An Unusual Day @ Mohawk Lakes

We knew the weather was going to be iffy even before we started.  It's monsoon season and had been acting like it for the past two weeks.  We decided to give it a go anyhow since if you wait around due to weather in Colorado you'll never get anything done.  Another saying is "wait five minutes and the weather will change.'  We made it down the long, bumpy 4 wheel drive road only to be greeted by the sounds of thunder.  We decided to wait it out in the truck.  The kids hung out in the back, Poppa took a nap (he's like a dog and can sleep anywhere), and then it started to hail.  Luckily, it was only small hail so we didn't get any more dents on my poor red truck!

After 20 minutes or so the hail and rain stopped.  We decided to brave the weather.  There's a nice cabin part of the way up.

The falls are pretty!

Little Red Elephant:

This was the signature J face when she was ready to be done going uphill:

Aster:

Our lunch spot:

Poppa and T went fishing on the far side of the lake...

and caught something!

The clouds were all over the place.

Bistort:

Star Gentian:

Mining hole:

King's Crown:

Indian Paintbrush:

Arctic Gentian:

Sheep fur:

One minute it was this beautiful:

and then it turned downright ugly.  We decided to high tail it out of there!

Hike: Mohawk Lakes

Trails Used: Mohawk Lake

Distance: 3.28 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Overall average: 1.3 mph
Overall Time: 2 hr, 36 min
Total Ascent: 1228 ft.

Pretty Little Lake and a Magnificent Moose in the Colorado State Forest: Lake Agnes

It's not as pretty as it could be on a sunny day but it's still a nice lake and luckily I've seen it a couple times on a beautiful day.  I've got great memories to go with it.  The first is hiking around it with my parents dog Lunk (part Lhasa, part Poodle) in my backpack since his little legs were too short to do the bouldering.  The other is hiking around it with my two dogs when one of them (the one you would have expected to do this) fell off a cliff above us into the water.   We didn't think it was going to end well but thankfully he wasn't hurt but I'm pretty sure his pride was.  And lastly, this was the first stop on a girls weekend to Steamboat which unfortunately has been too long in recreating.

The hike is short but steep getting up to the lake.  If you want to hike around it you should be prepared for a lot of bouldering.

The good news with the bouldering is that you have a high chance of spotting some marmot if you take the time to pick your head up.  Be careful that you stop walking or you are going to trip!  The picture below is a little like a Where's Waldo book....except Where's the Marmot?

We crossed a pretty stream and had a view of a nice waterfall across the way.  That's where C is pointing.

Tall Chiming Bells:

Mountain Laurel:

Spot another marmot:

Columbine with Nohku Crags in the background:

I just had to take a selfie by my selfie since my family took one without me.  I 'might' have been taking too long taking those awful flower pictures as they call them.

Indian Paintbrush:

Early Larkspur:

The icing on the cake for me was spotting this moose heading back to our campsite on the road that takes you up to Lake Agnes.  Typically if you head up to the Colorado State Forest you get to see a moose but it's never a guarantee!  I love looking at these ungainly creatures!!

Hike: Lake Agnes
Trails Used:  Lake Agnes in the Colorado State Forest

Distance: 2.87 miles
Difficulty: Easy but steep
Overall average: 1.6 mph
Overall Time: 1 hr, 49 min
Total Ascent: 633 ft.

After waking up @ 4 am to get a run in before a day in the car I found that there was quite a bit of cleanup to do from the big hail storm of the previous night.  We spent over an hour raking what was left of our trees, picking up pieces of my decimated pergola, and bemoaning the loss of my garden.  We got it cleaned up enough to leave and put it all behind us for a week vacay.  Amazingly, we were only about an hour behind our scheduled departure time.  Our trip included a stop in Alliance, Nebraska for Carhenge.

 We planned to stop in the Badlands (South Dakota) for a night of camping.  The contrast of the Sweet Clover (invasive legume) and the geological formations was quite striking.

Campsite 41 had nice views of the buttes and spires.  There is no shade in the campground so it could get quite hot during the summer months.  There was a covered picnic table shelter.

After a so-so lunch at the lodge located inside the park we headed out on the loop drive to explore.

We hiked up to Saddle Pass (1/4 mile).  During the homesteading days the horses came down this way but not the wagons.  If we'd had the time it would have been nice to do the whole trail.

We stopped at most of the observation points for great views of the rocks, sky (getting stormy), and clover.

Q spotted these Big Horn Sheep:

We turned around at the Hay Butte Overlook and took the shortcut back to Interior for dinner at the Wagon Wheel (pizza, hamburgers, and cheese balls).  Just so-so food but we didn't have to cook in the rain so that was all right.  By the time we made it back to camp it was storming.  We stayed in the truck for awhile until the storm blew over.

It was really moving the tent.  Good thing we weren't in there!

I was the only one who slept in there that night.  The kids and C stayed in the back of the truck.