Family Hikes Hoodoo ~ May 1, 2010

This last Sabbath I woke up and the first words out of my mouth to mom when she came for her morning hug was...."Can we hike Hoodoo today"? "I don't think so" was her reply...."just look at the weather"! After pestering my family with my wild idea of possibly hiking in the rain, they agreed to go. Before we even left the house, there were promising patches of blue sky and sunshine.

I always enjoy getting out in God's nature on Sabbaths. It is about the only day our family can be together and do something fun.The family started to say how happy they were we came hiking and didn't let the weather scare us off when we ran into a few raindrops. Thankfully the dark clouds passed over us, an answer to my prayers.

We moved along the trail, dodge fresh Elk droppings, and was excited to count 12 different kinds of wildflowers in bloom right now. Mom had brought her little sketch book and drew several different flowers while I captured their beauty with a camera.
Jared and Cherie climbed the boulders along the path, and I had to stop and catch them with the camera as well. As we reached the Hoodoo Lookout (our resting stop),a pretty little vocal songbird filled the air and much to mom's delight....more wildflowers met our eyes. Jared and Cherie decided to climb our traditional cliff with mom and I taking our own sweet time reaching the top. The view from above is so worth the short climb. We can see the whole Hoodoo Canyon, several lakes in the valley, a pond, and snow on the mountain tops. Vivid shades of green filled the canyon and rocky cliffs. It is sure a beautiful and colorful time of the year. After stopping to take pictures on top of the cliffs With the canyon and lake in the background, Cherie looking over the cliff's edge said, "Look, there is a mother bear and her two cubs" Sure enough, we looked over just in time to shoot a movie clip with the camera of a mother black bear and her two adorable cubs. What a treat! Where we glad to be above them and not in their path too!

It was a wonderful blessed Sabbath and had a great time out enjoying God's nature. We are planning to go hike the trail again this coming Sabbath with friends.