And The ADVENTURE Continues...: July 4, 2015-Chill day and the Fourth of July and July 5, 2015 Hike to Mount Scott and trip to the Pinnacles and Crater Lodge

Saturday, July 4, 2015-Chill day and the Fourth of July

A lot of people are packing up and leaving so we walked around the campsite and found us a full hookup site, so we moved. We took naps and read our books. We met a nice couple from Michigan near Detroit and we invited them for dinner with us. We shared our travel experiences with each other and had an enjoyable evening. So far it has been real quiet. Mike and Jeff are going on Mount Scott which is a 5 mile hike tomorrow and then we all are going to the Pinnacles when they get back.

Sunday, July 5, 2015 Hike to Mount Scott and trip to the Pinnacles and Crater Lodge

Well the boys had a great 5 mile strenuous hike this morning to Mount Scott. It is the highest peak standing at 8929 feet in elevation in the park. Their hike had an elevation change of 1200 feet. They say that they had great views in all directions and the view of the lake was magnificent. When they were making their way up they ran into a fox. Don’t know if it was a red or gray fox but he was licking the patch of snow for some water. He didn’t run away but was very aware that the hikers were about.

We had lunch and set out for the Pinnacles. This is only a short 1 mile easy hike but that is all that Amy and I wanted to do before our big and strenuous hike down to the boat to Wizard’s Island tomorrow. The Pinnacles are chimneys formed when hot ash cooled after the big eruption. They were neat to see. Mother Nature has done a great job of decorating the outdoors. No matter where we have gone we see something new each time.

Seeing that we had some more time we went to see Crater Lodge. This lodge is 100 years old. They did a remodel to it in 1990’s, architects preserved the original look on the outside but modernized the inside and made the structure safe for another 100 years. Mike and I walked around the exterior while Jeff and Amy found them a rocking chair on the patio and took in the view while catching up on facebook and emails.

After we got back we made a fire and sat around and talked before dinner. We have seen a doe just walk through the camp sites. She is so quiet that some people didn’t even notice that she had just strolled through their site. We were hoping that we would see a bear from a distance of course but so far no luck. The squirrels are in abundance here and one jumped up on Amy’s lap looking for a handout-startled her and took off. We also ran into one of the campers that had a Husky and Wolf mix. His name was Ranger and reminded me so much of our dog Princess who was a German Shepherd and Wolf mix that my brother Carlo brought home from North Dakota when he was in the Air Force.

Happy Birthday, Jim. I hope that you finally are able to read this blog.