Saturday, September 3, 2016

Friday, September 2, 2016 Two Ocean Lake


Friday, September 2, 2016
I love being outside.  My humans let me roll.  Wait... what is that?  Why am I getting wet?  Something is attacking me!  What gives?  HUMANS!  LEMME IN!  I AM GETTING WET!  Save me!  It's so noisy!  But my humans will keep me warm and cozy.  I don't like this noise...
Today we are doing a hike at Two Ocean Lake.  We scouted it out yesterday.  It is a 6.4 mile loop around - you got it - Two Ocean Lake!  It looks like a gentle hike, and given Spouse's knee issues, he should be able to do it.
It is a narrow, soft foot trail that weaves along the lake.  It goes through the dense conifers, a little up and down, and across stunning meadows bordered by aspens of all sizes.  When we pull up to the trailhead, we are glad to see a couple of cars.  We are in bear country... They call it 'wildlife' for a reason... That 'wild' thing can make a big difference in your experience! 

We make noise on the trail as we walk.  Spouse has bear spray as well as his other anti-friendly-critter protection mechanisms.  He wants me to go first so that if we meet up with a bear, he has time to get to his stuff.  I think he not only wants me to be the sacrificial lamb, he wants me to break through all the spider webs crossing the trail.  We are at about 7000 feet so it is easy to get a bit winded on the climbs, even though they are quite gentle.  It is important when you are hiking to stop and look behind you.  Not that you are being followed, but the view is sometimes so different looking the other way.  Look at that Christmas tree.  Oh, those aspens are so pretty.  Hey, here is a nice log to sit on.  We cross paths with humans...  Oh, there was a bear sighting on the north end.  There is a big bull moose on the other side. 



We did not see the bear, nor the moose, but we did see the moose droppings.  The fall colors are coming in.  Each day, we see a teensy bit more.  Some of the trees that were yellow yesterday have a bit of an orange tinge today.  They are expecting temperatures to drop into the 20s this weekend.  By the time we leave on Monday, we may have some real reds.  Towards the end of the hike, we did get some raindrops, but it wasn't enough to put on a jacket.  There was thunder in the distance.  The skies have been threatening since then.



We did notice from our vantage point at the lake that the fire in Yellowstone does not look as big.  Perhaps yesterday's storm actually helped over there.  Just because it rains here does not mean it rains 10 miles up the road, but apparently, it had some effect.  And tonight, we are back to having a campfire.  We just can't get enough of that smoky smell!
We noticed lots of cars lining up to come into the campground for the labor day weekend.  We are glad we have a good site.  The RV park is full too. 

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