Toddling Around Todd Lake

Good Morning Blog!  Today is Saturday, September 7th.  Today we went on a family hiking outing with Mike and Leslie and Jeff and Megan and their kids.  Here is Mr. B getting loaded into his hiking pack.

Ms. Em is sporting her hat, sunglasses and hiking stick.  She's a big girl now, almost 4, so no pack or stroller for her.  She's ready to hike the whole trail.  Our destination - Todd Lake.

Todd Lake was formerly called Lost Lake due to the difficulty in finding it. Citizens of Bend asked to have the name changed because of confusion with other Lost Lakes. The lake was renamed Todd Lake in 1922 to commemorate Uncle John Y. Todd, an early settler of central Oregon.  The lake is located in a glacial cirque which was last occupied by glacial ice about 13,000 years ago. Here is our first look at Todd Lake with Broken Top Mountain reflected in the clear waters.

We could also see Mount Bachelor and its reflection when we turned in the other direction.

The highlight of this hike was all the little frogs and toads we spotted along the trail.

Who doesn't love sunshine sparkling on the surface of a beautiful mountain lake?

Here the sun is shining down on a happy hiking family.

Grammy and Pawpaw took their turn to pose for the camera.

Hey Uncle Dave and Aunt Kathy - it's your turn - say cheeeeeese!

The trail was 1.8 miles and Ms. Em made it the whole way.  Brody got a chance to hike the last few hundred yards.  We practiced walking on top of fallen logs, crossing bridges and jumping off boulders.  By the time we returned to the parking area, we were all starving.  Our next stop was lunch at the Elk Lake Resort.

We tucked into all sorts of goodies - burgers, wraps, salads and, of course, mac and cheese for the kids. After lunch, we took a stroll down to the waters edge.  Here Brody is getting the outdoor stage ready for tonight's performance under the supervision of Pawpaw and  Em.

After checking out Elk Lake, we retired to Megan and Jeff's house to watch the Oregon Ducks demolish UVA.  While Brody napped, Grammy and Pawpaw helped Em construct some amazing Pla-Doh sculptures.

After relaxing away the afternoon (i.e. drinking beer and watching football), Leslie and Mike took us back to our rig so we could get some chores done.  For dinner tonight, we had yak steaks.  That's right, we ate YAK.  Now, don't get all weirded out, it was quite delicious.  If you ever get a chance to try it, don't fear the yak!

We are looking forward to our Skype call with Matt, Weina and William tomorrow morning.  Stay tuned for more Bend adventures.