I am sure that when you pack up for your ‘big’ hiking day with your toddlers, you don’t think of rest stops as a top choice destination.  Also, if you talk to other friends about your child’s nature discoveries you talk about your kids ‘agro’ rock scrambles, epic days, and gnarly adventures.  Yeah, I know our kids have to either match or beat their parents hard core abilities these days.  So what do you do when your child makes their biggest outdoor discovery at a rest stop?

Well, I say go for it.  Get down on your knees and love that rest stop rock.

My daughter, Cora’s rest stop fascinations are important enough to make it onto this outdoor blog. Why?  Because it is so important to meet your children where they are and to celebrate their curiosity regardless of where they may encounter beauty.

A few weeks ago, I went on a hike (Red Hill) with a friend who has two toddlers.  Her children ran up the hill with much excitement and discovered many sticks, rocks and overlooks to be fascinated with.  MY DAUGHTER, MY OUTDOOR BABY, THE INSPIRATION FOR THIS SITE, whined the whole time, only imitated her friends and was very happy when we sat down to eat a snack, AND THE OTHER MOM HAD BROUGHT SOME GOOD SNACKS, unlike myself. When we left the friends because Cora needed to go for her nap, she shuffled her feet and said it was too hard, that her feet hurt, that she wanted to be carried.

But, THE BEAUTY AND VAST INTEREST OF GLENWOOD CANYON REST STOPS never fails.  Every time we go to Denver, we need to stop in the canyon.  Most times we spend about an hour exploring the side of the river, the small stream that comes to join the Colorado River.  We up turn rocks to find critters, we get lost on the shore of the river playing imaginary games in the grasses and bushes.  Many times we take off our shoes and test out the temperature of the water, look through the sand and mud and we end our time doing a few leaps and bounds in the grass.

Yes, the outdoors is everywhere and beauty is everywhere.  Just ask Cora; she will tell you the best outdoor destination is a highway rest stop.

Heidi

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