Calm Before The Storm

Last Friday, the kids and I decided to seize the beautiful sunny day. We packed up our gear and headed to a trail. I was proud of both Ava and Isaac because they hiked quite a long way before there was one complaint (mostly from Ava since Isaac still doesn't voice his opinion very often)..... lol
They were facinated by a lot of different things - but they seemed to favor water, sticks, and flowers :)
Of course I had my camera in hand :)

We thought this rock was pretty cool and Ava wanted to take a picture by it ;P

After wearing ourselves out we decided to go ahead and start toward home. I noticed a yellow-bellied rock marmot sunbathing on a rock. She stood there motionless for a minute.

Then she looked around and whistled.........

I knew it was a "she" because she wasn't alone........... her three new babies were sitting in her shadow. We quietly watched them for a little while.

They were amazingly patient with our presence ..........

The babies would pop in & out of the rocks..........

Mom always stayed close............................. these critters are actually pretty fun to watch :)

I was happy we got out on the trail Friday - because a storm came in and stayed the next two days bringing wind, rain, and a measurable accumulation of SNOW!!

Photos to follow in my next post...................