Soldier Lakes

The first thing that went wrong was we left the scotch in the freezer at the house on Friday afternoon. Oh well, I thought, I'll just carry in some cans of beer. Not the ideal backpacking beverage, but it'll have to do.

The second thing that went wrong was I left the beer in the cooler in the jeep.

It's not that we can't have fun without alcohol, but it's nice to sit by the fire in the evening after a long day of hiking and have a drink.

The last straw, however, was when Rick announced he had walked all over and found not a stick of firewood. OK, camping without beer is one thing. Camping without a fire is totally unacceptable. At least that's how we feel about it.

Well we didn't have much else to do, so we went on a journey in search of something to burn. We ended up making a litter and piling it with as many sticks we could find. We had to go quite a ways from the camp and up, up, up a very steep hillside before we found anything. It was quite a chore, but at least we had a fire.

Otherwise, our trip to Soldier Lakes was pretty uneventful. Our map wasn't quite right, but we found where we were going. The lake where we camped was pretty, the camp site was really nice (perhaps a bit over used), and we were the only ones there. Rick caught a few fish. Here are some photos.

Our hike.


Our lake.


Our camp.


Our fire.


Our view.

4-Wheeler Trip to Riordan Lake

We decided the word of the day on Friday was adventure. It started when Brent ordered Mexican Meatball soup when we stopped for dinner in Cascade. None of us had ever heard of meatball soup. None of us had been to Riordan Lake either, except for Kendra, and that was 20 years ago and not on 4-wheelers.

We only took a wrong turn once. And the road wasn't too bad until it turned into a trail for the last 2 miles - narrow and winding through a forest, crossing a stream several times on very narrow bridges, and turning into deep, muddy muck holes in half a dozen places. It was getting dark, and my headlights made the rocks seem larger that they really were and not in the expected locations. I was disappointed when we got to the lake, it was too marshy, and we had to head back up the rocky trail to a campground we passed previously on the edge of a meadow. But we made it, setting up our tents by the lights of our 4-wheelers. Before going to bed, we decided the word of the day for Saturday would be serendipity, which is just wrong, but I think it worked, kind of.

It turned out to be a nice camp complete with wildflowers and lots of firewood - after Rick and Brent cut and split it.

We hiked down to the lake for a little fishing. The inlet winding through the marshy meadow was so pretty.

Just before lunch we got back on the 4-wheelers and headed out for the day.

Our first stop was Yellowpine. We had lunch at the tavern and then went for a stroll down main street.

Then Kendra said, "Hey, is that a Monkey?"

Our next stop was Cinnabar mine. We missed the road and had to ask some campers for directions. They said to go past the "Glory Hole" and then the road is on the right at the second bridge. We had passed the Glory Hole on the way up, but I hadn't noticed. How could I miss this glorious hole!

I love it when Rick catches frogs. (So does he!)




We finally found Cinnabar. What a cool ghost mining town.




The trip was farther than expected, and we had to stop for gas back in Yellowpine. The general store sold us two gallons. We drove about 90 miles on the 4-wheelers that day!




Too tired to make our tortellini with shrimp and marinara, we finished the night by the campfire with shrimp on a stick.

Backpacking to Lost Lake

Rick and I have both done some backpacking in the past, but we have never been on a trip together. This weekend was our first! I took him to one of my favorite spots - Lost Lake in the Frank Church Wilderness. We drove to within 1 mile of the trailhead Friday night to get a head start. The little yellow jeep did great!


The hike into the lake is pretty easy, especially in the cool early morning. We woke up around 6:30 and were on the trail by 7:45. It was about a 1-2 mile hike to the lake. The first, and probably the coolest, thing we encountered when we got there was this deer. She was very close to the trail and not at all afraid of us.


Rick suspected she was lonely since a few minutes later she appeared in our camp and then slept with us all night (not in the tent of course)! See her in the background between our heads?


I can't believe we were the only ones at a lake this beautiful and easy to get to. Rick took some time to fish while I did some reading.





This, however, is my favorite trophy fish photo!


Here we are sitting around the camp fire and keeping our scotch cold in a pan of snow (to my left - with the red bottle cap).


My photography skills are definitely not something to write home about, but I think this one is pretty good.


Our license plates don't say "Scenic Idaho" for nothin'!

Kansas Visits

I've been able to visit Kansas twice so far this year. The first was for my Dad's birthday in April. Mom and I drove to Topeka for a day and got this great shot with Aunt Anne and Grandma.



The second trip was for the 4th of July. Both of my cousins, Scott and Paul, were going to be there, so I decided to go too. I spent a whole week hanging out in Ark City with my parents and Susie, catching up with old highschool friends, and seeing all the Kuhns in Topeka.



I didn't take many family photos for some reason, but a did get a shot of Paul and his little girl, Stella...



...and a great one Scott and me with Grandma.



On my last day, Mom, Dad and I drove by this beautiful field of sunflowers on our way home from lunch. I love Kansas.

Springtime Camping

We were able to get out a few times this spring for camping in between the rainy weather...

SWANHOLM

We made the annual trip to Swanholm Peak (our favorite) on the weekend just before the solstice. There was still so much snow, we couldn't get to the lookout or the lake.


I love the clouds in this photo of Rick and Brent.



We battled rain and snow all day long, but it sure made for some beautiful sights.

I've never seen a sunset quite like this one.


JARBIDGE

We made our second annual trip to Jarbidge, NV, for Memorial Weekend. The trail was too muddy, so we drove our 4-wheelers in on the road. We had a larger crowd this year - nearly occupying the entire downstairs of the barn hotel and dominating the "poorler." This isn't quite everyone!


I was well-prepared for a chilly, and wet, ride in.


We had a great day for a ride around the area on Sunday. These are our friends, Dan and Ellisea.


I think this sign has been rotated...


THE PIG/LIME CREEK

We spent a mid-May weekend with Michael and his puppy, Bryer, at The Pig and did some scouting for bears at Lime Creek.

JEEP RIDE

In April, we took the jeep for a drive on the Baja Road and had some excitement on a rocky part.





BRUNEAU CANYON

In late March we took advantage of some warm weather at Bruneau Canyon.


We had a great camp site on a bank above the river...

...and a nice warm fire that evening.



OWYHEES

In early March we got out for some hiking at Crane Falls and a quick over-nighter in the Owyhees.


The clouds set in, and it got a bit chilly. We started the fire early that afternoon!

85F and Sunny in February!

Our what-has-become-annual trip to Palm Springs to see my parents and escape into paradise for a few days during the winter was fantastic this year. We had the warmest, sunniest weather we have ever had in four years of going. 85F and sunny nearly every day!

This year Susie was there, and she dictated much of our daily activities. Instead of going out to eat, golfing, and shopping all the time, we instead went for walks and played fetch and chase. Having a year-old beagle and no fenced yard adds complexity to a vacation. It also reduces the amount of money you spend on eating out, golfing, and shopping. So it all evens out for the best. Besides, as I have mentioned before, Susie is irresistible and has stolen my heart.

Between my dad's tendency to favor routine and Susie's need for it, we quickly established one. Here's how it went:

7:30 Wake up to whimpering and pawing at the bedroom door. After all we are a pack, and the pack needs to be together. No one can be in a separate room behind a closed door, especially Mom.

7:30-9 Read the paper, watch TV, eat a freshly-picked (from our yard!) grapefruit.

9:00 Watch a 30 min lecture on economics. I brought a series of lectures on DVD, and everyone seemed to enjoy them.

9:30 Take a shower.

10:30 Take Susie for a walk. Smoke a cigar if you're my dad. Sit in the sun and read if you're Rick.

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11:30 Start fixing lunch. Have a bloody mary if today = Sunday.

12:00 Eat lunch.

1:00 Take a nap and smoke a cigar if you're my dad. Read a book or work on a jigsaw if you're Rick. (He read 3 books and did at least 5 puzzles.) Otherwise, go shopping.

4:30 Take Susie for a walk.

5:00 Happy hour, no matter who you are.

6:00 Start fixing dinner.

7:00 Eat dinner and then watch the Olympics and work on jigsaw puzzle.

11:00 Go to bed.

That's what we did pretty much every day. All in the setting of a very comfortable condo located in a beautiful oasis in the desert. This is a life I can easily enjoy!

One day we did deviate from the schedule to go visit the Salton Sea. It turned out to be a stinky stagnant place with lots of bird poop. But we got to see part of rural California desert and passed by many fields of palm trees where they were growing dates.

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Another day we went to the Riverside County Fair in Indio. The fair was quite large for a county fair. There were something like three ferris wheels!

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The Palm Springs area is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been - right up there with the mountains in New Zealand. Another great vacation is captured in the blog.

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