The Lee Family: Family Hike

Horsetooth Mountain Park is only about 20 minutes from my Aunt and Uncle's house and once we parked, we took a group photo and were soon ready to head out for our hike around 10:30am. It was much earlier than the hike we took during our last visit and promised to be a perfect day for a hike! The day was just starting to warm up and would be sunny and warm but not hot. I was really excited to do the hike again knowing how cool it is to arrive at the waterfall at the end of the trail and also knowing that Olivia would be perfectly fine hiking the whole way herself. Three years ago, I ended up carrying her on my back for more than half of the hike, which was hot and tiring. Sofia and Olivia raced ahead with Lincoln. Sofia also had Tatter on a leash, so she had to make sure she kept track of him too.

CK and I walked along, enjoying the scenery and hike and knowing that our girls were having a ball and old enough to be ok on their own. About an hour into the hike when we were nearly to the falls, we heard a strange noise and saw a deer running up a hill. It made it about halfway up and we saw a baby fawn reunited with the mother deer and a bobcat in the branch of a tree just above them! The noise we heard was the bobcat with the fawn and the deer ran up to break up the fawn and the bobcat! It was crazy to have witnessed! The three animals stayed in that position for awhile and we watched them for a bit before heading on toward the waterfalls. The kids were in a group just ahead of us and they saw it all too! Shortly after, we arrived at the falls and it immediately felt cooler thanks to the very cold water. Sofia kicked off her shoes and socks and was waded into the shallow water at the bottom of the falls. Lincoln and Olivia walked to the bottom of the waterfall to feel it with their hands. We hung out and let the kids enjoy climbing on the rocks, getting their feet wet in the cold water and feeling the waterfall. Olivia wanted to make sure I got a picture of her "rock climbing" so she could see how she looked. After taking a picture of her, she climbed up the hillside where Jason stood.

Olivia obviously had a lot more energy left in her, so I asked if she wanted to go with me to the top of the waterfall, which requires only about 15 more minutes of hiking, although it's mainly uphill. She readily agreed and we set off from the group and headed toward the top of the waterfall. The views were spectacular and we stopped often to take photos and to just look around. Plus, Olivia was busy looking for pretty rocks, and she found several that were stuffed in her short's pockets. I wore my capri-length workout leggings that have little mesh pockets on both legs. She immediately switched her rocks into my pockets since they would hold more.

We continued up the hill with Olivia complaining a little more and more as we went. I finally convinced her we were there in just a few minutes and she found another gear and made it. We had to cross over a little stream, which meant jumping from rock to rock. Of course, Olivia loved it! Soon we were at the top and had an absolutely amazing view of the landscape around us. We couldn't really look down and see everyone below us. At the top of the waterfall was a pool of water. After a bit, we turned around and headed back toward the trail and found CK and Sofia heading our way. Olivia was so excited to show Sofia an area that she had explored that Sofia hadn't been to yet. We headed back to the overlook and took more photos and then Sofia headed into the pool of water above the waterfall. She said the water was very cold but felt great. Once she had her shoes on, we headed back down the trail. Of course the girls loved jumping from rock to rock over the little stream and then ran ahead on the trail. I took a few pictures of CK and the girls as we headed down the path and Sofia was done with having pictures taken of her. As she walked and got tired all I would have to do is threaten it was time for pictures to really get her moving!

When we were about halfway back to the parking lot, CK ended up way ahead of us since I did stop often for pictures. Sofia ran ahead and joined CK and they walked hand-in-hand toward the car. It was so sweet to see them together enjoying the hike and probably talking about space stuff. After a bit longer, Olivia ran ahead and joined Sofia and CK. I enjoyed the rest of the walk solo, stopping to take pictures whenever I wanted. It was lovely! Before we knew it, we were back at the parking lot where our whole group was relaxing and enjoying some cold water.

We loaded up in the cars and headed back toward Aunt Cathy's house. We all got a tall glass of water, which really felt the like the most refreshing thing ever! Of course, Sofia, Olivia and Lincoln immediately headed downstairs to the basement to play, build forts and make up stories. The three of them are as thick as thieves and are having so much fun together! Of course the rest of us were exhausted, yet the three kids had endless play energy left in them!

The whole crew ready to hike!