Double-combo report because life was too busy offline yesterday to get this posted last night. New day, similar pretty views out the windows.

The second full day of retreat day ended up being another Adventure Day rather than a sit quietly indoors day. It dawned sunny and beautiful, so after breakfast we dawdled over to town to investigate the Ottawa Bakery (cherry turnover & cookies for me, cranberry scone and blueberry Kringle for Spouseman) and then went back to Starved Rock for more explorations.

And lunch! We actually timed the visit better this time, in that the big dining room was open.  we had an extremely tasty/entirely adequate (me/Spouseman, respectively) lunch at a rustic table near the grand fireplace (complete with roaring fire, pictured below)

And then we went on "just a little stroll to walk off the lunch" and ended up going further than the day before. This time we walked the top of the ridge instead of the riverfront trail. Between the overnight snowfall and the change in terrain, the hike was a lot easier on my legs and nerves. (Icy stairs are a challenge, and Starved Rock's trails have Rather A Lot Of Stairs. the footing was actually much better the second day when it was colder. Less slipperiness.) 

Anyway. A picture of the pretty snow-covered trail:

We didn't see as many hikers today, but we did have a nice chat with two fellows who spent the morning ice-climbing a fall somewhere closer to Ottawa. 

They were on site to check out the ice in the park to decide whether they want to climb those waterfalls Saturday.  (final decision was, probably not, the top of the fall they were considering was still looking very soft and had flowing water in the center.)

They actually asked our opinions on it, and took our observations seriously. I'm honestly not accustomed to that kind of consideration from middle-aged outdoorsmen, so that was an extra bonus to the day. (And we know who to talk to in Ottawa in case we ever decide we want to try ice climbing. Which is a Big No, but I love that they made the recommendation & have happily brain-squirreled away the information.)

There are frozen waterfall pictures too, but those will have to wait until there is more internet bandwidth. 

The clouds moved in and provided a bit more snow as we were leaving the park, so we tucked up inside the cabin for the evening. I did some reading & writing, Spouseman did some reading and gaming on his tablet, and somewhere in there we had some supper. Fresh mozzarella, pesto, and balsamic with greens on sourdough reheats beautifully, in case anyone wondered. And grilled flatbread with garlic butter also pairs well with hot dogs.

The sky turned super clear as the temps crashed, so we got out for a late night stroll to see Orion and a bunch of other constellations under the waxing moon. 

The low temp last night was -6,  but we were cozy warm in our wee cabin. (We did get text alerts from the  Outpost staff with reminders to keep the faucet on slow drip and the bathroom door propped open, but those are excellent precautions for any building with exposed plumbing when temps get this low.)

I mean. Really. This is camping, not a hotel. It's the cushiest of camping but it is still right-at-the-edge-of-civilized habitation, not a superluxe on-demand-everything hotel.

Now we've had one last lazy morning & breakfasted well. Once  we've done the dishes and tidied,  we'll get in a last stretch of-the-legs hike around the campground, then pack up and be on our way home. 

It's been a good break from regular life.

That window view again:

Next excitement: Capricon!