El Dorado Canyon
We go exploring a lot. On weekdays we sometimes try a new playground, stay close to home. But on weekends we try something bigger, like yesterday's hike through El Dorado Canyon just south of Boulder. El Dorado Canyon is the site of the first settlers in the area, a history explained on a battered wooden sign and park brochures, and a history completely overlooked by visitors who are almost exclusively there for one reason: rock climbing. Our hike was an on-foot affair, but it involved a lot of climbing on rocks, which the girls adore. Seriously, we chose a trail with a split personality. Half crushed rock suitable for wheelchairs, and half directly uphill on a "path" of large rocks with hardly any dirt between them. The girls were great, using their hands to climb and holding our hands when we insisted (grandparents: do not fear, your grandchildren 
are safe). We saw a small chipmunk and the funnybunnies spent the rest of the day calling themselves baby chipmunks and making baby chipmunk sounds (we had a colony of chipmunks under our deck in Minneapolis, but somehow this chipmunk had more impact). This photo was taken just after the rocky part began, and I promise we'll get our camera fixed soon. The highlight of the hike for me and funnydad was watching the rock climbers. Like everywhere outside of Boulder, this canyon is a rock climbing destination and the faces were littered with people and ropes. We must have seen a dozen of groups en route to climbs and at least 30 climbs in progress. The whole scene just further piqued our interest in learning the sport. Honestly, it looks fun. I'm not a daredevil -- I'm a green-trail skier, never-tried-roller blading kind of gal. But I think rock climbing is a sport that accommodates a wide range of abilities and tolerance for fear, and here in the land of outdoor sports I'm gearing up to do like the Romans do. I'm not sure how the safety features work, how you clip in and clip out and belay from above, but we'll learn. It'll be fun to begin something new with funnydad, something we're both interested in, and something we both begin after 40. At any rate the girls loved scrambling up and down the rocks yesterday; this morning we woke up and O asked, "Where are we going hiking today?"
are safe). We saw a small chipmunk and the funnybunnies spent the rest of the day calling themselves baby chipmunks and making baby chipmunk sounds (we had a colony of chipmunks under our deck in Minneapolis, but somehow this chipmunk had more impact). This photo was taken just after the rocky part began, and I promise we'll get our camera fixed soon. The highlight of the hike for me and funnydad was watching the rock climbers. Like everywhere outside of Boulder, this canyon is a rock climbing destination and the faces were littered with people and ropes. We must have seen a dozen of groups en route to climbs and at least 30 climbs in progress. The whole scene just further piqued our interest in learning the sport. Honestly, it looks fun. I'm not a daredevil -- I'm a green-trail skier, never-tried-roller blading kind of gal. But I think rock climbing is a sport that accommodates a wide range of abilities and tolerance for fear, and here in the land of outdoor sports I'm gearing up to do like the Romans do. I'm not sure how the safety features work, how you clip in and clip out and belay from above, but we'll learn. It'll be fun to begin something new with funnydad, something we're both interested in, and something we both begin after 40. At any rate the girls loved scrambling up and down the rocks yesterday; this morning we woke up and O asked, "Where are we going hiking today?"
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