The kids playing a game of telephone at the campsite

As we did last year, this Labor Day weekend we went up into the mountains to go camping with some other school families. This time we had four families, eight adults and six kids: four fifth graders and two third graders. We went to Estes Park this year which is about 75 miles northwest of Denver and at the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. We stayed at a campground just outside town.

Anna discovered a skeleton of what we think is an elk by the trail

We arrived Friday night around 6pm and put up our tents. Saturday, we went for a hike inside Rocky Mountain National Park. We hiked to a place called Cub Lake which was about a 4.5 mile round roundtrip and almost 1,000 feet of climb. We chose this hike because it said it was lightly trafficked but still a pretty hike. The kids had a good time for the most part although Jude was upset when we said he had to throw back the leech he had caught at Cub Lake.

Hunting for leeches in Cub Lake

Saturday night the kids all went off exploring in the area around the campground. It was great to have some time to chat while the kids were out exploring nature. Today, we and another family had planned to return to Denver, mainly just to get home and a day to relax before school on Tuesday. Before we came home we all went to Lyons to do some tubing. We had never done it on a river before but it was a blast. The water was cold although not unbearably so and it felt great because it was a really hot day today.

Anna tubing along the North Saint Vrain Creek in Lyons

Jude had a great time today, he much prefers tubing to hiking (unless he is doing a 14er) and it made a nice finish to the weekend. He is not a big fan of camping, though, and would prefer we not go again next year. But we want to keep exposing the kids to different experiences and we will continue to go camping.