Memorable Memorial Day

We took the Bear Creek Trail, which was a long loop.

Kendra, Jackson and Gracie


Jason and Matt carried the babies.

The Curry family

Lorie and her grandchildren

The Hale family

Khris (holding Cole) and Matt

Erin fed a blue-lipped Patrick some banana.

Aunt Kristi and Skip

Lorie and a tired-out Jackson.

For Memorial Day, we drove up to a campsite and trailhead in the foothills, a spot Jason had picniced with his family for years. We, Lorie and the Hales got going EARLY. I think we made it there by 8:30 am, which was great since the place filled up quickly after that. Uncle Kevin, Landon and Gracie were next to arrive. We decided to go ahead and hike so we could get back for lunch and then home for naps. Kevin and Landon stayed at the campsite to cook some breakfast, and everyone else started for the trailhead. On the way, we met up with two park rangers, who handed us a map of the trails, and warned us to be on the lookout for mountain lions. Great. Fortunately, this Girl Scout had a couple of emergency whistles, which I promptly handed out to Gracie and Jackson. You know, just in case. They had fun practicing their calls for help.

The hike was not bad, although pretty much uphill for the first half. The trail was an oval loop, with the top of the oval at the top of the hill. At least it was easier on the way down. The weather forecast had called for a cool morning, but warming up and showers later in the day. It was definitely cool, but it didn't ever actually warm up. We didn't even stay long once we got down because we were so chilly after sweating through the hike. We all had a great time on the trail, and Jackson did great, walking just about the whole trip.

As we were walking on the trail, I heard Jackson talking to himself. I didn't catch it all, and Lorie told me later he said, "I'm remembering this, I'm remembering this." She asked him what he meant, and Jackson said, "I'm making a memory!"

When we got back to the campsite, the Vests and Snyders had arrived. We had a good time hanging out with them, but we left pretty quickly because we just couldn't get Patrick warmed up. He didn't want to sit still in a blanket, he wanted to be walking around. It was a fun day, and I'm sure we'll do it again. It will make for a fun family tradition!