Roadtrip to the Southwest Entrance

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This morning I'm enjoying my coffee by getting Arya to find the biggest pinecone she can find. She kicked, thrashed and flailed all night long, so I ended sleeping horizontal under the two of them instead of all of us vertical with an Arya sandwich. I love sleeping in tents, though. Also, this morning, I discovered the second thing we forgot to pack, the pancake mix. Eggs and bacon morning it is!

Since most of the park was inaccessible due to heavy snow pack, we drove 1.5hr down the mountain and back up to the southwest park entrance. There we were able to check out the big new visitors center and atleast drive up as far as the Sulphur Works. Even though the road was closed past that point, they still allowed visitors to HIKE or BICYCLE up the road. So that's what we did! We made it a good half mile up the road in 80 degree heat before pooping out but we were rewarded with amazing views of the valley and of the surrounding peaks, including Brokeoff Mountain. Just that little area was beautiful- the terrain was multicolored tan, white and pink from assorted minerals, patches of dark soil with pines and snow. I was quite bummed we wouldn't be able to get up to Bumpass Hell this trip. Had I not had a toddler, it would have been possible hiking up the road but it would have been a hot, long, all day trek in the heat.

Ary was pretty tired at this point, so we headed back to the campground. She passed out for a good half hour of the drive, only to wake up with a set of demands:

Ary, "I need to watch Pooh!"
Chris, "we dont have a tv!"
Me, "You're unplugged."
Ary, serious faced and yelling, "No coffee for you!!"
Damn, she fights dirty, and not even three years old.

When we got back to camp we did short walks to entertain Arya and continued to intermittently read our books. Dinner was carne asada burritos and watermelon. Arya tried her first marshmallow smashed between two graham crackers, and she wasn't particularly impressed.

Even before the sun went down, Arya was wiped out. I ended up putting her to bed while Chris tended the fire. Took almost an hour but then I got to sneak back outside to spend the rest of the dying fire with Chris before heading to bed.

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