Morning temperatures are still quite cool ... we're wearing long pants and grabbing jackets to stay warm (even turned on Fritz's seat warmers yesterday morning). But, as soon as the sun is fully risen in the sky, the temperatures rise quickly to the mid- to high-70s. It doesn't seem that hiking in the 70s should feel warm, yet in the direct sun, at higher elevations, in the dry air, it can feel quite warm.
And each day is getting a bit warmer and we opted for a shorter hike today, with less elevation gain (tired bodies from yesterday's hike) out of Coulter Bay to Swan Lake and then to Heron Pond. On a warm day, perhaps a bit of a mistake, as the still waters of the lake and pond meant the presence of territorial black flies and high-pitched whining mosquitos. The warmer temperatures with the still winds meant that we were accompanied by insects for most of our hike.
We did happen upon a Three-toed Woodpecker (male, Rocky Mountain sub-species) who was going to work flaking a dead tree along the side of the trail. He did not care at all that we were trying to capture a picture of him ... he simply kept on vigorously flaking away at a log.
Many of the hundreds of wildflowers were blooming in the sun-soaked fields of the lower elevations ... tried to capture in picture a few of them.
An osprey circled high overhead ...
And, a lunch awaited at the Coulter Bay Food Court (I really needed a hamburger and fries for some reason) and a long nap back at Bambi ...
Getting ready to move on to Yellowstone National Park tomorrow ... Paul made sure that Bambi has full propane tanks and Fritz has diesel fuel ... I made sure that we had clean clothes ... off again tomorrow.
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