Lower Blue Lake

Wednesday evening my brother-in-law Brian texted Eldon and asked him if we wanted to hike to the Lower Blue Lake with them. It's 3 miles and not steep, he said. Later we also found out that he never dreamed we would go, but just asked for the fun of it. Since we were planning a hike near Cortez anyhow, we thought we may as well go with them. 

We had over 2 hours to the trail head so we left our camper before 7 Thursday morning. It was a beautiful day. Sunny, but not hot, and perfect for a lovely hike. Brian's even saw a bear as we were driving to the trail head. We finally got all situated and started off with spirits and energy high. Brian and Michelle have 3 children, Logan (11), Katelyn (9), and Nakita (5) and we have 4 (Makayla (7), Michael (almost 5), Emily (3), and Ethan (1). Between us we had 3 decent size backpacks with lunch and water, plus our camelbak full of water. We also had 2 carriers, one for Ethan who weighs in at 25 pounds and one just in case Emily couldn't make it. She is close to 40 so we really hoped to not carry her to much. 

Logan wanted to eat lunch almost as soon as we started :).

My darling niece

Emily says that Michelle is her favorite person.

She loves to imitate her and is always asking when we can please, please, please, go to Brian's again :). When we were hiking Michelle told her that she reminds her of me when I was little. Emily thought it was hilarious and now Eldon thinks he can imagine me being like Emily too :) .

I started off with him but we switched eventually. Sadly, the backpack was just as heavy as him so I was no better off. I know, this is probably not considered a safe carry but it kept him from howling!

We had read online that the first mile was the steepest. It was steep. And a really long mile too. But we plugged along and rested often. The children did fabulous. I was shocked at how the 3 youngest just went on and on and on!

We had also read online that this stream is the halfway point. Notice how we are carefully trying to cross without getting wet feet. We laughed and assured ourselves that we had gone at least 2 miles so we should be there before long.

The mountains were just huge. And gorgeous. Thankfully there was no major drop-offs but Michelle and I still had plenty of anxiety as it was pretty steep at some places. Then we got into snow. Just here and there. The children were getting tired and Ethan was sick of being in the carrier but we kept going. A few hikers came down and they told us that it's not much farther!

Eventually Eldon and I could not keep up anymore so we fell back with Emily and Ethan. We took our time and finally Ethan would not stop fussing so I told Eldon I'm out. By this time it was all snow covered and while the trail was mostly packed it was easy to fall through. I had full intentions to sit by the trail until they came back. He took the carrier and all our food and water in the back pack and went on with Emily. They weren't gone 2 min and Ethan took off after them. Of course, it was snowy and muddy so I carried him a little ways then stopped. We did this so long enough that I started thinking we HAD to almost be there. I mean, how long can 3 miles be??? Meanwhile the others reached the lake and ate their lunch. Eldon and Emily also stopped and ate since he was feeling lightheaded. Ethan and I met at least 3 groups of hikers and they all assured me that I am almost there. So I would pick up the poor child and go plunging through the snow again. By this time I was roaring hungry and had no food or water but was 99% sure that we were almost there. Sure enough, one snowy meadow, a few trees and finally the lake.

Lower Blue Lake

It was beautiful!

Wonderful people right here!

There was still ice on the lake!

Absolutely amazing.

My favorite people in the world.

Michael, all ready to head down. Him and Makayla did a great job of carrying our water backpack. Katelyn took her turn plenty often too.

 After a short rest and quickly eating we started down again. Brian put Ethan on his back and Emily on his shoulders and took off so for a glorious mile I was completely empty.

The worst snowbank we had to cross. It was SO slick by the time we started down. I fell more then I care to admit :). 

Waterfalll

Cuties, Michael and Nakita. They did SO good. Brian had Nakita on his shoulders a few times for a little bit but for the most part they walked the whole way up and down!

Emily taking it easy.

We made excellent time going down until we suddenly didn't:). We weren't even halfway and Emily was just done. Totally, completely done. I wasn't even sure she would stop crying. Eldon put her on his back and I took the backpack. We took her shoes and socks off, which were soaked from all the snow and eventually she settled down and had a lovely ride the rest of the way down. Poor Eldon though, she is a heavy little chunk! Soon after that we slogged through the stream, our feet were all soaked anyhow. Ethan was sick and tired of Brian so I gave him my backpack and wore Ethan facing out. It kept him mostly happy but it made it hard to see where I was going! We went down and down and down. The farther we went the more amazed we were at what we had come up! Michael and I fell behind and I felt so sorry for him. He was on the verge of tears more then once. He was worried that we were on the wrong trail and wanted to take a shorter one. He slipped and fell several times and tears had just started leaking out when we rounded the corner and found everyone waiting for us. We all agreed that is was the longest 3.3 miles in history and were shocked at what we had come up, especially the little children. 

This story down end happily. We all made it back to the trail head alive. Eldon and I, along with our 3 youngest (2 of which we were carrying) were waaaay last. At that point each step required huge effort.

Would we do it again? At this point, I would have to say no. Possibly if the snow was all melted. It was just to hard for the children. And myself! It's a beautiful hike though and if you are in shape I highly encourage you to do it. Just remember that 3 miles uphill is a long ways!

We chose to bring the long way home and came through Norwood and Dove Creek. A cow elk and calf crossed the road right in front of us so that was pretty cool. It was intriguing to us how the land on that side of Sleeping Ute Mountain was beautiful farmland. On our side it's all dessert but it's also the Ute Reservation.

 It was 8 until we got into Cortez so we stopped for half-price milkshakes at Sonic. That was our supper and we were all showered and in bed soon after 9. What a day!

Exploring Cortez

We've been in Cortez, Colorado for 8 days now and are loving it! Our RV park is actually in Towaoc, on the Ute Reservation and 10 miles from town. It's very nice with a little grass, plus it has a playground and indoor pool! The town is small-population of 8,000. It is one of the friendliest small towns we've ever been in though.

The drive over from Montrose was so pretty!

Cortez Public Library

One of the first places we checked out was the library. I was delighted that they let us get a temporary card so that we could take books home! The staff is extremely friendly and the books are well organized which made it easy to find many of our favorite authors. There is a great selection of educational toys geared for younger kids as well. They had a program called Rodeo Days when we were there. The rodeo princesses and a former bull rider were there and talked about how rodeo started. They had their equipment there and showed the kids how it all works and helps to keep them safe. Each kid there was given a free ticket to Thursday nights rodeo!

Lasso tricks.

Doing a demonstration with a toy bull and clown.

Ute Mountain Round-up Club

Since we had the tickets, we went to Thursday nights rodeo. Needless to say, we had a fabulous time! The announcer was on a horse in the arena and played along great with the clown and his jokes. Interestingly enough, the beer flowed freely all around us but we smelled no cigarette smoke and everyone was SO friendly. The lady next to us gave the kids a funnel cake and couldn't stop messing with him :) . 

I loved the mountains in the background!

Mutton Busting! Emily was sure she wanted to do it but with each kid that rode her answer got a little less confident.

Emily with her new friend. Before it was over, there was kids from at least 4 different families playing together on the bleachers near us. 

We were super impressed with clown. He was funny but had clean jokes and he had his 6 year old son in the arena with him some of the time. He did some fabulous tricks on his horse too- like riding upside down!

Mesa Verde National Park

On Friday we headed off to Mesa Verde. We purchased an annual pass so that we could get into all the National Parks and Monuments -there is a lot around here! We choose a 2 mile hike and enjoyed it even though it was super hot. The views were astounding! The children were exhausted and hungry when we were done so we headed home and promised ourselves that we would be back soon to do more exploring.

At the end of the trail.

Love the clouds!

Looking over Montezuma Valley.

 

Lots of Lizards!

Visitors!

My sister Michelle and her family came down and spent Saturday evening and Sunday morning with us. We didn't tell the children they were coming so it was great to walk into Pizza Hut and see the shock on their faces! After we stuffed ourselves with pizza we went to the rodeo again :) . 

Ethan is s.l.o.w.l.y. warming up to them!

The Carnival. "Wow, that must take a lot of internet for all those lights" -Michael

After the rodeo we went to Dairy Queen before dragging our exhausted children home to bed.

City Park

Sunday morning we visited Arriola Bible Church this morning. The children were especially thrilled because they had both Sunday School and Children's Church! We enjoyed it as well. Afterwards we headed to a park for a picnic. Cortez is blessed with at least 5 nice parks!

Trying to catch the baby ducks.

Crazy wild swing rides.

I got dizzy watching!

O the giggles!

Eldon is liking his job at the hospital so that's a huge bonus to being here. The longer we are here the more we love it. Looking forward to exploring more in the area this week.