Vertical Ranch

We had a glorious time up at Vertical Ranch this past weekend. The kids were out of school on Friday so we went up late on Thursday night, and got the camper ready by flashlight, crawled into very cold sleeping bags and waited for the little camper stove to warm us up a bit. Friday woke up to frozen ground but beautiful sunshine. After a pancake and bacon breakfast with very strong coffee (yikes!) we headed up to Cooper Lake with the port-a-boat. I cannot tell you how many times I lamented not having my camera! The lake was crystal clear, and the snow capped mountains were reflected to perfection in the deep lake waters- well, until the kids started throwing rocks in. Since our purpose was to fish, we halted that as soon as we could, hopped in the boat and rowed out. It was lovely to have the lake all to ourselves. It was cold but we were dressed warmly and the scenery was worth it. I was the only one to catch a fish (a foot long brookie) but we sure gave it a great effort. There are plenty more there for next time!



When we got back to camp I warmed up some stew, started a fire, and ate our catch of the day as dessert. Grant loves it, Victoria is reluctant. I made brownies in the oven and they both approved of that for a bedtime snack! Gentry and I stayed out by the fire while the kids played games and read comic books in the warm camper. The fire was beautiful, warm and romantic. We watched the moon come up....a full moon that came up like a sunrise over the mountain, lighting up the top of Davis peak and working its way down. Someone had put the big dipper on top of Davis peak. It looked pretty careless, as it was tipped at exactly the same angle as the mountain. We went to bed when the the nights golden globe crested over the tops of the trees. What a great day it had been.