On Friday were some more tourist type activity. Cori & family had done the Alpine Slide and the Gondola earlier in the week. The gondola did not get a great report, mostly because it was so hot. The slide, though, had a more favorable review. So those who were still there (a few people left on Thursday) and wanted to join us went on the slide. As it turns out, that was only Matt, Emily, Jimmy, Ted, and Craig. The slide was very fun. And I was just as slow as I had been the last time I went on one of those.
We then drove along Scenic Route 108 to the rest area on the other side of the mountain. This has a nice view, although still too hazy to really show it.
Some of the men in the group decided to test their balance walking along the fence. They all did well. Passing each other on the top of the fence was a bit of a challenge, though.
We then stopped at Smugglers' Notch. The smugglers' cave is here. As you can see, the clouds were very low that day. The cave is not so much a true cave as a spot under huge slabs of rock. The temperature in the cave was noticeably cooler than outside it.
There was a great rock between the regular parking lot and the overflow lot where we parked. A couple of us climbed it. (We don't have a picture of Jimmy at the top, but he was there.)
Our next stop was lunch. We decided to go to another tourist must-see, the Von Trapp Lodge. We ate at what they call the Tea House. We had gotten a favorable report on the food from our taste testers, Cori, Jeremy, Nicki, & Keagan.
The utensils they used were called Tater Ware, which are biodegradable. I've put them in water, but don't see much of a difference yet, after one week. On their website, they state "Home composting 70 to 90 days must be fractured".
The lodge itself is an upscale hotel.
In the gift shop was a yodeling stuffed goat. This is the type of thing that half way through the adults are looking for the off switch. But there were two young boys there who were just fascinated by it, and had their mother press the button multiple times. Corinne told us that Nicki & Keagan were also very interested in it. (It actually wasn't too bad.) For those who want to see it in action:
After arriving back at the lodge, a few of us walked up the road before supper and checked out Stowehoff Inn. It was a very nice location. The pub there was a '70's theme', which probably just means they haven't wanted to update the decor. The movie The Four Seasons was (partially) filmed here. That evening (Friday) were some games and relaxing back at the lodge.
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Updated July 2020