Stratobowl Hike

A friend recommended the Stratobowl Trail for an easier jaunt with kids. It was an easy gravel road to trek, but I was a little ambitious thinking I could take both boys on a 2 mile hike by myself with no carrier or stroller. X and M were both extremely sad about Papa Ray Ray and Nan leaving this morning, so I picked this hike to distract them. I ended up having to bribe them with TV by the end to make through the last half mile. And I am already sore from carrying X at least a mile, probably more like 1.75 miles. We saw TONS of poison ivy which made the walk a little less enjoyable because M usually loves to climb rocks on the side of the trail or go hunting for a walking stick. We did find some walking sticks for the boys and man those were a lifesaver. They helped us make it to the top of the Stratobowl to see the incredible views. I almost turned around about a half mile in, but am glad we adventured to the top.

Overall, it is an easy hike for an adult or older kids. M was a trooper and powered through. X had to be carried or went at a snail's pace the entire way. His snail's pace sure is adorable though when he is drawing in the sand, chasing hopperflies (X's word for grasshoppers that M and I both giggle about every time he says it), pretending to be a street sweeper or collecting rocks. Today was the first time M has ever told me he was scared on a hike. We were up incredibly high and he said he was scared of falling. We stayed well away from the edge, but I was shocked he voiced his fear today. He was also worried a rattlesnake might slither out of the grass even though he loves snakes. We of course had to stop to build a "teepee" out of sticks in a little forest area.

 

We're hoping to make it back up to this area this weekend when they start to launch hot air balloons! I am debating bringing a stroller because it is just a gravel road, but some of the trek was steep, so I'll get back to you on that one. If you can see in the pictures down in the valley, there is a peace sign that makes up the launching and landing site for the hot air balloons.

To continue to cheer up the boys, we spent the afternoon at the pool and had a healthy-ish cobbler for lunch. Not sure what we will do come fall when the weather is too cool for outdoor swimming. We're looking at warm locations for our next location, but I don't know of many where you'd want to swim outside in November.