We have been soooooo overdue a day trip (like the beach trips of olden days) with everything else we've had going on, that the Saturday just after Thanksgiving had a HUGE target on it. It was set apart for something special-- a reserved, non-negotiable Cardon Family Fun Day.
We loaded up the car bright and early that morning, picnic lunch packed, winter clothes piled on, gorgeous Colorado sun at our backs, and Christmas carols blasting on the radio. Boy were we ready to hit the road and explore some mountains!
We picked to do the St. Mary's Glacier Lake hike, which is about a 1.5 mile out-and-back trail with 1,200 feet of elevation gain, to an alpine lake with stunning panoramic views of the Rockies. The trail was mostly snowpack, with obviously some steep elevation gain but the kids did awesome. The weather was incredible too-- probably 50 degrees and sunny and clear skies.
Miss Lizzie is the only one who got a free ride, but she loved hiking in the backpack as long as I was moving. If I stopped she wanted to get out and explore for herself.
Some winter sun on that little face! We definitely met our vitamin D quota for the day.
The lake was completely frozen solid, and the kids had a blast "ice skating" and being pulled by Zach on this mat like a sled.
Lucy and Zach wandered out all over the lake and found some cool fishing holes people had drilled out, but that had already frozen over again.
Sunbathing on the rocks. I guess the "beach" is still in these kids just a little...
Enjoying our picnic lunch of crackers and cheese and smoked salmon. Yum!
There were lots of other hikers and people enjoying the weather. I'd love to go back in the summer and see the alpine lake thawed out-- supposedly it's just clear and pristine. Also, we could probably hike across the lake (we didn't have snowshoes and the snow was much deeper on the other side) so we could enjoy those panoramic views of the Rockies right in front of us.
After our hike we headed down the mountain to Idaho Springs, an old mining town with a semi-famous pizza restaurant called BeaJo's. It's the stuff of backpacking lore! It's in an old abandoned boarding house, with hot water pipes, exposed brick walls, and it pretty much looks like a total dive. But the pizza is legendary, and every mountain-man worth his weight eats there when coming down off the mountain after a tackling a 14-er.
And dang, that pizza was GOOD! It was like a stuffed pizza with layers of toppings, and it was deep dish-- so their thing is you're supposed to eat the pizza part and then take the crust and dip it in their signature Colorado honey. We'll definitely be going back!
Right by the restaurant there was this amazing frozen waterfall. I think they look so cool-- and the kids couldn't believe it could get cold enough for something as powerful as a waterfall to freeze over.
That night we got home just in time to decorate our house for Christmas, and the kids basically decorated our Christmas tree for me. They did a great job and have such a fun time pulling out all the ornaments and remembering the stories associated with each one. It was an amazing festive finish to an already amazing day!
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