Roaring Fork Valley
This is summer and since my husband is a teacher we have the liberty of floundering some of our days. As Cora would says: “Family Cuddles”, “Family time”. We live in a rich environment full of potential for outdoor adventures. Outside our front door we can go hiking, biking, rafting, fishing, climbing, running, biking, backpacking, you name it. Erik and I have also gotten a babysitter to give us time to canoe the roaring fork. Erik has taken his alone time to go Kayaking almost every day. I on the other hand take my alone time to work, but I always decide to spend family time outdoors. As you will read many of the activities that we do are simple and very accessible.
bike ride
Living in the Roaring fork valley is an absolute joy. Here is a list of some of the activities we do together:
Bike: We bike mostly everywhere we go from visiting friends to going to the pool. We also go on bike rides on the amazing bike path, we go to Basalt, Glenwood Springs and in a few weeks we will attempt Aspen.
Hike: We go on short 2-3 hour hikes. Cora often walks a portion of the way stopping to look at Juniper Bushes, Sage, cactus, flowers, grass, and pine (the flora she can identify).
Walk: Erik, Cora and I walk out our front door and wonder around following our own desire to see what is around. Cora stops often to look at pebbles or to climb on rocks.
Swim: We are so lucky to have a pool in our town. It is only open during the summer but we take great advantage of it. Cora loves the water. We practice swimming in the big pool. She kicks, goes under water, picks up toys, jumps in and makes bubbles. After, that we go to the toddler pool and there she plays with friends and practices floating.
Park: A simple activity that makes all of us happy on a work filled day. Cora gets to play, climb, and slide, while we don’t have to do much of the entertaining.
Fish hatchery: We have a fish hatchery run by the Colorado State department of wildlife. Here we love to go feed the fish and watch them flip around and splash us.
Rodeo: Every Thursday night the town of Carbondale has a rodeo. To celebrate on of Coralie’s friends birthday we went to this event. It is a lot of fun. People park their trucks days before hand to save a prime viewing spot. People barbeque, talk with friends and watch the show. We had a great view of the behind the scene action as well as the major events. We could see the nervous rituals cowboys would do before mounting the bull or the movement of the animals in the back stage corals. I preferred the barrel raising, Coralie loved to see the five year olds fall off during mutton riding. Erik liked the bull riding.
Picnic: This year we are very short on money, so we pack a lunch for most of the activities we do. It is fun to eat simple food outside. Whenever we are hungry we just sit down in the shade and take our time enjoying each other’s company. I like to eat in this way, you tend to eat less and enjoy the food more. We also take longer to eat and relax.
Farm animals: We visit the pigs, horses and chickens that live on the property were we live. Many farms are open for visitors.
Heidi
As featured on the Sierra Club’s website at http://sierraclub.typepad.com/scrapbook/
