For more pictures, click HEREIt was really cold when we woke up and it has been pretty warm until today so we have left the window open each night. We turned the heat on in the room but it never came on. Later when I asked at the desk about the heat, the girl told me that it won't come on unless it gets below 55F in the room even if I turn up the thermostat to 90! I wish I knew that beforehand and I would have been prepared. Thank goodness we had hot chocolate and oatmeal for breakfast.
Most of the day was spent hiking up to Mount Washburn. We hiked this years ago and I guess I forgot how hard it was. I would recommend this hike to everyone though because it was awesome. We had 360 degree views when we got to the fire tower.
Along the trail we saw a buffalo. Then as we hiked the steep trail, we saw lots of people stopped way ahead. Then we realized that a coyote was heading straight towards us and away from them. I dug out the bear spray and we picked up some rocks in case it got aggressive (before we started this hike we were told to report any aggressive coyotes on the trail) but it decided to get off the trail and go a different way. Further up the trail we saw a yellow bellied marmot and an eagle. Then we came across a huge group of bighorn sheep. As we continued to hike up we found another group. There were lots of little babies and they were playing in the snow. Then on the way down, we saw a lot more sheep in two different places. I guess we saw about 40-50 sheep today and Don had to hold me back from getting any of their wool to knit! Darn!
Of course not too far from the end, I took a tumble on the loose rocks and landed on my knee, hand, and hip. Nothing major was hurt but I’m sure I will be a little sore tomorrow.
For dinner, we decided to eat in the restaurant in the Old Faithful Inn. Both of us chose the prime rib dinner buffet for $25.95 and it was delicious. First we started with the red pepper gouda soup that was so tasty. There was a Caesar salad, twice baked potatoes, wild rice, green beans almandine, and stuffed mushrooms to go with the prime rib which melted in your mouth. I’m glad we decided to do this tonight.
What I Learned Today:
· I’m not as young as I used to be and that hiking up a mountain that I did ten years ago is much different now.
· Wild animals are not as afraid of people as we think. I guess the sheep are desensitized to tourists by now because we were able to walk on the trail to get by them and they didn’t run away.
· There is still a lot of snow in the higher elevations than I expected.
· As I get older, I need to be more careful walking down the mountains on loose rock.
· The views from the top of the mountain is something that is magical.
Posted on the Successful Teaching Blog by loonyhiker (successfulteaching at gmail dot com).
Original Photo: by Pat Hensley
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