Mother's Day Make-up Hike

Several weeks ago I wrote about our Mother's Day tradition of hiking to a waterfall; you know, the post that was sad because after two tries we still failed rather miserably. That's not to say I had a terrible Mother's Day--we just didn't really get to truly fulfill our yearly tradition.

BUT, last weekend we tried one last time and made it happen. Up in the foothills is a place titled Big Trees. In a post last year, I talked about this place because I took the girls with my brother Kevin. Anyway, the description is simple, but accurate. There are a lot of big trees there. Pines and Sequoias. Kayla found some evidence of just how big some of these trees were; just look at that cone!

We took the longer hike around that area and then drove another few miles to Grouse Falls trail. We strapped the girls on and set out. It was a lovely little hike on the way down, and at the end of the trail is a little lookout deck and you can look across the way to see some lovely falls. It would be nice if you could get a little closer (the pictures make it look even farther away), but it's very pretty regardless.

And we even got a "Mother's Day" photo with me and my babies! Way to look the other way, Kayla. See the happy smiles Elise and I have? This was before we stopped to consider that the trail back to the car was pretty much straight uphill. :P

Third time is a charm, I guess. Happy Mother's Day tradition to me after all!