Fall Hike

September 26th we got our first snowfall in the mountains. It was the day before I drove to Ely for my last work day there. It always looks pretty with fresh powder, especially when the trees are still changing colors. Here are a couple of snapshots I got of the mountain on my commute......

My friend, Gretchen, planned a hike on Saturday and invited us to go. My sister, Rachel, and her kids just happened to be here visiting too. We all met up at the visitor center and eagerly drove up the scenic drive to take in the views. We stopped at Mather Overlook.

Group shot of the kiddos: Ernesto, Ava, Isaac, Matthew, Hayden, Alex, and Hayden. Emma and little Isaac were asleep in the car......

Alex was feeling good in the sunshine :)

We headed up to up to the parking lot to access the trail to Stella Lake; one of the hikes we thought 9 kids could tackle. I've mentioned it before, but it's much easier for kids to hike with their friends to help support each other.

We saw some wild turkeys at 10,000 ft. They looked plump enough for a thanksgiving meal  ;)

Slowly but surely, we made it to beautiful Stella Lake.....

The colors weren't as dramatic compared to last year, but it was still beautiful. We were thankful to drive up and see it before the government shutdown.  Here is a picture that Gretchen took on Monday:

Sad. 

Gretchen also did a great blog about the Stella Lake hike on her blog:
http://desertsurvivor.blogspot.com/2013/10/a-fall-hike-with-nine-kids.html