Close to Home Fun: Catwalk and Mt. Graham

Sometimes....no I guess a lot of times..... we take for granted where we live and the beauty that surrounds us. In just a short drive any direction, we can be in some of the most amazing places. We took a few days off this last week to do just this...relax and enjoy our surroundings.
First--a day at the Catwalk...just up the road from Glenwood, NM. Jason had taken his scouts there recently and was reminded of how cool it is and suggested we make the trek. The kids were excited to go on a "hike".

Catwalk is a narrow canyon with suspended walkways and trails and bridges up into the heart of the canyon. Normally, there is a small amount of water running through the canyon, but with all the rain that we have been having, water is in abundance and the "creek" was more of a little white water river. The kids thought the water was cool---literally. They wanted to swim in it, but the water was frigid and really rapid at the "swimming pool" near the end of the hike so they just got their feet wet. The hike itself is pretty easy, but long if you are 2 so Travis took to riding on Daddy's shoulders most of the way and Reagan and Roxy led us through the beautiful terrain.

This bridge was fun to bounce on...mind you it is about 20 ft above the mildly roaring rapid river!

"Cheese! We made it to the end!"

Travis was convinced there was a snake under the rocks some where....we never saw it. Bummer!

Resting after the hike up....

This is fun!

Some of the hiking is up and down narrow staircases...the kids loved this.

The swimming hole that was a bit too full of water right now....

"I see the water Mom! Can I throw this stick in?.....No more pictures!" Oh, to be Travis!

Roxy is enjoying our hike too!

Reagan and Travis couldn't resist, freezing cold water or not--they had to swim! Travis waded in, fell and got wet and cried of course. Reagan made her way all the way across the stream on a dare from Dad--which meant he had to buy ice cream in Glenwood! I love how the simple things amaze these two. I also love how they are friends and play together lately. Its so cute! (Like Reagan's goggles? Found them on the hike! So cool!)

Next, was a few days up on Mt. Graham staying in the Larson cabin. We so should come here more often we always say...and we really should. The kids love being up there in the dirt and Jason and I just enjoy being cool in the mountain air. We shelled pecans, rode bikes (Reagan even rode around the whole cabin circle--she was so proud!), and just hung out. It was beautiful cool weather.

We hiked up to the bear cave. The kids are getting to be pros at hiking. We really enjoy doing this together! The trail was a bit over run by stray logs and sticks and fallen trees this time...looks like the mountain has gotten lots of rain too! We also stopped on the way up and back to pick and eat wild raspberries. They were everywhere along the trail! And so yummy! When we got to the bear cave, Daddy showed the kids how to make a dam and stop the water flow...they were so impressed!

This is looking down from the bear cave:

"No gold-- just water Mom!"

During our stay on the Mountain, we also took a day and went to Riggs Lake to go fishing. This was the highlight of the trip for Daddy of course. He even managed to catch 3 fish...unfortunately they were all on the small side so we had to throw them back despite the kids begging to keep them so they could eat them for dinner.

There were several "waterfalls" on the sides of the mountain as we drove up to Riggs:

Reagan and Dad hiked up to this one.

Check out the whopper! Travis is telling a fish story...telling me how big the fish is! Little does he know Dad is giving him away right behind his back!

Reagan reeled in this fish...she is quite the fisherwoman!

Yep--Guilty! Caught going through Dad's tackle--fishing gets a bit boring after a while, especially to Mom (who just takes a book to pass the time) and to Travis (who just gets more mischievous!).

Reagan takes breaks from fishing (and catching smelly snails) too! She just climbs trees...and not just a little ways, I think she was up 30 or more feet in this tree! Crazy girl!

Roxy is learning to just hang out. She really is a good mellow puppy and fits in well!

Yes-- we are still fishing!

We really had a great time up the mountain. (Especially since the kids were getting over strep throat and Mom was feeling a bit under the weather too.) It was nice to just relax and let life go by. We really do need to get up there more often!

And a thought:

If you don't place your roots deep enough, you will still fall --no matter how old you are.

(Ginormous old tree we saw at Mule Creek that had fallen down...)