A day of rest (mostly)

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We decided to have a restful day today and hang out at the inn. After a breakfast of huckleberry pancakes and eggs, we set out to explore the trails near the inn. (The national park boundary is only a quarter mile from the inn, and there are many trails in the surrounding woods and mountains.) We took a trail up past the caboose rooms across the railroad tracks and up a hill. This is a trail they use for cross country skiing and snowshoeing in the winter. We think we’d like to come back during winter. This is a premiere winter lodge.

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Again we saw many beautiful wildflowers and lots of wild berries. Brad made a stunning time lapse movie of the clouds moving across the brilliant blue sky. The trail ended at the railroad tracks, which we walked back on to the inn.

Getting back to the inn around 1, we took advantage of the shady porch to read and write for a while. After a few hours, we took another hike down to the Walton ranger cabin and along a riverside trail to a “hanging bridge.”

We came back and had dinner and both had trout again, because we’d enjoyed it so much. I can’t remember ever ordering the same dinner two nights in a row. We then went out to watch Amtrak come in around 9 (45 minutes late tonight). We both took great movies of the trains with a stunningly lit sky due to the smoke in the air from the fire.

The evening train
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After the trains, we went down to the bar for a drink and cards. We’d been to the bar and rec room (pool, ping pong) another night, and it was very quiet. Tonight, though, there was a big group gathered around the upright piano enjoying a sing-along of popular favorites like “Valerie, Valera,” “Home on the Range,” a Montana song we didn’t know, and many others. It was a loud rowdy time.