Father's Day Weekend

What can I say? It was simply an amazing weekend in our family's favorite National Park. The weather was great, we got in several super hikes, the meals were well planned out, and we had a special visit from Jim and Janet on Sunday night. None of it would have been possible without several days of hard work from Jennifer and the kids getting us ready.

The only really sad/distressing/jaw dropping moment of the trip was when we first pulled into the campground. Two years ago when we last camped here, it was a dense forest of beautiful lodge pole pines. There was incredible privacy, shade on the campsite until at least 9 or 10 in the morning, and the fresh mountain air blowing through the trees. Now, it looks like Kansas. It was stunning. Hardly a tree in the entire campground. Thanks to Mr. Pine Bark Beetle, all the trees were infected and had to be clear cut in order to keep campers safe. Now the campsite has no shade, no privacy, and no beautiful trees. I will try and find some pictures from several summers ago and post them along with pictures from this weekend.

So, here are some great pictures from the weekend. One of the few positive aspects of having all the trees gone is the elk can roam throughout the campground having their morning and evening meals. I love how Sarabeth poses in almost every picture.