Clean-up Day and We Take a Hike

As much as I’d love to just go on day trips every day, those household chores like laundry, house cleaning, and grocery shopping don’t get done by themselves.  So, yesterday was the designated day to stay home and do chores.  The Castle is clean, inside and out, both dogs got their showers, the pantry is full, and we can get back to the business of sightseeing.

When the jobs were finished yesterday, we did take a short drive along the southwestern park border as far as a place called “Goat Lick” where one is supposed to be able to observe mountain goats.  Someone forgot to let the goats know we were coming by, and they didn’t show up.  But we got to take some pictures of a beautiful mountain:

This morning, Mark, Jim and I set out to see what we might find.  Dortha was feeling under the weather today and chose to stay home and rest.  We missed you, Dortha, hope you are feeling much better soon!

Here’s what Lake McDonald looks like under a clear blue sky:

 

Mark and Jim took a moment to compare cameras and images:

We’ve been wanting to stop at the Trail of the Cedars every time we pass by.  Today was the day:

Hmm…how far is it?

This doesn’t look too hard:

These are some tall trees!

They still like to play in the trees:

Avalanche Creek in the gorge.  There are some very interesting rocks here!

   The trail along Avalanche Creek:

A short rest stop:

I wonder how old this tree was:   We hiked about halfway to the lake before deciding to head back.  On the way home, we stopped by the West Glacier Restaurant for a bite of lunch. 

Our friends Janna and Mike are coming up from Big Timber on their first outing with their new-to-them motorhome and their little puppy, Emmi.  We wanted to check with them to see if they were going to make it today.  When Jim talked to Janna, she said they had started out this morning, but had a little problem with the motorhome, so they need to get that fixed and will try the trip tomorrow.  We sure hope you don’t have more trouble, guys, looking forward to seeing you tomorrow!  Safe travels!