Ending the year with a bang..

New Year's Eve.  My mom woke me up and asked if I wanted to go on a hike to some hot springs with my family. I wouldn't say hiking has been my favorite activity over the years, but I went anyways.. The whole hike was in the shade, and the whole path was a block of ice.  I wasn't prepared for the difficulty of this hike..

I stole a coat from my dad's car, and Colette gave me her vest. I would have frozen to death if it wasn't for them.

The group.

We were freezing.

A waterfall we saw on the way up.

Not there yet, still more hiking.

We finally reached the hot springs, and most of us didn't want to get wet to have the wind make us even more cold..  So we took a few pictures, and started the hike back.

Marty and Aug got in the hot springs.  The water was so hot, I had to put my hands in.  I needed to defrost my frozen hands.

I slipped on the way back and was not happy.. haha

Dad cheering me up.

My dad helping me not slip on the icy trail.

The end of the hike back ended up being a lot of fun.  

Instead of slipping on the trails, we chose the fun alternative.  We used the blanket my mom is carrying in the picture above to sled down the parts that were really icy and steep.

The Cheta's butts after the hike.

Thank goodness the end part of the hike was actually a good experience.  It was dramatic there for a little while! Everyone was slipping and falling until we thought of the idea to sled down the trail. We started laughing and smiling, and that made the hike worth every slip. What an ending to 2011.


<3