Ok, this post is late but we got home at 9:30 and I was too tired to work on it. Our day yesterday started out with breakfast and an hour drive to the Mt. Washburn trailhead. On the sign it said it was 3 miles to the top with 1500 feet of elevation gain. Not 2.5 miles and 1000 feet. We could see the lookout from where we were parked. If you look at the picture of the white van and up at the top of the mountain you will see the structure. It is 3 stories, so you know how far away it looked to us. But we moseyed on our quest to see Bighorn sheep.
About a mile and a half into the hike, a steady uphill climb all the way, we saw a herd of bighorn sheep. Four momma sheep and 3 babies. We walked with them, as they didn't seem to want to let us pass until we came to a midhike outlook area and then almost had a Planet Earth moment. A lady, a little over the hill(not in age but on the trail) said, "Look, a coyote!". We stopped dead still as it came across the meadow and it didn't even act like we were there. It was stalking one of the baby bighorn sheep. It walked inches in front of Kate and almost brushed Hayden's leg. The sheep got nervous and then bounded down the mountain to a rocky outcrop. The coyote then trotted up the path and we met it again higher and it circled down and around the other way to get at them, I suppose. After that, we didn't see the sheep anymore, so we were glad we got there when we did. No rams with the huge curly horns, which was a little disappointing but ok.
We walked to the top which is greater than 10,000 feet. It was a beautiful view. Austin summed it up by throwing his arms wide and saying, "Isn't this the greatest! It is so cool! I love today!" We spent about a 1/2 hour looking and eating some snacks and then started down. The alpine meadow flowers were fantastic and the downhill was much easier, although you had to be careful not to slip on the loose rock. It was a lungbuster as the elevation and the climb made you feel very out of shape but so worth it.
We came home and stopped by a fishing place because Hayden wanted to fish, changed into swimsuits and while he and Tom fished, we sat in the boiling river to get the soreness out. Then out for pizza which was a bad move as we were all so tired a grumpy and the restaurant was not so great. Should have just eaten in the camper. Went to bed and slept and slept. So, SUCCESS for today.
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