Thursday in Glenwood...Our hike to Hanging Lake

While the boys were yet again swimming after breakfast on Thursday, I sat in the pool area with them and
got on my kindle and looked up more things to do in Glenwood.

The thing that caught my eye was a hike up to a place called Hanging Lake. So when Lars came down to the pool, I went and asked at the front desk how we would go about getting a ride up there. The guy told me that we could get a taxi, but it would cost at least $35 each way! So that was out...

Then I decided to just see how much it would be to rent a car for the day. It ended up being fairly inexpensive, so as soon as the boys got out of the pool Lars booked one online and walked down to the Enterprise dealer right down from our hotel and came back with our rental car for the day...$35.

It ended up being well worth it. We got ready and loaded up and grabbed a quick lunch at Arby's, then headed up the canyon to start our hike.

I had read a bunch of reviews about it online and went into it expecting it to be a bit difficult. It was a total of 3 miles from where we parked, then back again.

The actual "hike" was actually only a mile and a half, but pretty much straight up and really rocky. (and we would find out later...very muddy, snowy and icy in towards the top!)
Anyway, we packed plenty of water and snacks and started on our way.

 It is just so pretty in that canyon...

Gunnar started saying he wanted Lars to carry him long before we even got to the trail, haha...but we made him walk at least that far, then Lars did end up carrying him most of the way up on his back.

Ashton did great, and like I had read it was a pretty difficult trail. You really had to watch every step.
But to me it was lots of fun...I love hiking.

Almost there!

I can't remember how long it took us, we took a few short breaks on the way up and started to see a few people on the way down covered in mud. And one poor little girl with her knees all skinned and bloody.
But we didn't turn back.
And it was so worth it to get to the top and see this...

And to read all about it.

We kind of walked back behind to see these waterfalls...
 

We even walked out on this log...

  (and amazingly no one fell in!), and had a lady take some pictures of us...

Gunnar had fun chasing these little chipmunks around and set out one of his crackers for one of them and thought it was so funny when he came and grabbed it and started munching on it...

We stayed at the top for about 45  minutes, then made the trek down. Which was much harder. Especially in the snow and on the ice.

 We had to be so careful, and at one point Ashton fell flat down on his bum on the ice and when I went to help him, I fell down right behind him and unfortunately my camera was in my back pocket so the screen got cracked! Oh well...no one got hurt, or too muddy!
Of course then Ashton was mad the rest of the way down and was saying he hated Mother Nature and Glenwood Springs and hiking and on and on and on!

But we finally made it and were glad we did it.
(my camera did something really weird with this picture...?)

By the time we got loaded up it was time to find somewhere to eat dinner...we drove around for awhile, but didn't find anything we wanted and finally ended up at Village Inn. The boys were starving and fighting like crazy by that point, but everyone was happy again after we ate :)
Then when we got back to our room, they got their suits on and went swimming one last time and actually got kind of sick of it I think finally.
Then it was off to bed for our last night there.
Up next our last day in Glenwood and the train ride home...