Disney World claims to be the most magical place on Earth, but we all know that beneath that giant mouse suit, there’s a real person (likely drenched in sweat) who’s waving doggedly at no one in particular and signing sloppy autographs. Six Flags promises great adventure, but before any two minutes of (headache-inducing) coaster-riding, guests must brave long lines, hot days and lots and lots (and lots) of people.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado. Photo compliments of Dave Arnold Photo.

So, are the amusement parks worth it? As a parent, how amused are you with spending $50 per kid just to get beyond the gate, $30 for a grease-drenched, sugar-laden lunch and then dropping $10, $15, $20 ??? on plastic souvenirs that will be forgotten once the car re-enters the driveway?

Little Molas Lake invSan Juan National Forest, Colorado. Photo compliments of Dave Arnold Photo.

I have a proposal for you. Visit a national park, a state park, even a county park instead. Let the little ones look down into a canyon, wiggle their toes in the sand or wrap their arms around a redwood.

Active mom, Kristin Billings.

Writer Kristin Billings is determinedly instilling a love of nature in her two small boys. She admits the difficulties, but relishes the joys of sharing an awesome scene with her kids: “By now, we've had some incredible experiences with our little guys outside: some picture-perfect camping trips, some great days teaching Jonah how to rock climb, and some wide-eyed hikes as Eli grins in amazement at the mountains before him.” Kristin offers more insight on her blog Inch by Inch.

Memories can be made with kids in any number of ways. But in my humble (though admittedly biased) opinion, it seems that a dirt trail instills more character than an expanse of concrete, and the purple mountains majesty make any man-made monstrosity seem uninspiring in comparison.

South fork of the South Platte River, Deckers in Colorado. Photo compliments of Dave Arnold Photo.

Hikemasters at Estes Park’s YMCA of the Rockies know what they’re doing when they’re out in the wild. Here, Tony Klodd, who’s been to the top of the only 14,000 foot peak in Rocky Mountain National Park (many times), and seen the views from all of the 13,000 foot peaks as well, describes one of his favorite hikes.

Tony Klodd, Hikemaster extraordinaire.

It’s long and steep, a grueling 20+ mile day-long excursion, but once completed, you can boast that you have conquered the Mummy Marathon.

In his own words, Tony dishes out the details.

First of all, start early in the morning, actually aiming for a midnight departure is a good plan. For the Mummy Marathon, you start by parking one vehicle at the Lawn Lake Trailhead and driving the other vehicle up Fall River Road to the Chapin Pass Trailhead. You start steeply up on a trail through the trees for a while, passing some pretty puddles and eventually arriving at the base of Mount Chapin. Here, you depart from the trail and ascend talus (freedictionary.com: A sloping mass of rock debris at the base of a cliff) to the top. At this point, it should will probably be quite cold and dark. Descend the northeast side of Chapin, and ascend the southwest side of Mount Chiquita. Once here, descend and ascend again to reach Mount Ypsilon. At this point, the sun will likely be newly risen or rising. This is a good spot for breakfast. Afterward, descend the northeast side of Ypsilon, which should put you on the ridge between Ypsilon and Fairchild. There are some big rocks on the top of this ridge, and early on in the season, there is a lot of snow on the southeast side. The northwest side is cliffy. If the snow on the southeast side has melted out, the easiest route is to skirt the ridge itself a bit by going down beneath the bigger rocks on the top. Otherwise, the top of the ridge itself is not too difficult to navigate. Once across the ridge, reach the top of Fairchild by making your way through talus and boulders. Next, make your way down the more gradual northeastern slope of Fairchild to the saddle between it and Hagues Peak. Head over to Hagues at this point. This step can be exciting if it is done early on in the season--you’ll be forced by snow to stay on the very edge of the southwest ridge of Hagues itself, which is very cliffy on the northwest side. Once on top of Hagues, descend to the north to Rowe Tarn and a spectacular view of Rowe Glacier. At this point, cross the Rowe Tarn outlet. This could be potentially hazardous if the snow over the outlet is weak. However, later on in the season, the snow over the outlet completely melts out, revealing talus that is easy to walk across. Ascend talus to the north to arrive at Rowe Peak to the left. It might look like Rowe Peak is to the right, but that lump is actually unofficially named Gibraltar Mountain. Cross a weird foreign plateau to reach an insignificant pile of rocks to the north that is called Rowe Mountain. At this point, head back the way you came until you are almost at the summit of Hagues again. Skirt around the summit to the east here, and then head southeast to the saddle between Hagues and Mummy Mountain. Once you reach the top of Mummy, your task is complete, and now you just have to find your way back to the Lawn Lake Trailhead.

Emily Cox, Paul Garrett and Tony Klott--a trio of hiking fiends.

Descend the gradual southeast slope of Mummy until you reach a little meadow where you will hopefully find some cairns (freedictionary.com: a mound of stones erected as a memorial or marker) leading you into the woods. If you cannot find them, head down into the woods anyway, and try to find the Black Canyon Trail. There is much potential for getting lost here. Once on the Black Canyon Trail, take it northwest until you reach the intersection with the Lawn Lake Trail. Take this south for a long time until you finally arrive back at the car that you parked at the Lawn Lake Trailhead. Drive back up Fall River Road to retrieve the other car at the Chapin Pass Trailhead, and continue up to the Alpine Visitor Center, where you can then take the two-way highway back to wherever you are based. Be careful not to fall asleep on the drive back, since it will probably be at least 6:00 pm by this time.

What you’ll need: No technical equipment is required, but many standard pieces of hiking equipment are. Take a minimum of three liters of water if you have a purifier. Otherwise, take five liters. Rowe Tarn is the only source of water along the route. Hiking boots, rain gear, food, extra jackets, a first aid kit, map, compass, gloves, sunscreen, headlamp, camera and sunglasses are a must. Hiking poles will probably be a pain for most of the trip, since you are mostly walking on talus and boulders, but if you want to take them along for the brief trail at the beginning and the Lawn Lake trail at the end, then go for it.

Why he likes it: It’s very long, so you get to spend a lot of time with your friends; there are great views of many mountains as well as a glacier and a tarn, you get to visit a lot of peaks, there are a lot of rocks to walk over, it's far away from everything, and it's great exercise.

Favorite trail food: The kind that minimizes prices, maximizes health, minimizes weight and does not spoil or melt. You also don't want something that is too heavy for breakfast to make sure that you don't throw it up under the exertion. Take a lot of carbohydrates and protein. I like granola bars, bananas, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, rice crispy treats and cookies.

*Disclaimer: You need to be in excellent shape, hike with other people and must carry the ten essentials. Read Tony’s description as inspirational, talk with some friends, contact the hikemasters ( or call “Quarter-Mile Ken” Teselle at 970-586-3341 ext. 1129) at the YMCA and then consider actually doing it.

Head up to Rocky Mountain National Park today or tomorrow if you get a chance. The elk are grazing, Trail Ridge Road is open, and the summer weather is finally here.

Another bonus besides the outdoor adventure and serenity: RMNP won’t be charging entry fees during the weekend of June 5-6.

If RMNP is a bit of a drive for you, other participating parks in Colorado include Black Canyon of the Gunnison in Montrose, Mesa Verde in Cortez and Great Sand Dunes in Mosca.

Beautiful Moraine Park in RMNP is worth the trip, especially if it's free.

Photo courtesy of Treye Rice. For more of his pics, check out his website and Flickr account.

The stretch of Colorado River flowing southwest from Rocky Mountain National Park into Utah was recently named as one of the top ten most endangered rivers in the United States. According to AmericanRivers.org, the northern Colorado River is listed as number six.

American Rivers is a conservation advocacy group that researches potential threats to rivers and raises support to prevent disastrous effects to water supplies and the habitats they support.

Water diversions have proven to pose a major threat to the northern Colorado River. Though popular for trout fishing and whitewater recreation, water levels are now dangerously low.

Could this beautiful river be in danger?   Photo by Courtney Holden

Two new proposals are now the primary concern, American Rivers Spokeswoman Amy Kober told Community Radio for Northern Colorado. One of those proposals is the Windy Gap Firming Project. Its aim is “to store available water in a new Front Range reservoir to ensure reliable, or ‘firm,’ future deliveries,” its website noted. The Moffat Tunnel Collection System Project is another potential stress on the Colorado River’s water supply. This endeavor would expand the space of an existing reservoir by 18,000 acre-feet.  According to its website, “Denver Water’s Moffat Supply Project proposes to enlarge Gross Reservoir to help resolve three major supply challenges: a future water shortfall (supply), the risk of running out of water in a future drought (reliability) and a serious imbalance in Denver Water’s collection system (vulnerability).”

On the surface, these proposals seem harmless, helpful even. They hope to remedy, at least in part, the water concerns of Colorado’s growing population.

Kober disagrees: “Excessive diversions upset the natural balance of the river, increase water temperatures, and destroy the natural patterns of reproduction for endangered species.”

American Rivers lists warmer water temperatures and an “inability to flush highway sand and other sediment due to severely reduced flows” as among the most significant effects.

The Colorado River already supports not only the water needs of much of the urban Front Range, but also areas farther west like Breckenridge, Winter Park, Keystone, Vail and Granby.

If you visited the West recently, you’ve likely noticed the reddish-brown trees covering the mountainsides. We’ve got a small problem—beetles—with big ramifications—dead trees, lots of dead trees.

Tourists have taken notice, and so has Congress. Last week, Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo. announced his intention to request an appropriations bill totaling $50 million. The bill would provide funding to remove hazardous trees in recreational areas. U.S. Forest Service land would receive $42 million of the emergency money, and the National Park Service land would be given the remaining $8 million.

Udall explains that the bulk of the money would be spent on highly visited areas where falling trees would pose the biggest possible danger. These areas include campgrounds, homes and reservoir watersheds, especially those in Colorado. “The need is almost unlimited,” he told Coloradoan.com.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has already allocated $40 million to the Colorado and Wyoming forest service for this purpose, but the problem still looms.

Photo courtesy of i4detail at Flickr.