Thursday was wildlife day. A pinyon jay and several chipmunks visited the birdfeeder in early morning. Later on, a mule deer came quite close to the RV without exhibiting any apparent fear. As we set out for a late afternoon run and had gone about 30 steps from the RV, we saw a young rattlesnake slither across the lane heading in the general direction of our site. That cast a whole new perspective on 'just taking a walk around the property'! We'll hack down the weeds near the RV which might provide cover and may even put away the birdfeeder.
Today is "the wedding" which has had things here in an uproar. The actual ceremony will take place tomorrow in the national park with a reception at the lodge there. The shindig this evening is an informal dinner for 25. The inn isn't set up for large groups or food service for more than 12 people so it will be...interesting. We'll cover check-ins and the desk while the owners and the other work-kampers handle the guests.
Yesterday we finished our duties about noon and went to Bryce. We couldn't hike the trail we'd selected because the parking lot was like the mall at Christmas. Instead, we decided to try Swamp Canyon loop. With only the information provided by the Park Service (inaccurate/vague), we couldn't find the second half of the loop so we made it an out-and-back.
We went from the top of the Paunsaugunt Plateau to the floor of the canyon (750' of elevation change in each direction) and saw hoodoos, cliffs, a momma pronghorn deer with her three (!) tiny fawns, forests, a lovely little stream and many varieties of wildfowers.
On the way back to Tropic we stopped along the wash (seasonal river course, now bone-dry) to photograph an old pick-up truck and sun-bleached wooden wagon. You never know what you'll find out here in the wilds of the West!
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