The rain departed and we had big plans for the day, so all ten of us were ready and out the door at 8:30. Our first stop of the day was the Rocky Mountain Wildlife Park, just south of Pagosa Springs. It's a wildlife park and they have horseback riding! We did it all.
Here's Gene with the grizzly bear in the background.
We explored the park while the employees got our horses ready for the ride.
The kids all got baggies of feed to feed the ducks and goats.
It's a beautiful place.
Then it was time to go horseback riding. It has been at least 20 years since I've been on a horse, but the employees told me it was like riding a bike -- once you know how, you don't forget. But, this was a first for our boys and let me tell you, they absolutely loved it.
Henry rode Dolly
and Will rode Flip.
And we were off!
We chose the hour-long ride around the park and it was perfect. The scenery was beautiful and the kids all loved it. Henry is already talking about horseback riding here in Texas. The only mishap was when my saddle came unbuckled and I slipped all the way off. I managed to hold on (mostly because I didn't want to drop my camera!) and slide off without falling in the mud, which was something of a miracle. This is the picture Gene took of that mis-adventure!
Happy boys after horseback riding.
For our next adventure, we decided to head into the San Juan National Forest for a hike to Opal Lake. It was about a 30 minute drive into the forest, and our information said the hike was 1.2 miles. We weren't sure if that was one-way or round-trip, but either way, we knew the kids could handle it. We grabbed snacks and water bottles and headed straight up a mountain, through the aspens, with the kids in the lead.
It was absolutely gorgeous.
We hiked up mountains, through meadows, and across streams but with no sign of Opal Lake.
Finally, after hiking two miles, one way, we came to the lake. The lake was pretty green the day we were there, but it is supposedly named Opal Lake due to its normally-milky color caused by mineral deposits.
Candice and I were thrilled that we finally found the lake!
We all decided that the hike was absolutely worth it and that if we had known it was four miles round-trip, we might not have attempted it.
The boys found a little island and promptly proclaimed it "Boys' Island."
But the girls were there too.
Gene had a conference call and was trying so hard to find a signal, but we were in the middle of nowhere and he was out of luck.
The kids played and we all snacked before heading back down to our cars.
Four miles, done!
The kids all did really well with the distance, especially since it was hours past lunchtime when we returned to civilization. Will proclaimed four miles to be his max distance.
After our hike, we made it back to Pagosa Springs and celebrated with beer and rootbeer floats at the Pagosa Brewing Company. Beer never tasted so good!
Will drank the whole thing!
while the grownups prepped dinner (fajitas, corn salad, and cake!) and relaxed on the porch. A bat flew right past Gene's head and landed on the side of the house, where it stayed til dark. I'm pretty sure it's a little brown bat.
We also celebrated Will's birthday a couple of days early.
Chocolate cake with chocolate ganache icing is his favorite!
The day ended much like it began, with a beautiful sunset.
From sunrise to sunset, this was one perfect Colorado day.
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