eight mile hike.

Apparently I just cannot seem to blog more than once a week. I will work on that. Onto the continuation of our trip...our second day consisted of the grueling hike up to eight mile lake. This was the hardest hike I have ever done. It was four hours out and back consisting of two hours climbing to 4600 feet. The landscape views were quite impressive. It will be hard to beat for future hikes. The ultimate prize was getting to the top of the mountain to eight mile lake. We sat and ate our picnic (aka sandwiches) before heading back. we will probably never be back in this area again, so we took a ton of pictures to remember it.

Take a look at these views:

bavarian lodge.

I stress about hotels. Always. I spend hours reading reviews and researching options to make sure our money will be well spent. I can say I was so pleased with my selection to stay at the Bavarian Lodge. The hotel was in a perfect location right across the street from the downtown area. It had a rustic cabin feel to it and served Stephen's new favorite, cucumber water, in the lobby. While it was a little spendy, we enjoyed our stay. I picked a room that faced the downtown and the views of the city were incredible from our window.

Hotel views.

 Hotel decor.