Day 5: Out and about near Driftwaters and Diamond P Ranch for Horseback Riding

Driftwaters, the place where we stayed for the longest stretch of our adventure, was tucked in a valley amongst the mountains in Montana about 25 miles west of West Yellowstone.  The setting was stunning.  From the second we got there Josh was desperate to hike up into the mountains.  As we planned to go on a horseback riding adventure in the afternoon I decided to take Josh and find a trail so he could get his hiking fix in the morning.  Macey and Daniel declined to come along so they stayed with Grandmom at the cabin.  They needed the quiet time and Josh and I headed out with Uncle Stephen to find a place to hike. 

Uncle Stephen took us across a crazy dirt road and up into the mountains to a place called Cliff Lake, with Wade Lake right nearby.  It was bizarre...one minute we are bouncing across the plains dodging cattle and crossing $3 Bridge and the next minute we are in the middle of a lush forest heading straight up a trail to these gorgeous lakes.  We took a time out and did a hike, letting Josh wander where ever he felt like going.  It was a very nice morning, totally relaxing and enjoyable.  We brought along our bear spray but there was no need, there were no bears, just a lovely morning and a quiet hike out in the middle of no where.

Josh loves an adventure and thought that there might be a bear sleeping in this cleft  in the rocks.

Here Josh discovered a game trail (you can kind of see it if you look in front of him ) and he followed it up until it turned and we called him back.