Da bears, Final Four, and the big melt

 Yesterday, Mike and I started up Veenstra's trail, me on snowshoes and him with just boots.  He had to turn around pretty quickly as he was sinking in too far.  The dogs and I kept going, and all was good until we got to just below bear meadow, appropriately, when I started seeing large imprints I couldn't recognize, and by the time I got to bear meadow, I was pretty sure I was seeing bear prints.  I kept going a bit further but I was getting really spooked because no bear horn, no bear spray, no Mike.  I came back down, showed my photos to Mike, and he agreed.  We went back up today to confirm and found a mama and cub print side by side.  My photos aren't very good, but trust us that they are bear prints.  Hibernation has ended early.

Saturday photo.  Hmm...

Today, I put my mitten next to it for perspective.
It was definitely as big as my spread-out hand.

Cub on the bottom and mama on the top.
Her claw marks were clearly visible.

On our way to the overlook

We made it all the way to the overlook today, although spring snow conditions are here.  We broke through several places, down a foot or more, especially Mike.  We are expecting weather midnight Monday through Wednesday noon, but whether it's just rain or some snow mixed in we'll have to see.  A winter weather advisory has been posted, most snow accumulation above 9,000 feet, and our house sits at 8600 feet.

Proof we were at the top

I have been a Kansas Jayhawks fan since birth...literally.  As a child growing up in Topeka, Kansas, my dad took me and my three siblings to basketball games, football games, and track events.  Neither rain, nor snow, nor gloom of night would stay us from the KU Relays.  So, ta-da, Jayhawks are going to the Final Four, and I get to be in Kansas for both games.  Who'd a thunk?  Mike, being a Kansas State Wildcats fan, is relieved he doesn't have to watch anymore Jayhawks games.

We have had really warm temperatures for the past week, most nights not getting below freezing even up here on MFL.  The snow is going really fast, which is good for our road condition.  It's been tough, as I mentioned before, with the melt/freeze/melt/freeze, and the TT had been parked for a while.  This makes Mike sad as he really, really loves that car.  The ice on the pond is melting fast.  In fact, I noticed today that it is almost all light blue.  I'm of course scared that Dempsey did not learn his lesson last year, and he is starting to roam far and wide without Mirabella.  Maybe it'll melt fast enough for us to avoid another crisis.