Hike in Folsom

Folsom Lake

Throwing logs into the water

Last Saturday, we went for a short family hike near Folsom Lake. The weather was beautiful. It was nice getting out of the house and spending time together. We saw butterflies, caterpillars, bumble bees, lots of wild flowers, and a few horses, too. Yes, there was a downside to sharing the trail with horses!!

Cub Scout Hike to Hidden Falls

J using his camera to take pictures of the water

This morning, we met bright and early for our cub scout hike. It was BEAUTIFUL weather. We drove to the trail and then enjoyed the scenery. We did a family hike here a couple of years ago, but now there is a deck at the water fall. We could comfortably sit and enjoy our snacks. We all had a great time.

Hike through the Quarry

On Saturday, the 9th, we took the boys and headed out for an easy hike around a local quarry. It was quite foggy out, but we really needed to get out of the house. Last time we came to this quarry, it was quite warm. No one else was there on the trail. We just enjoyed being outside together, getting some fresh air, and a little bit of exercise.

Here's G with J at the start of our hike

Lots of the rocks were COVERED in moss. Still fun to climb and explore!

We weren't out for too long before we started to feel raindrops. Nothing much, but enough to get us heading back to the car. We had fun collecting BIG sticks, and throwing grass clumps and other things into some very disgusting standing water. I couldn't even take a picture of it because it was so yucky! On our way back home, we stopped at a gourmet cupcake shop we noticed on the way to the quarry. G went in to check it out and bought us some delicious cupcakes to share when we got home. Yum!

We sure like our family hikes. It's great family time. The boys love exploring and climbing and throwing and .... I could go on.

Tahoe Trip - Part 2

I took this picture of T before our hike. He looks like an evil storm trooper from the DeathStar! I couldn't stop laughing!

T taking a turn with J's walking stick

On Wednesday morning, we hiked up to a vista point to get a great view of Lake Tahoe. Our original plan was to ride up the lift and hike around Northstar, but the lift was closed. So, we drove a few miles to the hiking trail. The boys did well. T hitched a ride here and there. The hike was 1 1/2 miles to the vista point.

J's almost there. There were lots of beautiful yellow wildflowers. J found an awesome walking stick.

Victory!!J taking a rest. His was dealing with a couple of blisters, and it was really painful for him.

It's hard to see in the picture, but we used gum wrappers and lichen to wrap around his blisters on his pinky toes. They worked for a while, then would fall off, and we'd wrap them again.

You can see J & B on top of the rocks. They enjoyed climbing all around.

G enjoying the beautiful view of Lake Tahoe

Here we all are on the top of the vista. Felt weird not having N with us -- he was away at Scout camp. We rested at the vista for a while and enjoyed some bagels, M&M's and water. It took us less than half of the time to get down the mountain as it did going up. G ended up carrying either T or J down the mountain. J's toes were hurting SO bad. G's legs were burning by the time we got all the way down. We headed back to the condo, enjoyed a yummy lunch, then spent the afternoon by the pool. Very refreshing. Sadly, we had to head back home late afternoon. Back to the real world ... It was so nice to get away for a day, and spend time together in such a beautiful place. (Thanks, K!)

Buttermilk Trail & Covered Bridge

On Saturday, we took advantage of the beautiful, sunny weather and headed a bit north to a covered bridge. There were several hiking trails, and we went on one that was highly recommended to us because of all of the wildflowers.

Here we are just outside the covered bridge.

N saw this car parked nearby and wanted a picture of it. He loves old cars like this.

Here's a picture of the covered bridge from an adjacent road.

It's hard to believe that N will be 13 in a few days!! Isn't he handsome???

Mom with N right outside of the bridge

The parental units

The boys crossing one of the bridges





T basking in the sun!

B

Here's J! Such a sweet boy!! On our hike, we saw hundreds of wildflowers. They were gorgeous. The really cool thing was there were little signs telling us the flower names. There was a little river down below that looked gorgeous. We saw a lizard, a bat sleeping in a tree & hanging upside down. We saw lots of butterflies. At one point, I was taking a picture and I took a step back. Something felt funny beneath my heel, like a big twig, only I didn't remember there being one there. I looked down, and gasped. It was a snake! I had stepped on a snake! I tried to scream, but I was still recovering my voice from being sick all week. The snake slithered quit fast down the hill. Yuck!!!


We spent some time by the river. G & the boys panned for gold for a while. No luck. It felt great to rest with our feet in the water. We definitely want to come back. It was a great use of the afternoon. We had a great time. Later, we enjoyed carnitas for dinner -- a family favorite. We pick up the meat at a Mexican restaurant and then make all of the trimmings ourselves. Yum! After that, we enjoyed another family movie. The boys were dying to see the last Matrix movie (yes, we used Clearplay!).

Another Family Hike

On Saturday, after soccer sign-ups, we piled in our van and headed out to another hiking area within Tilden Park. It was quite hot out on Saturday. We first ate a picnic lunch, then explored a new area together. B had been wanting to find a small hill to climb and we found the perfect hill. It wasn't too steep, and yet it still gave us a spectacular view of the ocean. We ventured off to another side trail and enjoyed that as well. We were pretty worn out, especially because of the heat. J had originally had on a long-sleeved black T-shirt. I'm so glad that he changed out of that before we left. He would have just baked!! We went to one of our favorite restaurants in the town where we used to live. It hit the spot. N and I used to split a BCR burrito there all of the time. He's big enough to have his own extra large burrito now! Then we stopped by to see my sister for a quick "hello" before we headed home. We put the boys through "power-showers" and then all relaxed with a movie. We had a great family day.

Our Hike Around a Quarry

We took advantage of the beautiful weather today and went on a family hike. We really enjoy hiking and exploring together. We found an old quarry with hiking trails. It was perfect! We saw lizards, butterflies, and tons of wildflowers. There was a lot of sour grass to chew on, too. J picked so much we teased him he could make a salad with it all!

Our Hike on the Bridge

We just had to go on an adventure outside today -- it was such a gorgeous day!! After our walk on Foresthill Bridge and hike around the bridge, we went to a Mexican restaurant. It felt SO good to be together as a family. We haven't been out ALL together for over 6 weeks because someone has been sick. I think we've beat all of the nasty bugs/illnesses finally. I'd better knock on some wood. We want to come back and walk this bridge again.