Nederland

Because I lived near Colorado Springs (at the Air Force Academy, to be exact) I have many memories of beautiful hikes in that area. I wanted to take my family to see all of them, but then realized that from here, it's about a 2 hour drive. So those excursions would take a little bit more planning. For our first outdoor adventure, we went north, to a canyon outside of Boulder. Our first stop was Boulder Falls, but it only took a few minutes to explore, so we headed further up the canyon, to find a lake Stephen had seen on the map. When we got there, we discovered a funny little mountain town on the shores, called Nederland! I could live there...

 Boulder Falls

 Joe pouted with Bracken because the water was cold and his shoes got wet... *rolling eyes*

 I just HAD to stop at this funny little store... They sold bottles! And other random things. One of those bottles was $100. Really?!

We asked where the best place to eat was... we were told it was a mile out of town, further up the mountain. How's THAT for a dining view!

 They had a mural that pictured all the peaks you could see out the window!

 Best French Toast of my life.

You wouldn't understand half of what The Geologist  kept rambling on about these rocks... at least, I didn't...

The Beast's favorite form of exercise 

 Gouda and Rosemary crackers. Cuz we're awesome like that. 

Joe's favorite are the crackers, Stephen's is the cheese. :) 

 Joe's favorite activity of all time: throwing rocks. Off of things, at things, into things...

So of course, we ended with a giant-rock-throwing competition.