Big Bear

So for Labor Day we thought we would escape the awful heat and head up to the mountains. It was originally Poppy's idea to go to the moutains to help close up the church camp but when they said they didn't need the extra help we decided to make it a family day and have Poppy pack one of his famous picnic lunches.

All the family was able to come except Spencer, he was at the UCLA football game. I researched family hiking trails online before heading up so we knew where to go. Anyone who knows me knows I like to have everything planned out ahead of time. Brent makes fun of me for this but if things are organized and under control I feel much better. It worked out great, the first hike we did was a 1.5 mile loop that was perfect even for the baby. After the hike we had our delicious gourmet picnic and sat and enjoyed the 72 degree weather. For those of you not in SoCal we have been hitting 100 degrees for weeks now.

After our lunch and rest break we went to another family friendly hiking spot, it was a little outside of Big Bear and we followed the map given to us by the ranger. The map however did not tell us that it was rough dirt roads... good thing we have an Expedtion and my parents have a Jeep that can could take the terrain. Our next hike was .6 miles and went around a little creek and ended in a beautiful meadow. We left Grandma, Seth, and Larissa in the meadow while the rest of us hiked another 2 miles to the end of the trail. The views were gorgeous and by this time of the day it was about 65 degrees, heavenly!!! However we walked too far in one direction and our hike back was a bit tough, especially for those of us out of shape.

After hiking we went into town and walked around and got some ice cream and fudge from a little candy store. We asked a local where to get good food and they directed us to the Cowboy Steakhouse. The food was delicious, a little over priced, but fun none the less.

The kiddos sitting in a huge tree stump on our last hike

I have a gajillion more pictures to share, it was so beautiful up there, I will post them on my website later this week.