Remember my Eagle Caves posts (One, Two, Three)? Today, the entire hillside caught on fire. Last I heard, they think it was caused by fireworks. Sad day. I run that trail(s) a lot.

Last one, I promise. When we got to the caves, we ate our granola bars and there were beetles everywhere and they were humongous. It grossed the girls out a little bit, so we didn’t stay long.

They couldn’t stop thanking me and telling me how much fun they had, which made me feel awesome, because I didn’t honestly think this would be their type of thing. I know they were sore and tired, their grandma said they were all off to bed really early, haha. I wish I could have said the same.

Later that night, a girl I met told me she used to run up there every day… I’m thinking about making it a daily thing. I have been inspired! Hahah.

So I took the girls hiking this last weekend and we had a lot of fun; it was a grand adventure up to Eagle Caves. The trail was not particularly difficult or long (although there are fifty billion to choose from and perhaps we’ll have to try coming up the other side next time) but it was incredibly steep, and in some places, the ground was not very stable, almost like walking on sand. Then when you actually get to the caves, the path heading down into them is narrow and a little awkward — especially if you’re afraid of heights, as it’s on an incline and losing your footing means falling straight down. Let’s just say, a lot of fears were conquered that day. Plus, it was a good assessment to see how well they’d fare before we take on more difficult hikes; they don’t get to do these kind of things often, so I told them we’d start off easy and work our way up.

The funniest part about this little trip was that they were so adamant about eating healthy that day. When we went to the store to pick up snacks and water for the trail, they picked out granola bars and crackers. Then as soon as we were back down, they wanted candy bars, haha. I think we compromised with fruit chillers instead. Their mama says I’ve inspired them to take better care of themselves and become more active, which is a huge compliment.

Anyway, I took a couple pictures. This isn’t my favorite set, and it definitely makes me wish I had a better camera, but the view was pretty stunning and a few of them capture it pretty well.

The first picture is the destination from the bottom, the rest are on the way up, on top of the caves, and inside them.