Crystal Clear

The Wind River Mountains were right in our view while we were staying at the Soda Lake Dispersed Camping area. Within the mountains there are several alpine lakes scattered around, so we decided to take a drive to see some of them. In all we saw five different ones in the area: Soda, Willow, Half Moon, Fremont, and Little Soda Lakes.

As things had been quite rocky between us, we got yet another late start heading out. We contended with vehicles leaving on the narrow dirt roads as we were going in, necessitating many stops to allow room for oncoming vehicles to pass. We made it to Half Moon Lake first. Tom stayed with the dogs while I ventured through the woods down to a nice pebble beach area that showed the pure clarity of the water. The lake plunges to around 200 feet, explaining the hues turning a wonderful azure as depths increased farther from shore. Getting back to the truck, I should have been better with my description, saying very little as he transported us along Skyline drive to our next destination.

The road parallels Fremont Lake, climbing ever higher above the tranquil water. We stopped at a few vantage points for photographs and figure out our surroundings. We saw Little Soda Lake peek through the forest and mountains briefly, which helped us with bearings later in the day while hiking there.

Climbing ever higher, we got to the Sacred Rim Trailhead, but the large parking area was completely full, with far more people in the parking lot itself than we anticipated would be on the entire trail. Tom said that if I wanted to hike it, that I should as we are already here and the opportunity to do it may not happen again, but he would stay in the truck with the dogs. I tried to coerce him to join, but his reply was ABSOLUTELY NOT, that with so many people there, it might be difficult for him to keep his footing while passing others, and with his increasingly elevated pain and irritability, he likely wouldn’t enjoy much of the hike. At this point, I didn’t want to do it today either, so we decided to drive around the lower end of the lake where we tried to get to the marina, but the gate was locked. There was a nice beach area near the marina and a small number of summer cabins. Tom appreciated the remoteness of these cabins and the privacy between them. My favorite view of the day was the one where we could see Soda Lake and Little Soda Lake beyond Fremont Lake through the gap between the mountains. If you look close enough, you can see the RV in the distance.

Fremont Lake is the second largest natural lake in Wyoming and seventh deepest one in the country at 610 feet. It is so clean that it is the water source for the town of Pinedale. I was impressed with the size of the lake, but at over 12 miles long, I was not able to get a photo that showed the whole lake. We stopped at various overlooks and beach areas along the drive and admired the deep blue color of the crystal clear. Much of the lake is surrounded by the vertical rock walls of the mountains, making access difficult, but helps keep the lake as pristine as it is.

Tom pulled off to a sandy area and shut off the truck, trying to talk to me again about the severity of putting off resolving conflicts. I still just sat there in silence, unwilling to participate, which made him angry and matters worse. Neither of us enjoyed the rest of the mostly silent drive back to the motorhome.

Up to this point, Tom has planned most of our drives. He finds the places, does the research and maps them out. He says I don’t contribute enough, so this was the first outing that I had planned, and it was not going well at all.

On the previous outing, both Google maps and the truck’s navigation routed us where no roads existed, one place had a full grown forest with sign a road had ever existed. I left him hanging, did not look to see if there was an alternate way to go until he asked me twice to check the map on my phone while he was doing the driving, and even then I didn’t communicate an option for several minutes. The non-existent road eliminated most of his planned sites. We saw Willow Lake, and drove more dirt roads, but it was just adding miles, wasting fuel and our time. He does try to resolve matters, and rather than helping, I have ignored them. I have come to the realization that I must change my behavior and attitude. I must help resolve things, learn from my mistakes, and show concern for those around me, especially Tom. Then hopefully we can put some of this behind us.

Back at the motorhome, we barely hashed things out, than went to Little Soda Lake beyond our camping area. From the aerial maps, we figured we could hike along Little Soda Lake and eventually get over to the west edge of Fremont Lake. The road to this lake was a rough boulder-covered, cow-straddling, two-wheel track, but Tom skillfully maneuvered the pickup down the path. This is a much smaller lake, but unique in that all the rocks and soil around it are coated in a white substance. An old strand of eerie looking tree stumps line the shore, bleached out either from years in the sun and weather, or from something in the water of this lake. Little Soda Lake could be quite pristine, but cattle use it for drinking and cooling down, making the shoreline a bit “crappy” to say the least. We made our way around the lake, over the boulders, through the woods, climbing some hills, and battling some thistles to get closer to Fremont Lake. We came upon a dense thicket and decided to climb the slope for a better vantage point. I would say we had a view of the lake that not many people have seen. We stopped for a bit and had our sammiches while resting on some large rocks. I ventured further out on the point and grabbed a few photos before we made our way back to the truck. Suki did great hiking along with us, but she did not like all the down trees along the way and may have been intimidated by the size of the boulders. Cassie enjoyed the ride in her pack as usual. The views of the lakes were beautiful, but our moods that day made it harder to fully enjoy it.

This weekend has been challenging as well. The leaves are starting to change color here, so Friday we went for a drive and a waterfall hike, but Tom was verbally attacked by an entitled mother, undeservedly so, and I should have defended him rather than turning a blind eye. The same day, Cassie had some balance issues and couldn’t stand up. She developed a sudden voracious appetite for anything but dog food. Tom let her have gummy candy, saying at least she wants to eat something, and while I don’t necessarily agree with it, she seems to be doing better. We tried getting Tom’s laptop hinges fixed, but the tech’s repair failed and he suggested we get a new laptop. So we bought one, only to return it today as it wasn’t working properly. We bought a different one and will set it up later in the week. Tom made us a nice dinner of rice & veggies in a garlic-ginger sauce tonight as I was writing this, then we sat down to watch some videos and make plans for tomorrow.

I now know why he wants to be out in the boonies away from people: less chance for conflict and more chance to deflate the irritability. Tomorrow is a travel day, around 100 miles of driving to what we think is a quieter place, and then maybe we will get in a long overdue nap. I think we are on to a better path for the both of us. I am grateful that he is still here and we are together. I am also grateful that all his efforts, even the anger, are making a difference and I am changing.

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