Sunday, February 27, 2011

love, february 26

We try to hike every weekend. Easier said than done right? While getting out the door is less than peaceful sometimes, what comes when we get to our destination is pretty darn awesome. If I could sum up our experiences being outdoors it would be "discovery". We discover things about ourselves, we discover the best way to motivate our kids to keep moving, we discover things about natural history and we discover things about human history.


These pictures were taken a few weekends ago. I loaded them a few days ago and while I've not been stellar at blogging on a regular basis lately, I didn't want to throw this away.


This canyon is a beautiful place. It's shady in spots and in some, the sun was pouring over the snow displaying a shimmering light show that I couldn't quite capture with the camera. We continued up the hill, sometimes slowly and sometimes at a fast pace to find the warmth again.



The last time we were here, we were startled by a horse's neigh. As we looked up the hill and behind us, we saw a herd of wild horses. I think the horse wanted to say hello or perhaps tell us that we weren't welcome.



Along the canyon, the kids played in snow, we found animals prints, marveled at the view and eventually found the wild horse trail that we followed up the canyon. This, my friends, is quality family time.



This is the same canyon that the Donner Party and other pioneers traveled down to reach the Truckee Meadows and beyond to California. I tried to imagine myself on this trail in 1846. Wouldn't it be fun to travel back in time to see the wagons navigating this narrow canyon and their excitement in seeing the valley below? As always and as Jonathan always says, "It was a good day."

Thanks to Kerry for hosting a month of love posts.
Hello March!

9 comments:

  1. Gorgeous! Awesome that you get to be by the mountains. Lovely pics!

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  2. Looks like fun, and maybe not too cold, given all that sunshine and blue sky.

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  3. Beautiful pictures! I look forward to the time when my girls are old enough to really hike...I've found a bag of M&Ms in my coat pocket goes a long way in terms of motivation :) There is nothing like getting out into the wild to recharge you...thanks for sharing! (And for visiting my blog!)

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  4. Beautiful. Hiking is our favorite outdoor family activity...

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  5. what a lovely post/story.

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  6. I would totally be down with a bit of travel back in time. I think of it often. And I guess Back to the Future didn't help any matters as a kid. It got my grinds working on imagining all the ways we might actually be able to get there.

    :)Lisa

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  7. Sarah Jane~ It's a great place and I LOVE the view!

    Rachael~ It was a little cold but not too bad. The kids all had their snow suits on :)

    Ellie~ Thank you for coming by to say hello. I love your blog :) M&M's are a perfect motivator. Usually Jonathan brings a chocolate bar but I'll bring M&M's next time!

    Grace~ I know, don't you love being outside. It feels good. I'm looking forward to summer hiking in the Sierras! That's the best!

    Rae~ How are you?! I just finished my hand sewing class. I'll start up again in a few weeks. That will give me some time to try some new ideas!

    Lisa~ I totally think about time travel. I would love to go back 100 years to spend time with my Grandma. I'm so fascinated with that time period. :)

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  8. i love you guys. maybe one of the most down to earth families i know, and i don't even know you. ha. no. i do know you. i KNOW i do. i love you all!!

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  9. Kyndale!
    these photos are just fantastic and super fun.
    I love that you all get out and about, even in the snow.

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