We haven't been hiking in quite some time, so when we found ourselves without any other commitments last Saturday we headed out. We drove up to Red Rock with the intention to hike somewhere along the loop, but as you may remember the weather was WARM and BEAUTIFUL on Saturday so Red Rock was of course packed. Not wanting to fight the crowds, we drove a bit farther up the canyon to a hiking spot right before Bonnie Springs Ranch.
There is trail that leads you into a canyon area in the mountains. From the road it looks like it will just be a short jaunt before you enter into the canyon, but in reality it is a couple of mile walk.
See it looks so close:
Sade was killing me with cuteness:
Eric's backpack provided her with a little hiking help:
Still walking:
Cactus pass through:
Eventually we made it into the canyon where we discovered a small river (stream) along with pools of water.
Checking out the little frogs in the first pool:
Jackson is so accommodating to my picture taking. When I call his name he will always turn his head and smile (slightly) for me:
We soldiered on and arrived at a bigger pool of water just a couple of minutes later:
This would have best the best little swimming pool if it had been 10 degrees warmer. The water was still burning cold.
After having lunch we continued on. We had heard that the hike eventually leads to a waterfall, but with many different trails to choose from and no idea how far away it was were essentially hiking blind.
The climb up a large hill:
Success!
All of the kids had had colds all week, and Megan's was especially bad on Saturday so we lost our hiking mojo a bit earlier than we probably otherwise would have. So when we discovered this large rock we set ourselves down and let Sade entertain us. She is equal parts loving, angry, and sarcastic. She pretty much complains the entire time, but in such a funny way we can't stop laughing. She is so much fun I can't even describe it in words.
Eventually, after a lot of hemming and hawing, we decided to head back to the car. Unfortunately we made a bit of a wrong turn, so the hike back was longer and more grueling than we expected it to be.
On this hike I came to the realization that I am all about the destination and not the journey. I want to consult a map that will tell me EXACTLY how to get to my desired destination and EXACTLY how long it will take me to get there. I didn't enjoy this hike as much as I should have because I was too concerned with the end goal. Obviously a metaphor for life.
Jackson is so accommodating to my picture taking. When I call his name he will always turn his head and smile (slightly) for me:
We soldiered on and arrived at a bigger pool of water just a couple of minutes later:
This would have best the best little swimming pool if it had been 10 degrees warmer. The water was still burning cold.
After having lunch we continued on. We had heard that the hike eventually leads to a waterfall, but with many different trails to choose from and no idea how far away it was were essentially hiking blind.
The climb up a large hill:
Success!
All of the kids had had colds all week, and Megan's was especially bad on Saturday so we lost our hiking mojo a bit earlier than we probably otherwise would have. So when we discovered this large rock we set ourselves down and let Sade entertain us. She is equal parts loving, angry, and sarcastic. She pretty much complains the entire time, but in such a funny way we can't stop laughing. She is so much fun I can't even describe it in words.
Eventually, after a lot of hemming and hawing, we decided to head back to the car. Unfortunately we made a bit of a wrong turn, so the hike back was longer and more grueling than we expected it to be.
On this hike I came to the realization that I am all about the destination and not the journey. I want to consult a map that will tell me EXACTLY how to get to my desired destination and EXACTLY how long it will take me to get there. I didn't enjoy this hike as much as I should have because I was too concerned with the end goal. Obviously a metaphor for life.
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