Sunday dawned clear and calm. What shall we do today? Let’s go on a hike up Little Creek. So, after breakfast, we packed a few snacks and drove the mile to parking spot. The wind had picked up by then and was blowing briskly, but in the small creek valley, it was ok. We started up the trail thinking we would be following the creek, but the trail veered away meandered through the forest and vale for a half mile before coming back to the creek. Ah, this is more like it! The trail was near the creek for a short time before we came to the place where it crossed to the other side. So we took off our shoes and started to wade. Wimp that I am I discovered that walking in bare feet was not comfortable. The water was only a little over my ankles but it was cold and the rocks were slippery and my feet did not like being on them. R felt the same. Now I know why we see backpackers with extra shoes tied to their packs. They use them for the river crossings.
So we started through the creek, each carrying our shoes. Rather than carry them I decided to throw mine over to the other bank. Number one went fine. Number two bounced on the ground and rolled backwards towards the water. As I watched, it proceeded to roll into the water. Luckily it entered the water right-side up. Did you know that Ecco shoes float? Mine only floated for a few feet before stopping on a rock. I would not have been able to move fast enough, barefoot, to catch it if it hadn’t. I slowly managed to walk gingerly over a pick up my means of transportation and carry it to the bank.
After our feet were dry and shodden again, we continued on, only to come to another crossing a short distance down the trail. We decided that we did not want to go further and sat down to have a snack. It was very enjoyable sitting in the shade, listening to the twitter of birds, the wind in the trees, watching the creek drift past. Wait! Was that a small fence lizard floating past us in the middle of the creek? Yup, there it was doing some sort a swimming motion staying afloat! We watched as it grabbed a hold of a small branch that was trapped in some rocks. We watched, enthralled by the mini drama in front of us. The little guy stayed on the branch for a few minutes before letting go and re-entering the water flow to grab another branch three feet downstream. This saga continued until he finally worked his way (more by luck than skill) to a relatively safe branch where he was totally out of the cold water and could dry off and warm up. We left him there hoping that he would safely make the journey the rest of the way to the nearby creek bank.
It was time to return to the truck, which meant another water crossing. This time I offered to throw for her, but R refused opting to throw her own shoes. Well, guess who got a wet shoe this time? The “where is my shoe going?” scream probably scared all the creatures for miles around. Her one shoe landed in the creek shallows so it and the accompanying sock got very wet. We had a good chuckle. J
After supper, just before sundown, we went to the beaver pond, nearby. As we quietly approached we watched a young one swim by. Following the trail around the pond we startled several deer that “spronged” away through the woods, making noise breaking branches along the way. This must have alerted the big beaver, because we heard a sound that resembled a large rock being thrown into the pond. There it was again!
We followed the sound and the trail to a view point of another portion of the pond. All around us were examples of the beaver’s chewing prowess. Trees, branches, and wood chips were lying everywhere you looked. There, in the middle of the large end of the pond, was a large swimming form that we knew was a full sized beaver. As we watched he arched his back and the tail came up and “Slap”. He dived. We waited and watched but did not see where he came back up. Knowing that our chances of seeing him again were slim, we walked back the way we had come. As we approached the other end of the pond again, we watched two young ones swimming nearby. As we about to leave, here comes the adult swimming toward one of the little ones. It was Mom or Dad coming to get junior to come home for supper. Together the two turned and swam back to the larger part of pond where the lodge must be located. It was a great experience to be there for the show.
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