Silas' 3rd Birthday

Woke up to a beautiful, blue morning. All week, I had been planning a birthday hike for Silas to Bear Meadows Natural Area but since the snow didn't melt as much as I'd hoped, I decided on a different hike. Bear Meadows is a remarkable sphagnum bog--a landscape that is often likened to landscapes up north (Canada north) due to glaciation. Anyway, I want to visit Bear Meadows when the snow is gone and I can best appreciate the landscape better.

So, to the Mid-State Trail we went! We took 164 up to the top of Tussey Mountain and hopped on the Mid-State Trail for a few miles. We had a nice time. There was barely any wind and the sun was shining.

This is the view from the Tussey Mountain ridge via the Mid-State Trail. In the distance is Raystown and the Terrace Mountain ridge.

And Silas, of course, had a wonderful time. For his birthday, I bought him some balm to put on his feet to protect them from the cold and snow. It worked perfectly and no snow gathered on his feet. It helped that the snow as covered in a thin layer of ice that for the most part supported his weight. Sometimes it even supported my weight. It was definitely an ice-breaking trek.

I took my instax camera with me to take instant photos. Some of them didn't turn out too well but this one didn't turn out too bad. I'm still getting the hang of it.

After the hike, Brian and the dogs were exhausted but I was still buzzing with energy so I went to the gym and ran on the treadmill. I also went on the bike for 11 miles (lost track of the mileage while reading a book).

Brian and I were hoping to go out to dinner tonight, but everyone was out for their Valentine's date-night. We should have known better. Turned out take-out pizza, relaxing, and booking campsites in Utah was in store for us tonight. We gave Silas his gifts and birthday biscuits.

Today flew by; hopefully tomorrow will take its time.