Oh What a Beautiful Day!

This is why we camp: the view from the front door... back door...only door. :)

Several weeks ago, Dan promised me that we would go camping this weekend. (It was largely in compensation for the fact that I didn't get to go to camp for the trail ride last weekend. I offered to let him guest-blog his adventures, but he refused quite emphatically.) So on Friday, we headed out for the Boulder River. Unfortunately, with the holiday weekend, a lot of other people had the same idea. We drove 16 miles on the gravel road before we found an open campsite. 

See "She's Over the Top"

Same river with a lot less water

Once we were settled, we took the ATV's back the 16 miles to Natural Bridge. There we had enough cell service to let our friends know where we were camped, since they were meeting us to ride on Saturday. Of course we had to take some pictures while we were there. Then we rode back to camp and made dinner. 

As it started to get dark, Dan suggested that we go for a night ride. I've never done that, so I agreed. We rode to Box Canyon where there were no lights and no clouds in the sky. We sat for a while just staring up at the countless stars before we went back and went to bed. 

Saturday morning, my alarm woke me up to the sound of raindrops on the camper. (Much, much better than raindrops on the tent!) I figured, "So much for a group ride." But I underestimated our friends. Just as I was finishing my breakfast, everybody pulled up. On to Independence!

The rain made for great puddles, and we had a lot of fun blasting through them. But after a while, as it became obvious that this was NOT a passing shower, the rain became rather tiresome. But since we were already drenched, we rode all the way to the ghost town. As we stood overlooking the valley below Independence, Ronny burst into song: "Oh, what a beautiful morning; oh, what a beautiful day!" It was good for a laugh, but we'd had enough and returned to the camper, where I immediately put on the teakettle. Some hot cider and dry clothes brightened the spirits immensely. Wouldn't you know it ~ the sun came out as we were leaving. A rainbow made a nice ending for the day. 

Fall comes early in the mountains.

Three Lakes and a Little Bear

Kersey Lake

How can it be August already? Our summer is slipping away! Must. Play. OUTSIDE!! But how? We had to spend all day Friday in town, so we didn't have time to take the camper out. Dan's 4-wheeler is in Powell for a little TLC, so we couldn't ride either. Guess it's down to foot-power.

Lillis Lake with Pilot and Index Peaks

We took the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway down to Cooke City and the Clarks Fork Trailhead. Our destination was Lake Vernon, but in reality, this was a "lake hike" from start to finish. From the trailhead, the river just sort of "spread out." The three actual lakes - Kersey, Lillis, and Vernon - were separated by small sections of forest and a lot of marshy stretches. Unfortunately, that much standing water makes for happy, productive mosquitoes. We were swarmed!

When we reached Lake Vernon and sat down on the rocks to eat lunch, the skeeters magically disappeared. Whether it was the sunshine, the breeze, or divine intervention, it was a welcome relief! (Maybe the dragonflies flitting among the water lilies had eaten all the larvae.) Eventually, we returned to the trail and the mosquitoes. 

Lake Vernon

As we came out of the woods into one of the marshy little meadows, Dan stopped abruptly. BEAR! I was thinking "Camera," and while he was, too, he was also wondering, "Where's Mama Bear?" We spent several minutes standing back-to-back carefully scanning the edges of the meadow and the surrounding tree line for the slightest movement. Seeing nothing, we very cautiously crossed the bridge and entered the woods on the other side. Now we were not only looking back and all around, but also up. Black bears do climb trees, and the last thing we needed to do was to "tree" a cub and have him bawl for Mama! But there was no sign of him, so Dan decided that perhaps he was a juvenile, newly independent, who decided just to vacate. Though we stayed on "high alert" for the next quarter-mile, we finished the hike without incident. 

Seven and a half miles of hiking made us hungry, so we went on down into Cooke City, had dinner, and came home over the famous Beartooth Highway. We even got home before dark, for once.