Day #4 - Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009

This day split the difference between the previous two, as it was pleasant & comfortable but (as forecast) "partly cloudy", actually mostly light overcast. We arose at dawn and sat on the patio drinking coffee and watching the sky change color as the sun rose behind the hills. Humidity was obviously high as there was a heavy dew and some patches of intermittent mist. It was a pity it could not be a crystal clear day, but the views and pictures were at least adequate.

This was a day of "all things Miner's". After our the usual excellent breakfast we repacked the foods into the van & took off, making our first stop the Miner's Castle viewing area and visitors center. We then took the footpath zig-zagging down to the steps (easily managed by Zoe) & out to the close-up viewing area, as over the last 20 years the true close-up approach has become forbidden. The return journey was a fair work-out for humans, but just a scamper for Zoe.

Next point of call was the access trail to Miner's Falls, where we were surprised to find the small parking area quite full of vehicles. We studiously ignored the "no pets" sign & started down the trail, listed as 1.2 miles there and back (total, that is). The trail was wide & well maintained, mostly downwards going & mostly upwards coming back. The last 50 yards were all steps, but nice smooth wide ones presenting no problems. We joined the rotation on the viewing platform of "viewers/photographers" and in our turn got in a few pictures. The falls were well worth the hike. John had temporary custody of the leash as we started back, and was appalled to find that Zoe's answer to the challenge of the steps was an endless & unbroken series of leaps! Needless to say John arrived at the crest with eyes crossed, heat thumping and lungs heaving! We carried on back up the trail with minimal delays, thereby fulfilling any possible requirements for the day's "aerobic exercise".

At the top we found Zoe's fur had acquired a lot of little sticky seed pods, so we sat her on a picnic table, with one of us each side & groomed her as best we could. She was happy to just sit and pant while we did so. After that we backtracked a little & then took the turning to Miner's Beach. After a "recce" we elected to have an early picnic lunch in the van in the parking area - a "well-balanced meal" of ham sandwiches, hard boiled eggs, chips (crisps), grapes and brownies! Marissa took Zoe & the "bookbag" while John took the lawn chairs & we walked the short boardwalk to the newly rebuilt steps down to the beach. As before, this is an exceeding soft powdery sand, so we didn't march very much further than the first large patch of shade from the trees behind.

Marissa & Zoe then proceeded to go paddling, with Zoe exhibiting a great deal more elan than Marissa. She continued to play exuberantly back up by the chairs, before eventually excavating herself a nest & settling down, while we read, or just looked out at the lake & cliffs, or maybe dozed a little. Later John went for a long plod down the beach, finding the damp sand no easier to stagger through than the dry stuff, with Zoe as a much more exuberant companion. At the point of return, seeing nobody else around except a distant Marissa, John released Zoe from her leash. She then covered five times more distance at ten times more speed than John on the return to Marissa. She loved it, and subsequently made a major game out of her eventual recapture & leashing.

By mid-afternoon flies and other winged insects seemed to come alive so we called it a day & headed back to town, stopping for ice and also for pasties to reheat in the room when the time came. Back in the room we took things easy for a while...zzzzzzzzzz (There were more ZZZ's for some of us than others, but Marissa did eventually surface!) We warmed up our pasties, having half each of chicken and of veggie, which were delicious.

This night the spa/hot tub was really, really hot, so while John boiled himself, Marissa did laps to work off the afternoon zzz's before John joined her for a cooling off.

We've really enjoyed our stay here, in all respects, but move on tomorrow. Two days of local sightseeing only totaled 77 miles, for a trip grand total of 798 so far.

To see Marissa's pictorial version of this day, see here.