The Tree of Life

Brian and I came up Thursday night for the weekend. The weather has been lovely at home and it looked like a promising forecast, so we brought the bicycles back up for some exercise.

This afternoon we rode down to the boat launch, over the bridge, around to the springs and the Johnny Sack cabin and back.  Standing in the spring we spied these two wonderful moose, wearing their winter coats.

The Johnny Sack cabin was closed and deserted.

There is a tree at Big Springs that I have looked at and thought about.  I have named it 'The Tree of Life' because the spring seems to boil out right at its roots.  Since there was no one around, I climbed down to the base of the tree to get a closer look and some pictures.

The Tree of Life

The spring does in fact come out of the ground right by the roots of this large tree.  It reminds me of the 'Tree of Life' we read about in the scriptures, though I'm sure not as glorious.  This spring runs 365 days a year at a constant 52 degrees F.  The green moss and watercress are always growing there.  It is a constant in this sometimes harsh environment, giving life to all who wander by or seek it out.  In the scriptures, the Tree of Life represents the love of God, a constant in our harsh environment, giving us life and love each time we seek it out.

Happy Birthday, Coleman!

Cole and his family came to the cabin to celebrate his third birthday and Oh, what a party we had!

His sisters are loaded and ready to go canoeing.

First we went canoeing.  

We even had a picnic lunch on an island in the middle of the river.












The next day we went to Yellowstone National Park.

Bad hair day for this old guy.

All tuckered out.

On the following day we walked on the nature trail and visited the Johnny Sack Cabin.

Cole and his siblings at the Johnny Sack Cabin.

 Along the trail we saw the cow and calf we have been watching for a few weeks now.  The calf was having fun splashing in the water while her mother looked on patiently.

Later, they rode ATVs

In his happy place....

before eating a wonderful cake and ice cream that his mother made for him, and opening presents, finally!

ATVs (four-wheelers) are Cole's favorite thing.

Happy Third Birthday to Coleman.

Big Springs Campground

We have a gem of a campground nearby.  There are not full hookups like sewer and water, but there are well kept pit toilets, nicely tended campsites, and a paved road.

There are 15 single camp sites and one group site.

Group site

The group site has three fire pits, four tent sites, and six picnic tables.  There are also a few camp stove stands.

Each camp site has a paved pull through, picnic table, fire pit and camp stove stand.

Prices are reasonable

Campground map and legend

There are also two group picnic sites with ample parking and three or four tables at each.

No ATVs are allowed inside the campground, but there is a nice parking area set aside as you enter the campground to park your ATV so you can come and go from there.




Best of all it is a short walk to Big Springs, the Nature Trail, and the Johnny Sack Cabin, open daily from 10 am to 4 pm.


 Here is the Forest Service's link to the campground. http://goo.gl/l4blXc