Chipper seems to know when it's Saturday, the first thing he does is smell our shoes! Are we doing yard work or going hiking?! If he smells hiking shoes he follows us around the house until it's time to go, as if we might leave him behind! The Virgin River Rim Trail has been a great respite from the summer heat, and the lack of people on the trails has amazed us. Despite the many dead falls, these connecting loop trails have provided us with easy access to "knock out" portions of the 32-mile Virgin River Rim Trail. In this post, we spent two days hiking the Navajo, Spruces and Lodge Trail loops . . . we still have a few more sections to go!
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| Starting out on the trail . . . we stepped over this little snow tunnel |
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| The sunny sections of the trail were dry |
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| Then again, there was still quite a bit of snow for late June & early July |
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| We had nice views of Navajo Lake along the way |
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| There was a lot of dead fall along the trail . . . we got a workout! |
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| We saw a lot of fungi growing on the pine trees |
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| Our heavy winter was hard on these signs |
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Chipper is afraid of bikes . . .
He couldn't wait for this guy to get on down the trail |
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| Creeping phlox was in bloom in the higher elevations |
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| Great views looking towards Cascade Falls and Strawberry Point |
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| Creeping Oregon Grape added a nice pop of yellow |
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| Obviously deer like this trail, too! |
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| Hard to get lost on these trails, the signs are great! |
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| Chipper loved munching on the snow |
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Another peek at Navajo Lake on our way down . . .
The lake is really full this year |
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| And the race is on . . . I think it was a tie! |
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Just a beautiful trail!
And all to ourselves in the middle of summer! |
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First time we've seen a Canada Violet on a hike . . .
our Canadian friends would say, eh? |
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Chipper was a little camera shy . . . We are at the base of Andy Nelson Peak . . .
also known as, a hike for another day! |
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| We came upon this corral decorated for the 4th of July, a pretty neat sight! |
