7/27/2010 Sun Point to St. Mary Falls

This morning we woke to up to the sound of rain on our roof... we really can't complain since it is the first time since we left home! We were going to drive the "Going to the Sun" road; however, due to the clouds we postponed that until tomorrow.  Instead, I spent the morning working on my school assignments until about 2:00pm.  It was great to have some time to get a lot done... I was able to finish all of my assignments except for my final project which I hope to finish before I go to sleep tomorrow.  Once this project is over I will have completed my last class of the summer and will be at Master's  plus 15 going into my 5th year of  teaching (5 years ago I never dreamt that I would have accomplished this!)  Anyway around 3:00ish we headed to the Sun Point trail head and hiked a total of 4.5 miles to the St. Mary Falls which were really pretty.  The sediment is washed down by the glacial streams and as it suspends in the water it absorbs all of the colors of light except for the bluish-green color that you see.  On our way back from the hike I got a little taste of my own medicine... Earlier in the hike I was inspecting a tree off the trail and I decided that it was a really convenient spot for a bear to hide... and... since there was no bear I thought maybe I could take his place.  My mom and dad were a little ways behind so I hunkered down a waited.  As they passed I gave a subtle growl that was pretty realistic!  I saw mom jump and dad reaching for his bear spray so I abruptly announced myself and we all had a good laugh. (It really was not the smartest thing to do because right now this area is having a lot of grizzly activity and everyone is being extra cautious) Anyway, on our way back from the St. Mary Falls Lex and I were leading the climb out and both kind of looking down as we went around a bend in the trail... As we rounded the corner and looked up we saw a large, brown, four legged creature standing right in the middle of the trail!  Instantly Lex and I both jumped and I let out a good holler as I drew my spray canister... only to realize that it was just a deer standing in the trail with its head down between its legs.  My holler scared the deer so bad that it jumped too... it scared us so bad that I pooed my pants (see picture below... just kidding that's bear poo from yesterday's hike). Anyway, mom thought that was the funniest thing every and couldn't help but think that it was God teaching me a lesson... I must say that whether I deserved it or not, it sure got my adrenaline flowing!  It was getting late so we took an alternative route to a different trail head where a shuttle was supposed to make its last run at 6:10pm.  By 6:35ish Lex and I decided that we could walk the road for a little over a mile and probably beat the shuttle.  Guess what... as we neared the parking lot where our truck was parked Mom and Dad came whizzing by on the shuttle!  We were all pooped by the end of the day so we ate dinner, went down to the hot tub for an hour, and then came back and made smores and pudgy pies around a fire.  What a productive day!!!


*** 12 years ago today my dog, Whoosha, was hit by a car on route 6... it was a sad day! ***