Horseshoe Lake and Cave Falls

Saturday was a busy day of Birthday parties and primary preparation and homework.  After the last child came home from partying, Richard and I took off in the Jeep to go find something fun!  Success!  We got to see Mesa Falls then we found a fun offroad trail and drove through some mud lakes.  I learned that navigation is a skill I am slowly acquiring!  We found a fun little campground on the Warm River and I believe we will try to go camping there sometime next year.  We were heading home when we saw a sign with "Cave Falls-19 Miles".  We decided it couldn't take that long and off we went(it added a couple hours to our trip).  There were turnoffs that we will have to go back to explore, but we made it to the Falls and it was incredibly beautiful!  I didn't have my camera and was so sad!  It was getting dark by this time so we headed back home.  It was supposed to snow the next morning but it didn't.  We went to church and then after I said something about going to find some snow. We took the littles so we could show them the beauty we found.  Our first stop was an offshoot of the main trail and it took us to Horseshoe Lake.  The Jeep handled the snow beautifully.  The kids loved it.  We got out at the Lake and took photos and played for a bit. Then it was back on the "road" to the falls.  We got there as the sun was setting and my camera did not do a great job with the low light level.  But I am posting some of the photos anyway, to show how beautiful it was!  And oh well, we will just have to go back in better light!  Joseph kept a close eye on the Jeep outside temperature gauge. It got down to 12 degrees! On the way back, it got dark and a fox ran across the road in front of us, which prompted the kids to sing the full "what does the fox say" song. Too fun!

I am grateful for the beauty that is so close to our home. I am also grateful for a second vehicle that has opened up so much more of the world to us!  We love our little Jeep!  Who knows, maybe as our need for the van decreases, we will end up with another one!