Lily Mountain hiking

For some reason a hike we did last week really challenged my strength and stamina. It wasn't necessarily a challenging hike as it was still rated moderate and not hard, but it was a day my muscles were feeling the burn. We hiked to the top of Lily mountain. This trailhead is only a few minutes from our house and we've driven by it frequently saying we need to check it out. And boy was the hike and every aching sore muscle worth it! The 360 degree views at the top are looking over Estes Park and out towards the mountain range and Longs Peak. Here's a video to show the view and our little guy saying he didn't appreciate that it was sprinkling rain.

He may have been crying but it only lasted for a couple minutes. We soon had him in a little padded spot on his carrier covered by a rain jacket. He was playing happy again while we enjoyed the view.

Giving me a look - Some day he'll know and appreciate the mountain beauty surrounding him

I thought it was cool we could look down and see our house. Then I realized at home we can see Lily Mountain from our back deck. I never stopped to figure out which mountains we could see from home except for the obvious Longs Peak which is the biggest.

The progression of photos to get the one where he's looking and smiling

Notice the grey clouds right behind me? It was white fluffy clouds and blue skies when we summited. It started to sprinkle but as we surveyed the sky any clouds still looked white and calm. We are aware storm clouds can pop up especially in the summer months here, and these grey clouds seemed to come out of nowhere as quickly as the lightning bolt we saw flash. As soon as we saw that, we threw things in the backpack, tossed baby in the carrier on Caleb and we booked it back down to the trail. My heart was pounding for a bit knowing lightning is not a thing to mess around with or not take seriously. We didn't see any other lightning or hear thunder, but that one flash was enough to get us off our perch with the views.

Rock climbing with baby - good idea or bad idea?

No, we didn't do any rock climbing with a baby on board. We're not that risky or adventurous as some would call it. There was only some rock scrambling over boulders at the top but nothing bad.

Trying to capture his smile during one of our overlooks. He really likes being in the carrier looking around

Every day we feel grateful for the opportunity to live in this mountain setting and explore in the creation God has made surrounding Estes Park.