We left home Friday, so excited to get out of town and be outdoors for the weekend. I was trying not to get my excitement get carried away, afraid that we would be disappointed if we didn't get a campsite at the campground we were hoping for. When we were almost there, Bob said, "Well, I do hope that the campground is not full. But I also hope that we're not the only ones there!". Fortunately, we snagged one of the last remaining campsites in a great location, and neither fear came true.
The table at our campsite. We are obviously car-camping, NOT back-packing! :) I was so proud of myself for finding small bottles and containers to put all of our food and supplies in. Unfortunately, when I realized that I had accidentally used oil instead of dish soap, I learned that I should label the bottles!
On Saturday we hiked up to Mt. Waterman. It was the best kind of hike--a mix of sun and shade, with great views of the mountains on the way up the valley, and then views of the high desert on the other side from the top of the mountain. Here are a few pics from the hike:
Views of the mountains on the way up to Mt. Waterman.
Hiding out "in the cleft of the rock" at the top of the mountain after we enjoyed our lunch!We were rather sore and tired when we reached the bottom, but very happy for a great day of wandering in the forest and the mountains. Unfortunately, there was no shower and no lake to jump into, so we had to be content with putting on flip flops and relaxing in the shade for the rest of the day.
Sunday morning we had our own 'church', reading, praying, and meditating on God's beauty near a dry creek-bed near our campsite. Doesn't this look idyllic?
At one point while we were reading, Bob heard some rustling in the grass, and looked up to see a snake a few feet away coming towards us. He jumped up and told me to move. I ran back up towards our campsite, then stood on some rocks trying to see where the snake was. When I saw it, I was amazed--probably the largest snake I have ever seen in the wild--more than 1m long! It was a rattlesnake, so we were very glad that Bob saw it in time to move out of its way. We watched it slither back into the bushes, and waited to see where it would go. We finally went to check the other side of the bushes...to our dismay he had come up near our picnic table! I tried to get a picture, but just caught the tail end:
We decided then to pack up our stuff so that we wouldn't have to worry about watching out for the snake. We were so grateful that we didn't see him until the end, so that we didn't spend the weekend paranoid about stepping on a rattlesnake!Given our excitement about being outdoors and some of the glorious sites that we saw, here is the song that was running through my head throughout the weekend:
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
The King of creation
O my soul, praise Him
For He is thy health and salvation
All ye who hear, now to His temple draw near
Praise Him in glad adoration
Amen!
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