day 12: phelps lake hike and day 13: a morning surprise (by amie).

Hello, this is Amie.

Sunday morning, my Dad and I went to Phelps Lake in Grand Teton National Park on a daddy/daughter date. The trailhead is about a forty-five minute drive from our Airbnb.

We jumped in the car. I was living the life with a bagel in my lap and a mug of hot chocolate cradled in my hands. Off we drove on a road that people say you can see moose. No moose, but it was still nice to have Dad’s undivided attention!

We reached the park gate, and Dad showed the fourth grader pass, which, if you have a fourth-grader (in our case, Gabe) you can get into the park free. A women asked to see Gabe, but he wasn’t with us. Dad looked at her with puppy dog eyes and told her he was taking me on a date. Though annoyed, she said yes — since we were only going to Phelps Lake, we could go.

 

 

 

Thus our adventure continued. It was beautiful.

At the beginning, we saw a young buck deer.

 

 

It was a truly magical hike. We took pictures of almost every flower so that I could draw them later, and we found a sign that says what kind of flowers we saw.

 

Silver Lupine

 

Spreading Dogbane

 

Indian Paintbrush

 

Showy Fleabane

 

We didn’t find the name of this one. But we still thought it was pretty.

After a mile, we got to Phelps Lake, and then we started walking around it.

 

 

The lake looked so refreshing, we couldn’t help jumping in, clothes and all!

 

 

 

 

The lake was freezing! Also, it was only about 9:00 and still in the 60’s. But it was worth it.

Thankfully, it was sunny, so we could sit on a warm rock and dry off while eating a snack. The view was gorgeous. Some girls offered to take our picture together.

 

 

On the way back to our van, we walked past a bunch of wildflowers, and butterflies were everywhere.

 

 

 

 

 

A morning surprise

The next day, our neighbor knocked at our door at 6:30 in the morning, telling us that there was a mama and baby moose outside. He knew that we really wanted to see moose! We all enjoyed looking at them, and when the others went inside, my dad and I jumped in the car and drove around the corner to get a better view of the amazing sight.

 

 

 

 

Overall, I thought it was the perfect daddy/daughter date!