4th of July Week(end) 2017

Autumn, our oldest daughter (now 22-years-old), came down to visit us this week for her first trip to Bayfield. She brought her boyfriend, Alex, too, traveling all the way down from Duluth, MN.

Autumn asked to go on some hikes and adventures so we had a few planned for our first couple days together, Sunday evening and an all-day trip for Monday. You’ll see both in the video above.

First, on Sunday, of course we joined our church family in worship. We love our church!

In the afternoon, Bella and Deanna had some b-ball practice in preparation for their Canada trip in a couple of weeks — the rest of us rested. When they got back, we went on a new-to-us hike behind a campground located north of Lake Vallecito. Well, new to all of except Deanna and Bella… they had hiked it before with one of Bella’s friends. We loved it! Easy hike with a slow climb with some amazing views! The weather was perfect, too.

The next day, we planned a trip over the Red Mountain Pass, with several little stops along the way for sight seeing, including the Pinkerton Hot Springs, a stop at Honeyville to watch the bees make honey (and pick up some jams and honey), and a few of the amazing overlook spots along the mountain passes. Our end goal and destination for the day was Box Canyon Park, which exceeded our expectations — wow! The hike was a perfect length for families, but also adventurous and awe-inspiring enough that we all loved the experience. We went for both the high view, with a fenced walkway over the canyon, and the low view of an underground waterfall with a very cool pirate-like cave. So awesome!

For the 4th of July, the kids enjoyed the Bayfield parade, Bella worked at a BHS basketball fundraiser booth for some of the afternoon, we grilled hamburgers for lunch, had some water fun with tubes and such near Farmington, and plan to watch fireworks this evening.

Happy 4th of July to all! We are so blessed to live in and love the great country of America.