Lower Palisades Lake

We woke up the kids early to go on a hike. Years ago I remember seeing pictures of Jake and Jana hiking in a gorgeous setting with their little girls. I contacted Jana before she left so she could tell me where. It was Lower Palisades Lake, where Jake proposed to her. We left early because we only had the motorhome to travel in and we were worried about parking. I'm glad we did that. We were able to find a place to park, but it could have been disastrous if we waited too much longer! Anyway, the hike ended up being a bit longer than we thought. We were only planning on going to the lower lake, not the upper one. We brought a few water bottles, but we should have packed a lunch. There was a beautiful picnic spot near the lake. The hike up was 4.7 miles. Maysen and Preston were having a tough time near the end. Maysen had a bad stomach ache and Preston's shoes were bothering him. He did have blisters on his ankles when he got back. Vans are not the best hiking shoes. I am glad we did it. I have never been to this part of the world before and it was fun to explore.

Jorja and Stephanie

Jorja, Mike, Bear, Preston, Maysen

Mike

We made it to the lake! Maysen on the bridge, Mike helping Jorja onto the rocks.

Jorja, Mike, Preston

Jorja, Preston, Mike

I did not get a picture of Preston falling in! Dang it!

Jorja and Stephanie

Stephanie and Jorja

Stephanie

Jorja, Preston, Mike, Bear, Maysen

Trying to take selfies... not good at it.... Stephanie and Maysen

Stephanie, Jorja, Preston, Mike

Stephanie, Jorja, Preston, Mike, Maysen

Jorja and Preston

Maysen

Bear did great on the hike. He only barked once. At the horses. He did not like the horses. We were exhausted by the time we got back to the motorhome. We were also just over five miles away from the square ice-cream store. We drove there and looked for a place to eat. We decided on the restaurant across from the square ice-cream. It was a fantastic choice! The food was delicious. Mike, Jorja and I had yummy hamburgers. Maysen and Preston loved their pizza. We sat outside so we didn't have to leave Bear in the motorhome. After lunch I took the kids across the street for ice-cream. Yummy!

We were exhausted for the rest of the day, but it was worth it. Mike and I finally made it to the store. I sent this picture to my brother Mike. He did not agree that the gum was better than a toothbrush. Haha