Climb every moutain, ford every stream, hike through hip-deep snow.

Dad and I went took a short drive to the neighboring Kanton of Schwyz to do a little hiking. It was a warm and absolutely gorgeous day, affording great views of the Alps all along the highway (many thanks to the foehn). And since I am a five-year-old, I fell asleep about 15 minutes into the trip.

The hike itself was marvelous.Quite muddy, and pretty snowy in parts, but you just can't beat that Alpine air (I sure will miss hiking in the Alps when the family moves back to the States).

We didn't encounter any people (likely because the Schwyzers know better than to go marching off into the mud and snow in April, but they're a bunch of wimps anyway, right?), or even cows (they aren't put out to pasture until the ground is hard enough to sustain their sharp hooves).

Anyway, here for your viewing pleasure are some photographs of the lovely Schwyz:

Dad was well ahead of me during the hike, as is his custom (I am unused to the altitude and steep climbs, and he's in better shape than I am, what with the biking and hiking and skiing, oh my!), though I wasn't huffing and puffing nearly as much as I used to when we first moved to Switzerland.

The snow was thigh-deep in some spots, thus prompting us to take photos of each other in front of a pretty tall snowbank:

After scrambling back down the slope, we took a little spin around the lake to see if we could get down into a grotto that Dad had seen before. There was too much snow, so we headed back home.

All in all, a fabulous day in the mountains, and a good end to my vacation. Thanks, Dad!