Happy Mother's Day to me ...

and to all the mothers I know!

My Mother's Day rocked.

I was the first one up, so I threw the breakfast casseroles that we got from Supper Solutions in the oven and jumped in the shower. By the time I was done, the kids were up and the rest of the adults shortly after.

We ate our yummy breakfast, gathered a bunch of water and drove down the highway for our Mother's Day hike up to Hanging Lake.

When we arrived in Glenwood Springs Friday night we drove down to the Hanging Lake Trailhead parking lot and walked down the riverfront trail under the highway and past the dam. Then we walked up the path to the trailhead and it was then that we decided that we'd hike it on Mother's Day.

I'd never been up there before and was excited for the trip. There are a lot of signs warning that the trail is difficult and that people should be prepared. So we got ourselves as prepared as we could and took off.

The signs were correct in that it is a steep, uphill climb up to the pristine lake. But it's only 1.2 miles and we trucked right up it, lead by my fearless nephew — who, it seems, was born to climb.

I really enjoyed the hike even though I was huffing and puffing through most of the uphill trek. The only thing that bothered me were the people who think that prohibitive signs don't apply to them. There were numerous signs saying, "No dogs" yet people were dragging their dogs up the narrow and very busy trail nonetheless.

Gah people! There's a reason that dogs are prohibited. Not the least of which is the fact that the lake is pristine and that we all need to do our part to keep it that way. And maybe there's a large part of me that thinks rules are for following — yeah, a big, puckered, anal-retentive part of me.

But anyway ...

There were bunches of people up there and Bill was inspired to play, "Good Game" with unsuspecting hikers.

"Good Game" is a game that is spun off the tradition of walking across the field after any kind of high school athletic event and "shake" hands with the other team. The shaking of the hands reduced to very ingenuine high-5 type hand slaps accompanied by a lack-luster "Good game" comment.

So what we would do was wait until perfect strangers were hiking by us and offer our hands while saying "Good game" or "high five." It is amazing that most people would give us a high five usually while smiling. Most people seem to get the absurdity of it.

One lady did not see to be delighted by Bill's "Good game" offering but slapped his hand nonetheless. After Bill passed, one of her hiking mates offered, "At least he didn't slap your butt."

Ha!

So the whole hike was fun. Margaret did great. She's a great hiker and can hike just as far as I can — hopefully that distance will grow for both of us over this summer as I was complete exhilarated by the hike and looking forward to doing more.

Oh and I got some great Mother's Day gifts. Mar painted a nice terra cotta pot at school which came with a great card that suggests I am 27 years old ... Happy Mother's Day to me indeed! And Bill bought me these shoes — but in black, of course.

I bought these for Mar at the beginning of spring and she has never complained about her feet once. She hiked Hanging Lake wearing them and they served her well. So I was stoked to get a pair for myself.

I have been coveting these shoes forever and plan on wearing them every day for the rest of my life ... or the shoe's life, which ever comes first.