Last week my Lutheran Stud spent a few days in Estes Park for some continuing ed. We met up with him on Tuesday to do what we love to do the most-explore by way of geocaching. However, first, after hearing that Noah's Ark was located in town, I had to find it. Here it is. You had no idea Noah's Ark was in Estes Park, CO did you?
If you go to the
Geocaching website or have the
app on your phone you can find nearby caches, and see how large the cache is, and/or find out the terrain difficulty. My lovely husband thought a more challenging terrain would be fun. Anna and I didn't end up making it up the steep terrain on this cache, but that didn't stop the rest of our clan.
They found the cache hidden in this huge boulder. Can you see it peeking out?
The next cache was a little easier to find.
Again, it was hidden under a rock. This time, though, there was a little rabbit next to it. The name of this cache was Thumper. Often times the title of a cache can be a clue to finding it.
Our next find took us on this road that was more like a jeeping trail. Actually, if you don't have a 4-wheel drive vehicle you probably wouldn't make too far on this road.
The Giving Tree was quite giving to our children.
It was full of goodies.
Every once in awhile I make my family pose for photos. Can you see the excitement on their faces?
We had to park and hike 1/2 a mile for our last cache.
It was a beautiful hike with random cacti along the way.
The higher we went the more spectacular the view became.
Wild flowers were also dispersed randomly on our trail.
We finally made it up some steep rocks and found this ammo can filled with treasures inside.
Well, maybe treasures for some and junk for others?
After a long hike we headed back down the mountain for a little treat at the Munchin' House.
Ice cream was a welcomed snack to cool everyone down.
Then it was off to dinner with friends at
Poppy's. The pizza was fabulous and since the children filled up on ice cream there was more pizza for us. Try it out if you're ever in Estes Park!
I think one of the highlights on our little Breckenridge getaway was this little hike that turned into an all morning affair. We headed out in the morning thinking we'd be back in time for a pancake brunch. That brunch turned into a late afternoon lunch in town. Yikes! 
We drove in as far as possible on what felt like a jeep trail. Then we came upon what looked like an avalanche and had to park our vehicles. The road was supposed to continue, but was covered in snow.
It was tricky getting across all the snow. You never knew if your footing was solid. One minute you were walking along just fine and the next minute your foot was stuck in a hole that was knee deep.
The trail was pretty snowy in many areas while other areas were just dirt and rocks. It was hard to gauge what was going to come next. I think that's how our short 3 mile hike took a few hours longer than we expected.
There were gorgeous views and waterfalls all along our trail.
We witnessed a lot of gushing water due to all the late snow melting.
Our first stop was this little lake.
The terrain became increasingly steeper as we got closer and closer to our destination.
Everytime we looked up the view just took our breath away. It was pretty incredible.
Higher and higher we went.
My cell reception was spotty and Rebecca was trying to text me.
We made it! Kind of. At this point a few cousins decided to sit tight and relax while the rest of us trudged on to Mohawk Lake.
We saw this waterfall from way down below. It was a pretty incredible sight to see up close.
We spotted a cross on the mountain. That's never a good sign.
Me and my Lutheran Stud!
It could not have been a more beautiful day for a hike.
We finally arrived at Lower Mohawk Lake and it was frozen, but still beautiful.
We made it! Can you tell that they are all related-minus me of course. ;) I was the only "outlaw" to make the entire trek. The hike back down the mountain was much easier and quicker than the way up. It was a gorgeous hike and if you're in the area be sure vist Mohawk Lake.
