Colorado - Day Three - Big Hiking Day!

After a relaxing morning, we drove through Boulder Canyon to arrive at Brainerd Lake State Park. Robin drove ahead of us on the Harley while Nancy, Collin and I followed in the car. It was a gorgeous, clear day so the park was really crowded. We finally found a place to park at a trail head that they had not hiked before. What a great choice because the hike was fantastic. We hiked to Lake Mitchell and back which took us about 2 hours. On the way there and back, Collin had a great time "singing" and talking practically the entire hike. He really got excited whenever he saw dogs on the trail. He had a specific squeal and then laugh every time he spotted a dog. He also was really interested whenever he saw other kids. This made him happy for a few minutes after the kids passed by. We hiked over several bridges with running water underneath which really got Collin's attention because of the noise the water made. He would yell a few times at the water. Collin did great for his first hike ever.

After the hike, we were all hungry as you can imagine. We stopped at a favorite historic restaurant of Robin and Nancy's called Millsite Inn that operates out of a log cabin. It has been there since 1935 and had really good homemade food. We stopped in at an off time so we practically had the place to ourselves for a little while.

We left the restaurant and were guided back down the mountain the opposite direction we came from by Robin on his Harley. It was a new experience for all of us because I don't think I have ever had a Harley tour guide before. Robin would point out places of interest and Nancy would provide the commentary as if Robin was in the car with us. We saw rock formations, creek, narrow canyons of granite and homes on the hillside. Several points of interest had Robin and Nancy appointed nicknames like "The Narrows" for a stretch of the road that was winding through a narrow canyon with jutting rocks on each side of the canyon.

By the time we got home, I got to see a beautiful sunset over the mountains that can be seen outside the back kitchen window as I was feeding Collin his 4th meal. Yes, he has had an appetite during this trip. I am fattening him up.