More golf, more friends and Parker Canyon Lake

On Monday, Rob and I played a bit more golf.  We went back to the Mountain View Course and played the front nine instead of the back.  Since we had not played in a while, we decided that 18 holes was more than we wanted.  Rob would have been fine with 18 but 9 just worked better for me.

On Monday evening, we went over to visit friends.

I met the Bill and Kathy and their children when I was a lieutenant in the Army.  Bill and I were in the same battalion.

Move forward a few years and we were all in England.  By then, Rob and I had met, gotten married  and we had Robby.  Before we all left England, Megan joined our little family.

On Monday night, we got together.  It had been 20 years.  We had seen one another a few times but not very much.  We had not had the chance to really catch up in those 20 years.

What a lovely time we had.  Bill and Kathy have an amazing home with beautiful views.  We talked and talked and then talked some more.

When we did finally leave, it was because we had to get back to Lewis to let the girls out.

The Army life can be hard on families but the friendships are priceless.  

On Tuesday, I got Annie Belle ready for a visit to the vet.  She is well and happy but she needed a new prescription for her daily Addison's medication.  I got her to the vet and she was a real trooper.  She let them check her out and draw blood without a whimper.  We were done and out of there in good time.

After the vet, we got both girls loaded and drove to Parker Canyon Lake.

The lake is about 25 miles away and the drive is along two lane roads.  It is another classic desert southwest drive.  The traveler sees mountains, grasses and scrub trees for miles and miles and then, somewhat abruptly, the lake appears.

We had done a bit of research and knew that there was a trail around the lake.  The reported distance of the trail varied but we were expecting between 4.5-5 miles.

Penny Lane saw the water and she was all in.  Annie Belle saw the water and she was ready for the backpack.

At first glance, it was not clear that the trail was very long.  As we hiked, we came to multiple inlets that had to be hiked around.  We also had a few uphill portions with cliffs down to the lake.  The cliffs were not horribly high but caution was exercised.

MOST OF THE TRAIL RUNS CLOSE TO THE WATER BUT THIS IS ONE OF THE CLIFF VIEWS

ONE OF THE MANY INLETS 

Penny got multiple swims as we hiked around the lake.  Annie would get out and dawdle every time we stopped.

The trail is narrow and because of the cliff parts, it is listed as moderate.  If you decide to hike it, take water and wear good shoes.  There are areas that are somewhat forested so shade is available.

We finished our hike and drove back to the RV.  We'd had another good full day with a bit of adventure.

Another great day in this thing we call life.