We needed to recharge with lunch about a mile from the Jenny Lake turnoff. There was still a lot of snow, and we actually saw several bikers park their bike, unstrap cross-country skis from their back, and take off blazing their own ski trail. Overachievers!
After lunch, we pressed on to Jenny Lake to meet up with our adventurous friends, the Reichelts (from such adventures as Hiawatha and Salmon). They had an hour head start on us, but had figured out how to slide in the snow on their shoes and hike through the knee-deep snow down to the creek.
The lakefront wasn't quite open yet, but the creek leading to it was still very picturesque. Can you spot Owen in the middle of this pic?
Once we had played in the creek and snow enough to sufficiently get our shoes wet, we decided to head back to the cars. It ended up being about a 12-mile round trip. The kids did really well, but we were all a little saddle-sore afterwards.
Our favorite Jackson brewery was calling our name. After some refreshments, we enjoyed the putt-putt golf and cornhole they had set up outside, and then ventured to another scenic playground before the car ride home. The sun felt so good!
One thing our long bike trip taught us was that we all should have been on bigger bikes. Hadley shifted up to Owen's, Owen inherited mine, and I got a much overdue new ride! Everyone was excited for their "new" bike.
The sun returned for the weekend, and the grown-ups enjoyed a peaceful bike ride close to home while the kids were in school. Looks like spring is here!!
To continue on our biking expeditions this weekend, we planned out a route from our house to a city park ~5 miles away. There was a little bit of everything on the way: major highway crossings, sidewalks near busy roads, stoplights, river crossings, rail crossing, quiet bike path, greenbelt, tunnels, hills, wind, sun, and another park stop halfway.
When we arrived at the park, we played a few holes of disc golf, because it was that kind of day. Owen's actually getting to be a decent frisbee golfer; Hadley's throws go about 10 feet max. Still fun!
Then we stopped by a local BBQ's 5th anniversary picnic right next to the park where they had pulled pork and hot dogs. Yum!
Refueling makes all the difference! We decided to start back home, but we headed south on the other side of the river to see some different scenery. The river was high with snow melt and the falls were even more powerful than usual.
We made another park stop about halfway back at the kids' favorite park. It didn't have water flowing through it yet, so it looked pretty different. Nothing left but to power through the last 3 miles uphill and into the wind. We definitely have well-seasoned bike troopers! They may tell you that they never want to bike again, but give it a week or two and they'll be back. They always come back.
I'll leave you with one more sign of spring:
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