Glacier Lodge

The girls had their Fall Break from school, so we spent the week in the Eastern Sierras at Glacier Lodge. Last year, I was unable to do anything with them other than a weekend of car camping because of the State audit of our Special Education records, so I took the 5 days as Paid Time Off, and we had a great time.

The drive up was happily uneventful.  The girls did their normal, "When will be there?" which yes, is just as annoying as "Are we there yet?"  At least they've realized that if the vehicle is still moving, we're not there yet.

 Ken stays true to tradition - as soon as everything is unloaded from the truck, he takes off for some fishing!!  Kasey and the girls worked to put the cabin right while he got to his love of stream fishing!

 Once the cabin was put to order, the girls and I started taking pictures and then exploring. Initially, the girls were upset by how small this cabin was compared to last year's, but then they saw it for its cuteness.

 Mandy and Jordan spent the week fascinated by the rocks. This large rock was where they climbed all of the time, but the rocks in the background were where I could find them constantly. 

 We walked to the bridge to see if we could find Ken, and the girls marveled at the differences between the summer season when we were here last time and now.  They were each glad we made them get winter coats and thermals for this trip!

 Because we were staying at the Lodge and not a campground, we did not think that the US Federal Government Shutdown would affect us.  We were wrong.  The shutdown apparently made it to where the Fish Hatcheries were unable to deliver, so there was no stocking this week.  What should have been epic fishing because NO ONE was around was a bust - no fish.

 We broke the rules and went past the Federal barriers in order to explore further down the stream without walking in the water. I was really glad we did because the views were amazing with the Fall foliage.

We found Dad along the stream, and he had two fish with him. In hindsight, Ken wishes he had kept the first 14 that he caught rather than releasing them. He couldn't believe how many fish were biting on this first day, and he was completely excited and optimistic about this trip.  

 We found ways to improvise with the cookware at the cabin as always, but this first night we learned how to handle things without electricity as well.  When we returned to the cabin, we found there was no power.  

 Ken and Kasey were really glad that we agreed to bring the electric and the propane lantern....not to mention all of the flashlights.  We were set, and after supper, we were able to have a fire and S'mores.  Kathy - the owner - came by to check on us after a while.  We learned that Glacier Lodge has its own power source, and she said that the lack of flowing water makes pinecones get stuck in the intake.  She had just checked the south end of her power, and she was on her way to check the intake when she came by.  Before we went to bed, we had some power restored. Ken and I loved learning that the Lodge was so self-sufficient!

 Ken was able to get a S'more, but as it typical Ken - he wore a lot of it. There is a drop of marshmallow on his jeans, and there was more on his shoe. Ha!

 Every year that Ken and I had come up to Glacier Lodge, we always see deer.  Every year, I am completely ticked off that I cannot get my camera in time to "shoot" the deer! This year, I triumphed!!  When we looked out the back window the first morning, we saw four does and a fawn.  AWESOME!

 After breakfast and marveling at the deer, Ken and I went out to explore the Sage campgrounds for fishing.  Again, at this point, we were thinking that with no one in the federal campgrounds, we would have the best fishing.  We learned very quickly that we were going to have a difficult time this year.

 I had to get a picture of Ken is his ultra-sexy waders.

 When we busted at the one area, we started to head back to the truck to drive to the next.  I was startled by a buck and five doe that darted out in front of me in the street area as they headed into the mountain.  I stopped to get my camera and watch them.

 The buck stopped and watched me watch him.  He brought up the rear while his ladies made their getaway. He had two points on each antler, so he was obviously younger, but you have to admire a man with five ladies.  

 Hunting season was still going on, so it made sense that these deer wanted to get to high ground.  I was also struck by how well they were camouflaged in the mountain side with the desert background.

 Ken and I went into the second campground, and despite all of the work and walking that was done, we did not catch a thing.  I enjoyed watching Ken do his thing - until I couldn't see him anymore.  Waders are obviously a very good idea for Fall and Winter.  He was able to walk the stream and get into things while I was stuck to the bank.

 Yep, still no fish.  Despite all of the time and work, there were no bites.  I got a couple strikes, but I spent most of my time untangling my new line which was incredibly springy.  

 So, we made the decision to take the girls back down to the "secret spot" for some fishing.  Ken and I agreed that it would be the best since the fish would obviously end up down here, right??  Yeah, wrong.  There just simply were no fish.  However, here are the girls and Ken scoping things out.

 And they immediately went to the other side. Still no luck.

 The Autumn colors really made things very pretty.  Ken loves and can get into the desert motif. I, however, really don't enjoy it despite living in it.  I find the desert very bland and empty.  At least the changing colors was something pretty to look at.

 The girls spent an hour really trying to catch fish.  Unfortunately, there just wasn't one fish in this area.  The girls were horribly disappointed, as was Ken.  I was completely bummed that they lost some of their spark for this area because there were no fish.

 Mandy completely gave up on trying, and she was super-depressed about it all.  She kept asking to leave and try somewhere else.

 We took the girls to the Pond.  We knew there were fish in here - we could see them.  These fish were apparently used to getting fed without getting caught.  The girls tried and tried until it was almost dark and very cold.  I sent them back to the cabin to get showered and warm, and then I joined Ken at the bridge.

 Ken managed to get two fish, and I only caught one.  He was busy walking through the stream for miles - back and forth.  I have to say that I was completely excited to catch my one, and I am sad to report that I didn't think to have a picture taken with it.  Ugh!!  Ken had figured since the fish were biting the previous night that he would have the same luck again on this night.  Nope. Three fish were all we took back to the cabin.

 The temperature dropped significantly this particular evening.  We had printed out the weather forecast, so we were preparing for the 1-3 inches of snow that was predicted.  Rather than have the girls out for a fire, we had them stay inside with the heater and hot chocolate.

 Wednesday morning started with everyone ganging up on Taylor.  She didn't want to wake up, so Ken and both of her sisters sat on her.

 I suddenly realized that there was no sunlight.  I went out on the porch and saw the clouds hanging on the mountains.

 And then the temperature dropped drastically, and the snow started falling.  The girls were unbelievable excited by it all.  They so rarely get to see snow let alone the snow falling.

 Mandy and Jordan immediately ran outside in order to play in the snow.  Unfortunately for them, it wasn't sticking for the first two hours.  Ken had gone out to do some fishing by this point, so the girls entertained themselves by playing Contract Rummy all day long.

 I kept watching outside.  The clouds came lower, and it kept getting colder.  I was hoping that it would only be the 1 - 3 inches of snow and for today only as forecasted - otherwise, we would have a difficult time getting home on Friday.

 After four hours of fishing, he had two fish to show for it.  Well, we managed to have enough for a trout supper for the night as we planned.

 And then the snow started sticking, and it kept snowing and snowing and snowing.

The girls didn't wait - they gathered up all the snow they could and made little snowmen - which never melted the rest of the time we were there. 

 We ended up with half a foot of snow!

 Ken made pan-fried trout for supper, and it was amazing!!!  We had just enough for everyone to get full.  They were difficult to catch, but they were tasty!

 Thursday morning brought a new excitement to the girls - icicles.  Real ones!!!  They were outside early in the morning to play with the icicles and Taylor wanted to save hers.  Um, yeah, not going to happen.

 We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, and Jordan insisted on playing Go Fish with me all morning.  My sexy man read a book and stayed warm during the frosty morning.

When the weather warmed up a bit, we learned the roads had been plowed, so we went ahead and took the girls into Bishop to go to the Bakkery.  They laughed at me because I chose the fish cookies for them since these were the only fish they were going to get the entire trip.  The girls were not as sad anymore about the lack of fishing though since they had snow.

We enjoyed our lunch at the Bakkery, and we headed back to the Lodge before it got cold enough to freeze the snow on the roads.

The drive back was gorgeous!!  

 We had to stop on the way to let this little girl pass us on the road.  What was cool was that she stuck around to check us out as we were checking her out.

Since it was the last night, Ken wanted to get one more fire for the girls and some S'mores.  While he was working to dry out some wood and get the charcoal going for supper, the girls played in the snow.

 Unfortunately for Jordan, she got so cold after playing in the snow that her fingers were red and turning purple.  Her toes were worse, so I made her stay inside after taking a warm shower to raise her core temperature. Her sisters were cool about everything and made her a S'more and brought it in to her.

We were able to be packed and loaded before check-out time on Friday morning and we got home in decent time.  While we did not have fish, the girls loved the time away for family as well as the snow.  They couldn't wait to get back to school and tell their friends what they did on their Fall Break.