Mr. Awful didn’t join the nature walk. Whether it was the large crowd, the elderly and grandkid mix he’d spotted as he neared the group, or he really did have phone calls to make, Laura didn’t care.
Instead she had a delightful day bird watching, pointing out Sitka columbine and Scotch bluebell, and showing off her favorite little spot to watch deer by a stream. An ATV had arrived ahead of them at the final destination meadow and set out picnic blankets and a large lunch spread. They completed the afternoon with games for all ages in the meadow. The real secret to this loop was, at the end of a very leisurely five-mile walk, they actually had lunch only a few hundred yards from the Lodge; always a happy surprise for the weary.
When she finally got back to her tiny Lodge office tucked bes
