The boys, Willow, and I have been exploring the landscape over by Garrison the last couple of weeks.
I've never been able to hike in the winter season like this year, with temps in the 50-60s. It's insane. Winter has yet to arrive in the Great Basin, and it's almost mid February. Meanwhile, we hit the hills when we can, which brings me back to the 2nd installation of our mid-week exploration adventures.....
As soon as I swing Willow on my back into the pack she lets out a cheery giggle.
It's so cute, as is she!
We started out earlier in the day than the previous trip. That way we wouldn't have to rush back.
Isaac, Ben, and Benjamin started out helping each other, hand in hand :)
The mountain was waiting........
Doesn't this look like a fun area to poke around in? Check out all those crevasses and crawl-spaces!
Watching these adventure seekers hike around reminded me of my childhood where my friends and I would cover miles in the mountains behind EskDale. We would leave after lunch and would be back in time for the dinner bell. Yes, literally a dinner bell :)
Thinking back I can't believe the ground we covered at such a young age. It was pure joy.
I want my kids to grow up and have passion for the outdoors too.
You never know what you'll find when you are out and about, like dried up bones..... Ha!
We were almost to our target destination, what we thought would be a cave........
It wasn't quite a cave, not even much of a shelter. Looks can be deceiving from a distance!
But, it was still really neat......plus there was a great sense of accomplishment felt by the boys reaching this point.
....... and of course the view never gets old looking at the basin and range topography......
Isaac, the photographer in action........
"Look momma! I found a rock!"
This child doesn't need a toy when she has a piece of earth wrapped around her little fingers....
lol
A little while later, Isaac shouts from around the corner, "Look at this cool spot"......
There was a large pile of sticks. Weird; yet interesting..... and yes, cool
Willow is such a happy kid in the great outdoors.......
There is so much dirt to taste...... Ha!
We headed back towards the vehicle, as you can tell the boys ahead had plenty of energy still.....
Wow! Our first sign of winter on the desert floor...... lol
We took a break to enjoy a picnic.......
Then, we went on the move again, this time the other direction........
It was quite warm by noon, so the jackets were peeled off. The boys hiked like ducks in a row......
This last half of our adventure involved a lot more rock climbing skills......
To our delight, we found more holes to crawl inside!
..... and holes large enough for three little monkeys to hide in!
Happiness is a day in the great outdoors!
You can see the little black dot in the picture below that is our vehicle........
We were all happy to reach the top. We hiked about 4 miles.
That's something for little feet to be proud of!
...... and when we reached the top, guess what we saw on the other side?
Look closely........
A really large cave!
Alas, we ran out of time. But, guess what. It's going to be almost 70 degrees this week!
We will return for our 3rd installment of this adventure soon. We are looking forward to it :)
