Day 267 Beijing Yeya Lake National Wetland Park

Last Sunday, BNDS provided an opportunity for
faculty, staff and their families to 'enjoy the
beautiful countryside with some exercise' by
visiting Yeya Lake National Wetland Park. I
packed a picnic, and we headed out at 7:00am,
three bus loads of me and my closest Chinese friends :/
  Actually, I only knew a handful of people.

Two hours later (but still in Beijing), we were dropped off at
the park entrance and told to go enjoy our day.  It was a HOT ONE.

This place looked interesting; but my Lord, IT WAS HOT!

I love reading Chinglish signs...."Wetlands are kidney of the earth,
paradise for birds, garden for insects, and a home for man and nature
to coexist in harmony."  I was just hoping to see any of the
"twenty species of beasts."

A bicycle or paddleboat seemed like too much
work, (did I mention it WAS HOT?!) so we opted
to cut the trail in half by crossing the reservoir
wetlands on the public boardwalk, where
"No Striding" was allowed. What does this even mean?!

As we reached the shoreline once again, I spied
a momma duck nesting :)

In the distance, we saw a tower that looked
like a cool shady place to have a picnic lunch.

Somebody is barely tolerating selfie time, lol.

This reminded me of climbing the tower at Oxbow
Park where I grew up.  My initials weren't
carved in this one, though, at least not yet ;)

Mind the Step(s)!  I love the picture, lol.

Once we got up there, it was a relatively quiet and an enjoyable
picnic... then the word got out as we attempted to nap in the shade
Everybody and his xiong ei decided to hang out up in the tower, too.
Our nap was interrupted by a rousing card game next to us, pfsh.

The view would have been more beautiful had it not been so
HOT and hazy.  You could barely see the mountains in the distance.

Still, it was a pleasant way to spend an afternoon <3

G'nite, y'all!