche for an over-nighter. They say Twin Lakes is easy on the hiking scale?!?!?
I think I would have to disagree! My body is more sore and achy than it was when we hiked Lake Mary, Martha and Catherine!
We started off this morning early. I was up at 7:15. I finally got Ben to tumble out of bed at 7:30. He started getting water filled in all the backpacks while I took on the task of getting girls up and running.
The girls did not like the early wake-up call. This summer they have been spoiled to sleep in. Lyse is awake usually no later than 7:45 but Katy...well she has slept until 10 on some days! Since she was up at 6:30 watching the sunrise yesterday (sweet story...she came and woke me up so that I wouldn't miss it either...than thanked ME for coming and seeing it. Such an AMAZING girl) I knew she was tired.
Once we had the girls ready, bags packed and breakfast ate, we met my parents out on 700 west and headed up Big Cottonwood Canyon. It was a beautiful ride and the ground squirrels were EVERY where. We thought for sure we hit some but my dad and mom (they were in the car behind us) told us that the squirrels just went to the middle of the car and ran as soon as the car passed over them. Pretty smart little critters!
We got to the Silver Lake and took the small walk to the trailhead. Now I had not previously read the Twin Lake Trailhead information and I didn't stop this time to read it either.
As we started up, the incline starts right away. After a bit I thought, "This can't be inclined that much longer". See I didn't know that in the short distance to Twin Lakes I would be hiking up 1000 feet in elevation. Lake Mary, Martha and Catherine was only like 1200 over 2 miles.
My parents were hiking with us and I started to worry about my dad. Seriously, I was needing rests and him with his heart - it had me concerned. It was nice stopping and resting and really taking in nature several times. The beauty up there is absolutely beautiful!!! Lyse did start to tell US that we needed to get going, she wanted to find the moose!
While hiking we did see SEVERAL moose and deer prints. At one point we saw moose prints and then we saw Mountain Lion prints and then we saw moose prints that were deeper and well...you could see the moose was RUNNING. It was interesting to be able to see and be able to envision what had taken place.
There were several places along the way that the Indian Paintbrush, Wild Roses, Blue Bells and other wild flowers were so plentiful it just took your breath away. I had wished a couple times we had the canon because the beauty was outstanding. When we would walk in the first meadow, Ben would quote Bambi about being careful in the meadow, that is where the hunters are. For the rest of the day, any meadow we walked in, there would be comments about the hunters getting us!
When we got to the Lake, the girls had a blast! This lake had a sandy beach with scattered boulders...perfect for some sitting and enjoying the beauties. We had some snacks and the wind rustled amazing. Seriously, it was amazing!
Katy found a piece of wood and turned it into a boat. She made a mast and held the mast up with mud. Katy got it ready and "sent it out to sea" in her words. It was marvelous! I was very impressed with how good of a job she did in making it into a boat.
Lyse found a piece of wood and called it her "fish". She threw it back in and found another one that was a tent. She made it the home for the ground squirrels. She filled it with nuts and raisins and then watched with joy as the squirrels visited the house and ate some food.
Grandma was feeding squirrels and they were coming up right behind her on the boulder. It was fun to watch them get so close to her.
The girls took off their shoes and enjoyed some wading in the water and then we started the descent back down. Instead of coming up the way we went down, we actually went down the maintenance road. It was fun seeing different scenery.
When we got to the bottom, we heard the bag pipes. A lady was practicing and it was fun to watch her play some and get a pictures with her and the girls. She was up there for a wedding for the day. That was a different experience!
Seriously that hike was AMAZING and it was a LOT harder than expected. Grandma, Grandpa, Lyse and Katy were troopers! I was amazed that for the first time Lyse did not whine at the first of the hike at all. Usually she whines the first 5 minutes or so and we threaten a couple times to turn around. I think having Grandma and Grandpa this time totally changed that for her so it was GREAT! It was a fun, happy hike!
After we finished the super fun hike with Grandpa and Grandma (aka my mom and dad), we headed towards Donut Falls and Jen Mabey's family cabin. Play group was there and we were late but luckily we got there in time for LOTS of fun still! They had a fun zip line and we all had a blast going down it at least 1 time! Katy was the only one in our family that rode it a couple times.
After an hour of fun filled play group entertainment, we headed to home. I was EXHAUSTED...I think we all were. I took a 2 1/2 hour nap. Ben napped for about 1 1/2 hours and the girls watched a movie - they had no interest in napping. When I got up it was almost 7:00 pm. I made some hamburgers and BBQ'd some hamburgers and zucchini - YUMMY! It was the perfect food and perfect end to a wonderful family and friend filled day!
Tomorrow is Katy's birthday party. Sure to be lots of adventures and fun with that!
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