I can't run out and take a photo every time a deer runs through the yard, so this one's from last summer.Diane reminds me of the time she saw deer here in 1988:
Do you remember the deer sighting I had at Trout Lake before the house was built? I stayed there in a tent a couple of nights in the fall. I woke up early one morning with a loud pounding noise from outside and coming closer. It was a herd of deer running across the meadow sorta north to south. I can play it in my head, but oh for a movie camera at hand at the time! Fabulous experience!
For other deer-in-front-yard photos from last summer, see:
https://picasaweb.google.com/aeggebroten/DeerAtHallelujahHouse
After a sunny morning, a Rocky Mountain car wash hit:
heavy rain and hail with lightning.
Remind me to pull weeds before going online.
A deer bounced past the sunflowers this morning... Thank goodness, she didn't stop to munch on them.Today I'm weeding the flower garden, tomorrow driving back to LA, where I can't glance out the window to see a deer while sitting at my computer.
If I could walk each day to places I have never seen before (in LA, the rest of the US, or wherever), I would be a happy camper.
Today I drove up to Silver Pick Basin on the slopes of Wilson Peak (14,017 ft.) and got a first-time peek at the backside of that mountain.
Encountering "No trespassing" signs, I finally turned back and drove to Woods Lake, where I had a spectacular sunset view of Wilson and some other peaks (but not El Diente and Mount Wilson--they were behind the ones closer to me).
Worst ten minutes of the day: when I turned my back on Mocha to relieve myself and she vanished. No other hikers around to give me clues on which way she had gone... this spot was beyond remote. After yelling and walking in circles waving dog biscuits, I finally saw her calmly walking out of the woods.
From that moment on, I kept her on the leash. (When will I learn?)
After 63 years of admiring Pilot's Knob and Golden Horn from Trout Lake (as shown at the right), I finally got to see "the other side of the mountain" (as shown below).Like the bear in the song, I went over the mountain (by way of Telluride, Ridgway, and Ouray) and had the thrill of seeing the other side.
Leaving Trout Lake at 10 am, I drove to Ophir. Friends told me my new 4-WD Subaru would have no trouble getting over that pass and arriving on Hwy. 550 near the trail I wanted to hike.
Looking up at that thin road cutting through a mountainside of scree, I realized I wasn't going to try it, 4-WD or no 4-WD. Nor did I have the nerve to knock on doors and ask someone to drive me to the top of the pass and walk back into town.
Instead I drove two hours over Dallas Divide and Red Mountain Pass to Mineral Creek's south fork, parked with forty other cars, and left the Ice Lake trail head at 1:30 pm.
The trail, however, wasn't clearly marked, and instead of crossing Ice Creek I found myself crawling on all fours up the hillside beside rapids and a waterfall. Not good to be grabbing rocks and small trees to pull myself up only 30 minutes into the hike. (Note to self: improve upper body strength.)
I had wanted to be like the bear who went over the mountain, not be the bear.
Finally I got to the top and reached another branch of the trail that had been partially washed out.
Looking down at the one-hundred foot drop, I couldn't walk around the top of the falls to where I saw other hikers who had made it over.
I turned back but found the jeep road to Clear Lake and walked on up to it (4 miles, 12,000 ft.).Along the way I enjoyed spectacular views of the east side of Pilot's Knob and Golden Horn.At 6 pm I started down. By 7:30 dusk was falling and I gratefully accepted a jeep ride back to my car.
Then I drove 2 hrs. back to Trout Lake to rescue Mocha, who had been locked in the house all day.
I hope someday to try again to get to Ice Lake, closer to Pilot's Knob and Golden Horn.
