Swimming in the Bighorns

Jared finished his hospital rotation!!!! It doesn't even feel real. It feels like it lasted a lifetime. Today is the start of a new rotation, and he didn't even have to go in until noon! Pretty sure that was a one-time thing, but it was so nice. I took myself on a nice lil' date to the thrift store for the first time in half a year (since before covid). I didn't buy anything (I'm more in purging mode than in decorating mode these days since we'll be moving in less than a year), but it was crazy to be out of the house, also in public, also by myself.

Since Jared didn't have to work over the weekend, we drove an hour or two north to Buffalo, Wyoming. We wanted to venture out of Casper, but we didn't want to drive more than an hour or two. That gave us VERY limited options on where we could go. We always love exploring new places, but unfortunately there aren't many destinations within two hours of Casper. We've kind of seen it all by now. But the Bighorns in Buffalo are just lovely and we never tire of the mountains, so that's where we headed. 

When we got to Buffalo, we stopped at a cute little sandwich shop (Sagewood Cafe) on main street and grabbed lunch to-go to eat in the mountains. It ended up being the perfect picnic lunch: hearty sandwiches on freshly baked breads, and a chocolate cheesecake on the side because Jared's last week of FPI made me all sorts of angsty and I knew that chocolate would bring me back down a bit haha. It totally worked. 

We intended to try a new hike, but the "new hike" I chose ended up being just a slightly shorter variation of the hike we've done every other time we've visited the Bighorns. So we did the same one again! It's a hike from Circle Park Trailhead to Sherd Lake. There's a good chance this was our last time at this gorgeous lake before we move, so no regrets about the repeat hike. 

Jack was a champ. I think it's a 4 mile hike round trip? He walked for a lot of it, jumping from rock to rock and "chasing" the horses we'd occasionally pass along the trail. The rest of the time Jared carried him in the hiking backpack. 

The lake was prettttty cold, but it was hot enough outside that we all jumped into the clear water once or twice. I censored the picture of Jack stripping down buck naked, but there is nothing cuter than a two-year-old skinny dipping in a crystal clear mountain lake. Savvy would have been in heaven, but we needed to make this particular day trip as low-stress as possible after the last few months we've had, so she stayed at home. 

Jack fell asleep for about five minutes on the hike back down, but otherwise didn't get a nap. We paid for it dearly the following day when he set a new world record for most grumpiest human to exist. It was worth it this time because them Bighorn views are stunning. Also, if you have a camper/RV, I have never seen a more camper-friendly place than the Bighorn mountains in Buffalo (the Cloud Peak highway/wilderness area). There must be 50+ beautiful pull-offs for people to park their campers and do some gorgeous boondocking.  If we ever get ourselves a camper, we'll be back for sure.