Our second full day in Colorado was a big one.  I’d asked Dan to show us the very best of his adopted home state, and he came through in a major way, starting with Indian Peaks Wilderness.  If he was trying to show us how spectacular the scenery is less than thirty minutes from his house, he succeeded.

We got to Indian Peaks and suited up in our winter gear.  The temperatures were very low – the Boulder-Denver area was enduring a vicious cold snap while we were there – but it wasn’t particularly windy that day, so it was really quite comfortable in the sun.  Dan told us that we were going to walk to Brainard Lake, and he promised that it was only about a half mile hike along the road.  Normally, he explained, we’d drive all the way, park near the lake, and hike the trails – which would be more to everyone’s enjoyment.  But on this particular day, the road was closed – whether that was for the season, or just because of the snowfall, I don’t know – so our hike became a road walk.  Although we’d have loved to explore the trails, a road walk was okay by us, too.  There was snow on ground and it was deep in some areas, and we were up over 10,000 feet of elevation, so anything to make the walk a bit easier on the littles was welcome.  The road was nice, but Dan’s promised half mile turned out to be two miles each way!  Oops.  It was just more scenery, and the kids were champs, so in the end it was fine.

Heading off on our walk!  See that mountain?  Our goal lake is at the base.

Shortly after beginning our walk, Dan pointed out a small path leading down to a pristine little pond.  Steve wanted to stay on the road, so Nugget, Dan and I opted for a quick visit.  So beautiful!

Seriously feeling so happy to be able to share all this natural beauty with my little boy!

We continued on our way, marveling with every step at the jaw-droppingly gorgeous views.  As you can see, although this was a “road hike” it was still quite challenging!  Between snow and ice making some of the footing treacherous, and wading through ankle-deep powder in other spots, plus the high elevation, it definitely wasn’t the easiest stroll we’d ever taken.  I was happy to be getting in a good workout, though, and the mountains made for a good distraction from burnin’ legs and lungs.

Holla, Pawnee!  I got unreasonably excited to see a sign for Pawnee Campground!  Dan did not understand why I was laughing and snapping pictures because – now, this may come as a shock – he doesn’t watch Parks & Recreation.  I know.  I was appalled, too.  But I forgave him, and instructed him to watch it ASAP.

Somewhere in there, the little dude fell asleep.  That’s one cozy snowsuit!

Finally, just when our endurance was starting to flag, we made it to Brainard Lake… and the long walk turned out to be well worth it.

Cannot.  Handle.  The.  Beauty.

After a tough year, many sleepless nights caring for a newborn and worrying about the future, it felt so good to be together as a family in such an awe-inspiring place.  All our hard work and struggles just seemed to drop away as we took in the beauty all around us.  I know it’s cheesy, too, but I was so grateful that Peanut and Nugget got to take this trip – even though they’re little, and Peanut will probably remember very little of it, and Nugget none at all.  I want them to grow up with an appreciation for our beautiful natural places, and this trip was a good early step toward that goal.

After taking in the view for awhile, we headed back toward the car and made our drive down through the mountains, back to Dan’s house.  We reunited with Danielle – who sadly had to work most days, and was missed very much during the activities she couldn’t attend – and headed out for dinner in Nederland, a cool little town not far from Dan and Danielle’s cabin.  Our first stop in Nederland was the Carousel of Happiness, an all-wooden indoor carousel.  I was a little stressed about some work drama (that lasted all week) but this Carousel did put a smile on my face the moment I saw it.

We managed to squeak in for the last ride of the evening.  Dan and Danielle grabbed animals to ride on…

While Peanut and Daddy settled onto a bench.  Peanut was pretty apprehensive about the whole thing – the carousel employees actually nicely delayed the start for us while we tried to talk her into riding.  In the end she pretty much had to be dragged on, but I think she had a good time!  Nugget and I didn’t ride – we had fun watching the lights, listening to the music, and waving at the rest of the family as they went by.  (In retrospect, I probably could have brought Nugget on and sat with him on one of the benches.  But someone had to be the photographer!)

Peanut was a lot less apprehensive once she was off the carousel.  She enjoyed petting this wooden tiger.  What a nut!

After the carousel, we headed to an Indian restaurant that Dan and Danielle had been wanting to try out.  Since we’re all big fans of Indian food, it felt like a great fit – the food was delicious, and we pretty much had the place to ourselves, which meant very few people had their dinners ruined by our rambunctious children.

Nugget sat on Aunt Danielle’s lap and made grabs for her water while Steve and I attempted to bribe, threaten, cajole and browbeat Peanut into eating dinner.  (Every.  Single.  Night.)  Nederland was so cool – I just wish we’d gotten to see it in daylight!  And I wish we’d been able to explore more of the trails around Brainard Lake.  I guess we’ll just have to go back!

Next week, I’m taking a week off from recaps to celebrate a little guy who is turning ONE!  But the week after that, we explore Denver – check back in two weeks!

As promised, continuing with my recaps of the final months of our family commitment to hike in a different spot each month, I have a great one for November: Bear Lake at Rocky Mountain National Park!  I’ve been itching to visit Bear Lake ever since I started following RMNP on social media – the pictures the park posts are always stunning.  When we decided to visit Colorado over Thanksgiving, one of my first acts was to research Bear Lake to find out if it was a hike that our family could do, with two tiny ones along for the ride.  What I learned was that, once you get there, the hike itself is short and mostly flat.  Excellent.  Sign me up.

Of course, first we had to get there.  Bear Lake is deep within RMNP, and we visited on a day of snow-packed roads.  The winding drive up from the park entrance to the trailhead would have been harrowing under the best of circumstances.  But in winter conditions, in a flimsy-feeling rental car with Arizona plates and no snow tires, it was kind of terrifying.

It was also beautiful.

After a white-knuckled ride up, we arrived at the trail head and suited up in our winter gear (and for half of our group, our baby carriers).

Elevation 9,475 feet!  We just kept climbing and climbing on this trip – hard to believe that the air would feel thick in Denver – but it did.  Between hiking at Indian Peaks Wilderness, over 10,000 feet in elevation – more on that coming in a few weeks – and Bear Lake, and staying with my brother in his cabin at over 7,000 feet, we were definitely out of our element.  I think we all adjusted fairly well, though, and the hiking didn’t pose much of a problem.  We did have to take it slower than we would at sea level, and we got out of breath a little more quickly, but overall I think we adapted quickly.

As I said, the Bear Lake hike itself wasn’t too difficult.  The lake was only about 250 feet from the trailhead, and it was only a half mile to circumvent it, so that’s what we did.  Had the weather been warmer, I’d have loved to explore more of the lakes in the area.  We’ll just have to go back, in a warmer season next time.

We started out on a well-groomed path from the trailhead to the lake.

As with many of the hikes we did in Colorado, the trails were hopping!  As you know, I love seeing other like-minded folks out and about and enjoying nature, so I was delighted.

The lake itself was spectacular.  Hard to believe something this incredible was only a five minute walk from the parking lot.  Only in Colorado!

After marveling at the view for a few minutes, we headed off on our hike around the lake.  (Well, first we asked a fellow hiker to take a family picture of our entire group, thinking Nana would enjoy seeing all of the kids and grandkids assembled in such a beautiful spot.  It was an epic fail and we ended up deleting the picture because it was so bad.  The guy cut off all of our legs and squeezed the group into the bottom corner of the picture so you could hardly make us out at all.  What are people thinking?)

Ah, well.  Into the woods!

The entire hike around the lake was beautiful.  My only complaint?  I wish it had been four times as long!  Well, maybe not – by the time we got back to our car, what felt like only a few minutes later, the kids were chilly and were definitely ready to cuddle up in their car seats.  But we made the most of our brief time in RMNP.  I’m already itching to go back!

After RMNP, we headed to nearby Estes Park for a delicious pub dinner and more exploring, but I’ll tell you all about that when I recap the trip.

The hiking in Colorado was really spectacular.  I actually had a hard time deciding which hike to use as our November hike, because we were out exploring on foot almost every day and we did some really incredible walks.  But Bear Lake felt right for this project, after I’d dreamed for months of visiting it.  The snowy hillsides, craggy mountain peaks, and fresh pines combined to make a truly magical experience.  Now I want to see it in summer!

Have you ever hiked at a national park?