Henry's Lake State Park, Idaho

This is the campground at Henry's Lake State Park and we are in love with this place. OK, there are mosquitoes at certain times and the wind can howl but when those two things are gone, this is perfect! There is hiking and limited biking. We don't fish but there sure are a lot of fisherman out there all the time. The campground has a boat ramp. Most of the camping sites are water and electric but there are eight with full hook-up and we have one of them. The new section has paved sites and are wonderful!

So, yesterday when we took our hike I remembered my camera! I was stopping constantly because it was so beautiful!

I am not certain of the purpose of this cool looking gate because one could just go around (through the brush) but it makes a nice beginning to our hike.

Jake likes to lead and he was busy sniffing when Kirby passed him up.  He had to rush to get back to his spot!

This is a badger hole.  We saw quite a few of the holes but no badgers.

It is a fabulous hike and and easy one for old ladies like me!

Gallatin National Forest, Montana

The day called for rain but we headed out anyway for a little road trip to explore Gallatin National Forest.  We left Idaho, entered Montana and then back to Idaho.  We even made a stop in West Yellowstone for lunch and a brew at the Slippery Otter Pub and a stop at the grocery and local hardware store for some light bulbs.  But the best was the views of course.  This is a gorgeous national forest.  So come along with us to explore!

We really didn't know what to expect when we started out.  The skies were cloudy and it was cool so we decided to bring Jake, our yellow dog, with us.

Kirby always reads the boards while I take pictures.  Then he has to tell me what he has read.  This is Earthquake Lake.  It was formed in 1959 when an earthquake happened and the result was a blocked canyon, much destruction and many lives lost.  It was interesting to think that something like this happened so recently.  It was like looking at the always changing earth in slow motion.

In this picture you can see how the mountain just slipped into the canyon below.

The earthquake happened so recently that the dead trees still stand along the shores of the newly formed lake.

This is an incredible view of the Madison River as it exits Earthquake Lake.

Thanks for coming along with us!

On The Road To Idaho

How many people have a sewer dump on their street?  Well, my sister does!  It was time to leave them and head over the pass to Idaho and we needed to dump our holding tank.  Kirby just backed the rig down the road a bit and there was a sewer plug!  Can't beat that!

And then it was over the hill.  We decided to take the southern route towards Idaho Falls instead of going over Teton Pass.  Teton Pass is very, very steep but about an hour closer to our destination.  We decided that ease of travel was worth the hour since we weren't going very far.  We had traveled this route before, most recently last summer, and new it would be easy and beautiful with a lot of variety. 

We crossed the Snake River.  This river seems to be forever in our lives.   I am beginning to feel a personal bonding with it. (This looks like an old railroad crossing.)

I love these golden fields!

Best Rest Area ever!  View of the Snake River from the rest area on Highway 26.

Then we cut through on some country roads which is always more fun than highways and interstates.

And this is Henry's Lake State Park where we will be staying for the next few days. There are good hiking trails, we can ride our bikes and there are nearby scenic drives.

One Incredible Day!

Days like this don't come around that often!  And so often, you just can't plan them.  This day began with a little bit of a plan. We originally were not going to stay in Jackson Hole so long but when I looked at the calendar I realized that my sister and her husband were going to celebrate 54 years of marriage on the 26th so of course we had to stay to help them celebrate.  And of course, we celebrated even more than they did!

We started the day early with a Lion's Club breakfast at the Jackson County Fair.  Kirby and I have not eaten "white things" in over a year but darn, we fell off the wagon and had pancakes!  We ate our breakfast outdoors in the cool morning air waiting for the Horse Show to begin.  Two of their granddaughters were to be in the ring competing.  Rachel, who is 17, and Megan who is 12 both competed in Horsemanship.  I was so excited to watch them.  This city girl has never been involved with horses and I don't know much about them.

This is Rachel who took a 2nd in her class.

 

 

 

This is Megan and she took Best In Class.

Congratulations to you both!  You made me so proud and gave me a wonderful, wonderful day!

Now doesn't that sound like just the best day?  It was, but it wasn't over.  My nephew Flip and his wife, Kelley (the girls parents of course) invited us on a float trip on the the Snake River.  I opted for the "Green" water trip verses the "White" water.  I have had that White Water excitement and just wanted to enjoy the day, the river and my family.  My sister and her husband decided to pass and so we would see them again later in the day.

 First thing that happened was a "Shoe Overboard" exercise.  We dropped Megan on the shore and she managed to retrieve it, we got her back in the boat and set off again.

 It was a perfect afternoon.  Not too hot, not too cold and no wind.  Flip was the perfect handler/captain/skipper - whatever the person with the oars is called.  He certainly knew his business and there were no frightening moments!

Once they told us that we could beach the boat and walk up the hill to a store for cold drinks we just had to do it because, as Kirby said, we had never done that before!  The walk was short, the store had all kinds of choices and we all got something cold and I ATE ICE CREAM!  Oh, my but it was good!

The river ride took 2 or 3 hours - I don't remember because time was standing still.  It was just the BEST!

We went home and got out the game of Apples to Apples and sat on the back porch and played a game or two and next thing we knew it was time for dinner.  Just down the road was a place called The Bird.  It was packed since it was a Saturday night during Fair Week but we had a great time anyway celebrating Joan and Red's 54th!! Management gave us each a Popsicle to celebrate with.  I liked that much better than cake!

Million Dollar and Silver Dollar Bars

We set out yesterday with my sister and her husband to play tourist in Jackson.  Last year Kirby and I celebrated our anniversary at the Cowboy Bar so we went back there and also to the Silver Dollar Bar at the Wort Hotel.  (Click HERE to see last year's posting).  This year we didn't sit on the saddles - it is just too hard for this old body of mine!

 The Million Dollar Cowboy Bar is a work of art.  It is pretty dark inside so it is hard to get a picture of all the wood that has been there for so many years.  It was fun sitting with my family who has lived here for almost fifty years and hear about all the changes through the years.  Things like "there used to be a dance floor where that bar is".  And also that the cute tables are new-ish.

We walked around town and went to some of the shops and then visited the Silver Dollar Bar.  Recently we were in Buffalo, Wy and visited the Occidental Hotel.  This was similar.  Beautiful!!

The Silver Dollar Bar

The lobby of the Wort Hotel

Both have silver dollars imbedded in the bars.

Snake River Brewing

Surprise!!  We found another brewery!  Actually, we found this brew last year when we visited Jackson and have looked all over the country for it and had to wait until we returned to Wyoming to find it.  Pako's IPA is our favorite and I have to quit drinking it or I am going to get a beer belly.  Do you think one every few days is too much??  It really is so good!  So yesterday we took my Bud Lite brother-in-law and my none beer drinking sister to the brewery where they have a great restaurant and had a brew and lunch.  My nephew joined us  and at least he likes good brews!

On The Road to Jackson Hole, WY

There was weather coming the day we planned to leave Lander, Wy for Jackson so we were up early and off to the dump station.  While Kirby did his thing, Jake and I looked around and found this nice view of Lander and the walk/bikeway they have. 

After dumping our tanks we headed out pretty much north and then west, up over the pass and then dropped down into Grand Teton National Park.  The drive was, like so many of them, very varied.  I think our drives (or roadtrips) are just about the best part of our travels.  My camera is busy clicking out the windshield so the photos are not the best but it sure is fun.  On this trip someone needed to tie my hands down because I just kept clicking away as each turn brought more beauty.  Are we lucky to live in such a beautiful country or what?!!

 It may be barren but it is still gorgeous!

This was the best part of the trip for Jake.  We stopped on the pass to let some folks pass us and took the opportunity to look around and stretch our legs.  This deer carcass was not that old but it was clean except for the feet and lower legs.  Jake found it extremely interesting!

 And then we spotted the Grand Teton and it just kept getting better and better as we got closer.

Lander, WY and Don and Vicki

Many of our winter Yuma friends live in Wyoming so we made a stop in Lander so that we could visit with some of them.  Don and Vicki have room near there home for an RV so we stayed right there next to them.  We barely got there when they first fed us lunch and took us out to view Lander and some of the surrounding area.  We also enjoyed the company of Mary and Jerry and Robynn and Daryl.  Mary and Jerry hosted a great breakfast the next morning and then it was more touring around the area.  I am tired but it was such a great time seeing everyone!

After finding the town of Kirby it was really fun to find this creek named after Kirby's family!

These are our gracious hosts, Vicki and Don.  They have lived in Lander most of their adult lives and know the area like the back of their hands so we had great tour guides.

This is the Popo Agie River as it enters the mountain.  The water flows into a cave in the side of the mountain, wanders around inside the mountain and about two hours later it re-emerges down the hill a bit.

 Red Canyon Wildlife Management Area

 We drove through the old mining town of Atlantic City and saw the old gold mine as well.  There is a lot more out in those hills than one would think!