Weekend in Bear Lake

Here's what we did in Bear Lake.

If I do not write it down, I will not remember.

(My mind is a steel trap...rusty and full of holes.)

So, despite the poor weather, Frank and I went on a couple of hikes.

One day the rain held off for most of the very short hike.

The next day we went on a longer hike and it started raining just as we were descending.

Luckily, it wasn't a downpour, just a rain shower.  

So we didn't get soaked.

Muddy?...yes.

The first hike was the Limber Pine Nature Trail

and is named for a 2500 year old tree that you see along the trail.

Or possibly 2000 years old

or possibly 500 years old.

There were 2 signs and a brochure, all with different numbers for the age of the tree.

But in a nutshell, it was a cool old tree.

Frank was annoyed by the inconsistent information.

These dead trees were cool too.

and this tree that obviously had some hardships at some point but overcame.

But HERE is the old tree.

I'm sure Frank has a better picture but I don't have access to his phone so this is all I've got.

Trust me.  It's cool.  And old.

We just don't know how old.

Hike #2

This hike was called the Wind Cave Hike.

It was a bit longer (but still short) at approximately 2 miles one way.

This one however was a fairly steep hike and gave us a workout.

It was also quite muddy.

(did I mention the constant rain?? oh yeah. I did.)

It ends at a gorgeous triple arch/cave.

there were amazing views along the way too.

There are signs and brochures that mention watching for rattlesnakes

("If you see one, leave it alone please")

But we were surprised/startled to see this as we walked along...

luckily, not a rattler.

Gorgeous!

We reached this lovely outcropping of stone and took some photos not realizing that we were standing on top of our destination!

Right underneath was the cave/triple arch.

The cave was open on both ends and sloped downward

so I was nervous about slipping and falling to my death.

I'm like that.

Frank walked around and checked out the whole place of course.

(I did check it out too, just more slowly and cautiously)

See Frank there on the left?  It was more sloped than it looks here!

The evening of our anniversary, the kids came and joined us.

All except Branden who had to work.

The first thing we did was check out the lake.

Isabelle, who loves to jump in puddles, had a great time and got soaked immediately

even though it was quite chilly!

(I swear Frank was there...how I missed taking his picture is beyond me)

We went out to our anniversary dinner which included a few toddler melt downs.

I forgot that going out to eat with small children is exhausting!

Frank ended up buying Isabelle a stuffed bear just to make her happy...

typical grandparent behavior.

The restaurant was one of the few that was open the whole week we were there so we ate there several times.

(The one item we loved was the raspberry syrup and before we left town Frank bought a case of it!)

The next two days were gorgeous!

Sunny skies and warm temperatures.

Finally.

We played badminton and frisbee golf.

We swam in the pool and sat in the hot tub.

We rented bikes (with a trailer for the kids!) and rode around town a bit.

(Frank and I even took a detour and went to a garage sale)

We went to tour the Minnetonka Cave which was very cool but quite a workout for everyone

as it has 444 steps (one way) and we had to carry both Isabelle and Kaylee.

We took turns carrying them but the minute Amber would hand off one child, the next one would want her to hold them.

That woman has some strong arms!

The cave was quite damp with lots of wet, slippery stairs.

But we enjoyed it and no one fell or dropped a baby!

Here we are climbing climbing climbing in the the dark, wet cave

Cool cave formations

Raining inside the cave

Kaylee and Grandma happily sitting outside after the cave tour!

Our last activity before heading home was go-carts!

Everyone loved it so much.

Since it was just our family at the track, they let Kaylee sit on our lap, which was a nice surprise.

We did two rounds so Isabelle went with mom on the first round and me on the second.

Kaylee was with me on the first round and Grandpa on the second.

It was SO hilarious to see grandpa driving with Kaylee...

that girl was bouncing all over the place for awhile until he figured out that he better go a bit slower with a baby on his lap.

Oy!

Since we were all driving there was no one to take a picture or video but I sure wish I had one!

Isabelle and Mom on the first round...she loved it so much! I snapped this as they drove past me on the track.

Here we are all set to go for the second round.

We finished up the vacation with lunch at a local burger place and some of the famous raspberry shakes that Bear Lake is known for.

All in all, a successful family vacation/anniversary get away!

Happy 27 to us!