A recent sunset hike

Sunset hikes have been a rarity since R's surgery. By that time of the day, he simply freaks out if he's left home alone while I hike with Shyla. Consequently, I usually don't do it.

However, one day last week, the Runner was home and could keep R company. We girls headed out for a short jaunt.

First, we passed a seasonal pond where the Chorus Frogs were singing. The sound of frogs calling is a quintessential sign of spring. I was amazed to notice that the frogs survived a recent few days of snow and freezing temperatures, albeit without singing. However, they're singing again today!

For us mountain folks, seeing a pair of ducks on this pond was a delight. We don't see many ducks up as high as we are. If you look carefully, you can see them in the water. Also, if you look carefully, near the middle of the horizon you can see very snowy Mount Evans. It's a higher than 14,000' peak that's a long distance from us.

After enjoying that scene for too long, we hustled toward a spot where we could see the mountains to our west. The light briefly glowed before disappearing behind the clouds. Shyla shined in the light of the setting sun.

She seemed convinced that there was a moose (or three) behind me (like earlier this year) and wouldn't look at me.

Then, we sat out on a boulder and waited to see what the sunset looked like. It was worth the wait in my opinion!

I hope that we can get into the habit of taking these sunset hikes again sometime soon. However, it'll probably be another 5 or 6 weeks before R can walk to our sunset lookout point unless he surprises everyone with his progress (which is always possible!).