We got to spend time with the cousins both at their house and ours. They really enjoyed doing physical activities but also had fun talking about various rocks. The best fun was going in to the pool though where they played all sorts of games. The best one was trying to build a raft which would get them all across the pool safely.
We headed back down the mountain towards the cars. The way was easier but we still had a fair amount of work to descend more than a thousand metres which included some tricky sections of trail. On the way we passed a number of groups heading up to spend the night in the backcountry. We didn't need to do that this time. We were really impressed as all of the kids managed to walk over 12 kilometres without complaint. They enjoyed the walk and the high altitude didn't really bother us too much. Having said that, we were all very happy to see the cars, especially with the promise of delicious tacos.
We kept bushwalking until we reached Lake Constantine. We took a bit of time to rest and to dip our toes in the cold lake. It was such a lovely spot and we had it just about to ourselves. We all had another snack before it was time to head back.
We caught up with the Spickelmiers and they took us to Fall Creek trailhead for a bushwalk. We had to drive up the mountain along a dirt road before arriving at the start. We Got our stuff together and headed off down the trail. It was pleasant and walked for a while with some fantastic views along the way. We eventually stopped at a big pile of rocks for lunch.
AS we left the Rocky Mountain National Park we drove by Lake Granby where KT remembered going with her dad. It was quite a large and pretty lake with very dark water. We walked around a small part of it before getting back on the road. Speaking of the road, it took us through some desolate looking high plain country and a couple of pretty gorges. We then took a bit of a short cut which ended up being a pretty dirt road which led to a number of nice looking camp sites. Eventually we made it to Edwards to see the Colorado cousins. After unpacking we headed to their house for a play and some dinner. The kids were a little bit shy at first since they didn't really remember each other after so many years. Eventually they warmed up and had a good time together.
After lunch we started heading out of the national park but not before observing some animals, both real and fake. We then started heading down but not before stopping at the continental divide for a few photographs and a small bushwalk. It was really great as the sun had come out after the rain and the weather warmed up a bit. We really enjoyed going through the national park and wished we had more time to spend there.
