For my birthday, which was on a Saturday this year, one thing I requested was "a family hike with no complaining." When you are the Birthday Girl, you can demand grand gestures like this! ;)
We decided to check out a new hiking path for us-- the caves at Natural Bridges in the foothills. We weren't really sure what to expect and the hike ended up being MUCH more of an adventure than any of us were planning!
The cave system was pretty cool, but you had to submerge yourself in the icy water to swim through and fully explore it. We were entertained for a while watching people work up the nerve to do this. But, we did not wear swim suits, so we didn't have to brave the numbing water ourselves (much to Delia's relief!).
But we did make the whole drive and hike down to the caves, so we thought we should make the most of it and keep hiking. We decided to venture about a mile up the creek. This was where we encountered jungle-like poison oak, terrifying alligator lizards, and rocks so slick, they did make one of us slide into the water and have to hike in wet pants.
The hike back up was very hot and along the way we had to watch several people on the path in front of us get stung while passing a huge wasps' nest in the trail. The kids were in tears by this point! We covered them with extra layers of clothes we took off to swing around at wasps and ran past avoiding stings. Through it all, we never heard any complaints! And after a little stop for ice cream and some distance from the poison oak, alligator lizards, freezing water, and wasps, we were all able to laugh about the crazy adventure and memorable birthday gift this hike ended up being!
