Day 6: Ben’s Birthday, Hikes and Bikes

Ben  woke up a year older in Durango this morning, and we let him  decide the day’s adventure. He chose to hike and bike, a very fitting combo for this active town, and so we set off early for another trail head just minutes from the center of town. Sailing Hawk Trail started out very similar to yesterday’s excursion, heading up and up along  rocky paths that overlook the city and the Animus River valley. We unanimously agreed to follow the farther path away from town, with the payoff of thrilling views and technical descents to surprise us. (Well, technical to me as an elderly hiker, and possibly to the insane mountain bikers that clearly use that trail against all sensible reason).

The fact that we could hike to these views and be back in town before lunchtime is certainly part of the draw of Colorado, as I now see, and perfect for our family vacation goals of keeping the kids engaged. It meant we could spend the afternoon biking along the Animus River in honor of the Birthday Boy, who’d lean in to his handle bars and shoot off down any stretch of open path like a rocket. The sun was hot but the river breeze cool, and he didn’t want to stop so we pedaled and pedaled together, and each time he said “This is fun, mom” or “This is a good birthday” or “Thanks for doing this with me”, I’d have little aneurysms of joy inside.  By dinnertime, we had hiked, biked, swam, and hot-tubbed. We were plum wore out in the best way.

So when Birthday Boy chose dinner plans of staying in and eating pizza in bed, we all decided that was brilliant.  The full day ended with a family slumber party watching The Goonies, praising the work of Jonathan Ke Quan, and generally agreeing this was the best day ever. Except for Lia, she was kind of grumpy by then (*eyeroll*).