| (Yellowstone Trip - June 9 to June 24, 2000 - Part 12) | |
| Wednesday,
June 21, 2000
We rose to a gorgeous day – not a cloud in the sky! We drove down to Lewis Lake to see if it had any scoping potential – we didn't think so, but really hadn't gone far enough below the lake. Drove on to the DeLacy Creek trail head for the hike to Shoshone Lake. Great trail! It started off down hill for a short way, then leveled off and followed the creek as it meandered to Shoshone Lake. We had the trail to ourselves on this beautiful morning. The solitude heightened Carol's concern for bears, while John remained blissfully ignorant of any danger. |
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| Passing some backpackers eased Carol's fears a little, and raised our hopes with their report of a moose ahead on the trail. The trail then left the dense forest and skirted an open meadow. Far in the distance, we saw some movement that we couldn't initially identify. John thought elk calves (Carol thought emu!). After a look with the binoculars, we concluded that they were sandhill cranes, and we teased each other about our first impressions: Carol had the right "order," John the right continent. |
 |
 After
some muddy patches, the trail returned to the woods on the edge of the
meadow and Carol again kept her eyes peeled for bear! Instead, we
see a big bull moose below us about 30 feet from the trail. Got some
pictures through the trees, but he was well camouflaged. |
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| The trail
ended at the beach of Shoshone Lake – what a view!
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| After we strolled around a while, we sat and ate a snack, watching the birds fight the wind which put some big waves on the water. We were a bit disappointed at the lack of wildlife on such a pretty, deserted trail. | |
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| Why do I get the feeling here that we are not
alone? "Me, and my shadow
..."
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| Heading back, we got a better look at the sandhill cranes. Wow – they are really big! No wonder we were so mistaken earlier! We encountered many more hikers on the trail – no more moose, but having more company on the trail allowed Carol to relax her bear watch. A real advantage of meeting fellow loons on this trip was larger group hikes that made us feel a little less like potential prey! | |
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