Vacation Days 12, 13, 14

 

heh. I titled this picture “not amused”. hahaha. I think this was my early morning reaction to being up at the butt crack of dawn again. At this point, I think any vacation with a friend not previously known super well might be wearing on each other….

The morning started with some hot springs, I think. This was a little cubby hole pool that was amazing

Hot springs are such an amazing natural wonder! I had sort of thought we might experience more, but there were actually many, spread out nicely, and it was glorious.

On the way up into the mountains, we saw some SETI satellites. Super cool! Who knew?

We headed up into the mountains and saw unparalleled beauty.

The views were spectacular. The juxtaposition of nature being both full of life, and also destructive and stark:

On our sojourn up the mountain, we found SNOW IN APRIL!

It felt like being on top of the world at one point!

Day 13 saw us heading up into the mountains for what would be our coldest night of the entire trip. These mountains were no joke when the sun went down. We had another little “altercation” with the traveling companion that necessitated some time apart, taking separate walks. I saw some amazing sites, on my walk….

I’m not sure why there is a grate like, in the middle of a field where there are lots of marshy like springs with hot and cold water, but there it was. Here are some rock outcroppings that were there too:

Another little crag of water in the valley:

Views of surrounding mountains:

There were hot springs here too…called the Shepherds Pool, and our camping spot was right above this, a little down from the above rocks:

Then, it got cold….this was shortly before sundown. OMG!

This was the next morning, trying to remember how many body parts I had and whether or not they were still attached:

FINALLY, day 14 dawned, and it was time to head home.

That “kind of ” smile might be saying “I SURVIVED!!” It might be saying “NEVER AGAIN” and it might be saying “I LIVED AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS FROZEN BODY” to show for it hahahaha….

I am going to end this entry here, because I want to dedicate another entry, all by itself, to the next portion of the trip.

Peace.