Well, not a storm exactly, just a lot of activity and noise–lots of noise. We’ve had a very eventful last couple of weeks and today our very full bus emptied out, back to just LeRoy and me.
The first major accomplishment of the trip was the 400′ zipline I showed you last. The second was the hike up Raspberry Mountain.
The trail guide says that it is a 6 mile round trip hike but my GPS last year said it was 3.6 one way. At any rate, it’s a lovely hike that starts with switchbacks to get to the top of a ridge and then mostly along the ridge until you reach the big jumble of rocks that provide an amazing 360 degree view of the surrounding area. Ben took a relatively minor tumble or two along the way and we were all worn out by the end but it was a terrific day.
We found some interesting rock outcroppings in the trail,
trees in some awkward positions,
and with some interesting appendages.
We saw several wild strawberry plants but none with blooms yet. Right at the top we found the wild raspberry bushes that one might expect from the name of the mountain. And then we reached the top
where the view was magnificent!
Going down was easier since we knew that the ups would be shorter and the downs much more satisfying. We still got tired and we still had to stop to take our shoes off and pull our socks back down to free our curled toes, but we kept moving.
We spent the next day at the Farmer’s Market and just relaxing in general, then on Saturday we went to Cripple Creek for the Donkey Derby Days. Cripple Creek is known for its wild burros that run loose. The original ones were used in the gold mines but the government stepped in to prevent cruelty to the animals and made the owners turn them loose. Their descendants are still roaming the streets today.
Jadelyn was the only one who rode a donkey and while it was stubborn, it wasn’t one of the wild ones.
Since that ended our week with just the kids, I think I’ll stop and give the (v e r y slow) internet a break. More to come on the family visit!
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