A fall hike up Cottonwood Canyon in the Bighorn Mountains

We had a cold day with snow early in October, but ever since we have had beautiful fall weather.  Neil has been taking advantage of the nice weather and taking the kids out to do activities.  I have usually stayed home with the younger children, but I decided to take Aaron and go along on Saturday.  David was playing basketball with the 8th grade team at Rocky Mountain Middle School in Cowley.  We stopped and picked him up to go with us.  Emma stayed home with Joshua and Lydia.

It was a beautiful day for a hike and the scenery was majestic.  We enjoyed hiking 2 miles up the canyon to a meadow. Neil carried Aaron in the baby wrap. It wasn't too hard of a hike, except for one part where the path was muddy.  Neil and Matthew stayed by the edge by holding on to bushes and making their way through.  David went off trail and into the trees.  Dallin and I just plowed through the mud to get it over with.  Aaron was a good sport about our hiking, but he didn't like the muddy gap.  I think he got a little cold on our way back down.  We enjoyed a snack in the meadow and the boys liked climbing the big rocks.

The boys decided to go off trail to miss the mud on the way back.  They got into some thick brush, but they survived and found the trail again.  The kids got ahead of us on the way back to the van, but they missed the cutoff to the campground so we beat them back to the van.  I took a picture of Matthew running to the van just to prove I beat him.

Neil listened to the Cowboy triple overtime game on the way home.  I fell asleep, but woke up to hear the exciting finish.  It was a fun way to spend part Dallin's birthday.  Matthew, David and Dallin have dubbed themselves the Adventure crew.  I love that they love to be outside adventuring together and that they have a dad that's willing to take them.