
Grace decided we should go and do some outdoor activities. On holidays we usually just sleep in really late and when we finally decide to leave the house it is already getting dark. Today was different. We did some research the night before and scouted out a hike that we could handle. There are choke hikes in Boulder so finding a trailhead is not very difficult. The problem for us is that we NEVER hike, so we needed one for novices. Another problem with living in Boulder is that there really are no novices in the town except for me and Grace. Everybody is in the midst of training for something--whether it be a marathon, a triathlon, or some other type of unreasonable physical activity.
There is some public land in Boulder called Chatauqua Park where we decided on The Enchanted Mesa trail that eventually leads above NCAR, or the National Center for Atmospheric Research, one of Boulder's many claims to fame. We figured we could at least look the part of true Boulderites by outfitting Sloane in the latest contraption designed for families on-the-go (a demographic that we hope to be a part of someday): the Kelty Carrier. Our friend hooked us up with this device and it is pretty fun. We felt like with fit right in with all of the other hikers.

We got an early start. It looks like both Lance and Sloane are overjoyed to be out here.

Grace even got decked out in her exercise clothes. It has been a while since we've seen these.

We are missing the canopy that would normally cover Sloane's head, so we had to improvise.


It's rough being carried everywhere you go.

But Sloane put on a brave face and

got back in the saddle. This hike was actually pretty treacherous at times. There was still quite a bit of snow on the ground and it has been compacted into solid ice sheets that are super slippery. Neither of us fell, but it was kind of sketchy.


This was the kind of view that novices like us deserve. After hiking for about 30 minutes we were pretty spent.

The view was decent enough--you can make out the foggy abyss of the great plains off in the distance. This type of hike triggers Lance's agoraphobia and makes us both long for the comforts of flanking mountain ranges on either side, or at least on one side and the isulating ocean on the other.

The road home is paved with blisters

Sloane enjoying a well-earned meal of peaches in the park.