Looking out the window of the Rock Elm Shelter on the North Shore of Devil’s Lake.

We arrived at Devils Lake State Park just as the last bit of sun was lighting up the east bluff before dropping behind the shadow of the west.  We had first visited the Big Cat rescue about 15 miles away in Rock Springs, then with time still to spare we had a quick stop off at Seeley Lake As well.  (More on both those spots in a later post.)  Even with all that driving around we still managed to arrive at the park a good half hour before the sun was officially down enough to light the torches.

Last bit of sunlight clings to the East Bluff

Spook hanging around the Rock Elm shelter

The Friends of Devil’s Lake Served Chili, Hot Chocolate, and all sorts of snacks.  We each packed a cookie in our pockets.

Finally the sun went down and we hit the trail.  It was a bit chilly, but you warm up quickly walking up
the Northern Lights Campground entrance road.

The moon followed us as we walked the through the campground. You could hear the families chatting and
laughing though the trees. The hike only took about 45 minutes before we arrived back at the shelter.

Before we left I set my camera on the hood of my truck and aimed it out across the lake.  A long exposure
manged to pull the last bits of light out of the sky.

We arrived fairly early so I can’t really say yet how the turn out was this year but I can say we’re pretty lucky in this area to have a lot of nice outdoor & family events this late in the year.  The Halloween hike at Devil’s Lake signals the end of the season really.  The leaves are mostly gone, or brown.  Hunting season begins in a couple weeks.  Thanksgiving is on it’s way.  The next event with be the Candlelight Hike & Ski at Mirror Lake State Park on January 2nd.  Between now and then we’ll keep hitting the trails and maybe get the kayaks out one more time.