A Well-rounded Weekend

Hiking, riding, camping... We did it all!

While many people may head for their favorite campsite after work, for most, "after work" is not 1 am! But that is exactly what we did. Unfortunately, when we got to our spot near Nye, we discovered that somebody else was already there. (That has never happened before.) All was not lost, though, as the area is divided and the other side was unoccupied. Guess what? We may have found a new favorite spot!

Friday morning came a lot earlier than I wanted it to when my phone rang before nine. Since I was awake, I got up and dressed. I had hiking on my mind. Since the two popular hikes in the area, Woodbine Falls and Souix Charley Lake, are ones that we have done multiple times, we had someplace else picked out. We rode the ATV's to the top of Benbow and set out on the Wilderness Lake Trail. We knew we wouldn't have time to do the whole 12 miles (6 each way), but we did get almost 2 miles up the trail. It was a gorgeous afternoon with only a couple of quick, scattered showers. The meadows were filled with flowers and we ate our lunch on some boulders overlooking a tiny mountain lake far below us. 

Apparently, moose climb trees...
This one left his tracks behind. ;)

The lunchroom

We crossed that high peak on our four wheelers
before setting out on foot. 

So many colors...

Saturday was "Bring a Friend" Day, and we had a blast riding all over Picket Pin. We stood on the highest peak, Iron Mountain, where we could see for miles in every direction. We could even see the the Crazy Mountains, probably 30 miles away. We ate our lunch by a tiny "waterfall", rode down into a valley and climbed back up a hill (because it was there, of course), and rode to another high point, Chrome Mountain. From that point, we could see not only the Crazies, but also the Bridgers, and very faintly another range beyond. Then it was back to the camper for dinner and packing up. We finished hooking up just as the rain started. The rays of the setting sun created a full rainbow, a portion of which was double. It was the perfect finishing touch on a great outing. 

Bloomin' Antlers

Regular readers of this blog will know that we LOVE Yellowstone National Park. In fact, in the last ten days, we (in some combination or another) have made three trips into the park. 

Last week, we were joined at our church camp near Big Sky by my parents from Michigan. On that Friday, we made a quick foray into YNP and around the Grand Loop. On Tuesday (while I was at work, boo!), Dan and Daddy took a road trip. They went up the Beartooth Pass, through Cooke City, into Lamar Valley, and out at Gardiner. Sitting at dinner, Dan said to my dad, "Don't let me forget my hat." Yep... you guessed it!

This Friday morning found us headed back to Gardiner to retrieve the forgotten hat. A co-worker asked me Thursday night if we had ever explored the Tom Miner Basin. We haven't, and it was on the way, so we made the side trip. The bright morning sunshine highlighted the peaks, the flowers, and a beautiful doe and her twin fawns. 



The main goal for the day was a little hiking. Dan had taken a side road, Black Tail Plateau Road, on Tuesday, and he was itching to get out of the car and scale the high point. We were again photographing flowers when I spotted a shed elk antler among the blooms. Not too far away, its mate was poking up out of the grass. A few minutes later, we peered down into a ravine and spied three more pairs. We probably found a dozen more sheds of differing ages as we looped our way back to the car. 

I didn't place these antlers, just photographed them as they lay.
However, I don't think I could have done any better. 

We followed the one-way gravel road back to the pavement, then turned toward Lamar. From there, we proceeded to Cooke City and dinner (Dan left his hat in the car), and up over the pass and home. 

Just a thistle, but I thought it was pretty. 

Indian Paintbrush