Beyond the Rockies – Page 6 – rocky mountain tot

Apple Orchard Outing in Kansas City

Last week Cecy and I went apple picking at Cider Hill Family Orchard located at 3341 N. 139 Street
Kansas City, KS 66109. I can’t stop talking about how much fun we had there. The people who work at the orchard are nice and helpful. We decided to pick a peck bag which is about 10 pounds of apples and costs $8.50. Cecy loved the Apple Wagon that picks you up and drops you off by the type of apples you want to pick. They have 18 different types of apples in the orchard. When you are done, you get back in the wagon, bring your bag back to the store and pay for them there. You can also grab some apple doughnuts, apple cider slushes or other goodies in the store and enjoy them on their picnic tables.

: Apple Wagon

The orchards were pretty and the apples were tasty! 10 pounds of apples is a lot of apples. Besides munching on them and adding them to salads, we made a caramel apple pie which was delicious. Here is the recipe I used from the Food Network’s Pioneer Woman.

Back in the Sunflower State

We are back home in Kansas and excited for some fall adventures here. Last week we headed to Grinter Sunflower Farm located at 24154 Stillwell Rd. Lawrence, KS 66044. (Lawrence is the home of college basketball powerhouse, KU and my amazing sister). The farm provided a fun, beautiful landscape to take pictures for Cecy’s 10 month birthday.

I think she was a little afraid of the sunflowers at first which is understandable because some are the size of her head. According to the Grinter’s blog, the sunflowers are fading fast and they are just about ready for harvest, so I’m glad we made it out there in time!

I’m a first time Mom, so things I’ll keep in mind for next year:

Bring cash – we passed through a toll road on the way there. Also bring $1 donation in exchange for a sunflower to take home.
Wear proper shoes! I wore cute sandals and got them very muddy and I slipped around. Next year we might go with cowboy boots because they’ll look cute in pictures and will be more practical.
Wear sunscreen and bug spray.
Bring a scissor or knife to cut the sunflower with. This year I tried to just break it off like a normal flower – basically I was wrestling a thick, prickly stalk that was taller than me with a baby in one arm and ended up with half the pedals on the ground and an angry baby.
Plan ahead by checking the Grinter’s blog or Facebook page for prime sunflower season.
Consider bringing a step-ladder to get a better angle of the field. They had a cart with hay on it for photo opportunities, but some people brought their own ladders which gave them options to take pictures in the middle of the field.

Valencia Peak in California

When I think of hiking up mountains, I don’t normally think of seeing dolphins on the descent. Back in February we visited my brother who lives in Morro Bay, California and he took us to Montana De Oro State Park to climb up Valencia Peak which rises 1,347 feet. That doesn’t sound high if you are used to Colorado’s elevation, but we basically started right at sea level.

Ocean view trail — The trail is right on the ocean, gorgeous!

I was pretty proud of myself for chugging through the 3.7 miles! (roundtrip) I was also happy that Cecilia, who was only 3 months old, did so well strapped to my front in her Ergobaby carrier. When it got a little sunnier, we pulled up the hood to protect her head.

Yes, we had to change a diaper on the trail and she cried a little for milk towards the end, but hiking with my daughter was one of the things I was most excited for when I was pregnant.

The perfect weather, ocean views, my brother acting as an awesome ‘hike guide’, and spotting dolphins made Cecilia’s first hike pretty hard to beat!