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Hell Roaring Hike in the Sawtooths (Part 2)

September 8, 2016

Monday August 22. Up early at Redfish Lake Lodge to check out the mountains. It’s smoky up here due to the Pioneer Fire that’s been burning in the Boise National Forest since July 28.

8/22/16: Mount Heyburn overlooking Redfish Lake

The amount of smoke depends on the shifting of the winds. Not too bad today. Breakfast at the lodge, then we’ll hit the trail! Eric has talked the other seven of us into the hike to Hell Roaring Lake. We’re at the trailhead now:

5 miles to Hell Roaring Lake!

Yeah, so five miles to the Lake, five miles back … Eric leads the group. The first part of the hike is the most strenuous. The trail climbs more than 300 feet up through a dense lodgepole pine forest.

David and Megan

David, Megan and I bring up the rear and lose the others quickly. You walk along the creek in the beginning,

but then the trail veers away from the creek.

The path is well-worn and dusty. Long, but not strenuous. Question is, are you in good enough shape to hike 10 miles? David, Megan and I trudged along for three miles and then decided to find a place to sit for a picnic. Hey this place looks good, some fallen trees to sit on!

Time for a picnic

What the heck. We’ve lost the others. It’s still two miles to the lake. How about we call it good and head back?

We take a selfie

Megan, Jody, David

Then I capture a photo of the area across the path from us:

Pine beetle devastation?

Lodgepole pines have been stressed by consistent dry summers, leaving them vulnerable to pine beetles. No wonder wild fires are raging in Idaho.

Meanwhile, Eric, Paul, Pauline, Adam and Meredith make it to the lake. They shared their photos with me. So now you and I get to experience Hell Roaring Lake vicariously through their photos! Just think, too, it has saved us the stress, time, and wear and tear of getting there.

We’ve arrived at Hell Roaring Lake!

Photo taken by Meredith

The lake is pretty, but if you want the good views of the mountains you need to cross the inlet and walk another half mile. Look carefully at the center of the photo and you’ll see: the only way to cross the inlet is to traverse a log. Here I have zoomed the photo so you can see – the log is near the center of the photo:

you have to cross the log

Great. You’re already exhausted, do you really need to put yourself through this?

Of course you do. Eric leads the way across the inlet. Adam and Meredith follow. Pauline and Paul decide not to bother with that last half mile. Me personally, I suspect I would need a bit of coaxing to maneuver my exhausted body across the log and beyond. If you think at this juncture you do want to cross the inlet and walk that last half mile … follow Eric, Adam and Meredith. We’re at the log now. Hmmmmm. Hesitating on this. How to cross it without slipping, scraping your ankle, twisting a knee??? No worry. Meredith will now demonstrate how it’s done:

Ha. Piece of cake – if you’ve had years of gymnastics training. Okay so now we have walked the last half mile along the lake for a close-up view of the Finger of Fate (at 9,775 feet) and other peaks. Here are Eric’s photos

Adam and Meredith

Finger of Fate – still a bit smoky

We arrive back at the Lodge starving and exhausted. The wind has shifted direction – and it’s smoky again:

Back at the Lodge

We drive to Stanley for dinner

Smoky in Stanley!

Sunset view of Sawtooths from Stanley

The smoke clears again on Tuesday. We’re a bit tired so we just hang out at the lodge and on the lake. Meredith and Pauline both rent kayaks:

Meredith kayaking on Redfish Lake

The rest of us just hang out. Except for Eric, a.k.a. ‘Mountain goat,’ who was off on another huge hike.

A patio table near the outside bar and concession stand overlooking the lake, serves our purposes just fine

The self-proclaimed Three Wise Men declaring one beer is not enough

Megan orders an ice cream. Double scoop, please…

A little top-heavy – what to do with it?

We shop at the General Store:

Yes, they sell apple pie

Matching sweatshirts for Megan and Pauline!

We spot the perfect miniature poodle girlfriend for Rudy:

She could teach him a thing or two about healthy eating habits:

In case you wondered, Rudy is also a miniature poodle

Wednesday morning the winds blow in our favor – the air is clear! But we have to check out and drive home. That figures. I snap one last clear photo of Mt. Heyburn before we hit the road:

Redfish Lake, Wednesday August 24, 2016

I don’t snap any decent photos of the Sawtooths on the drive home. But Eric does:

Well, I take that back. The best views of the Sawtooths are from lower Stanley. Unfortunately, they were behind us as we drove through Stanley.

So I captured a photo of the Sawtooths in our rear view mirror.

Oh, and that’s Paul driving my blue Avalon, with Adam and Meredith.

Tags:Finger of Fate, Hell Roaring hike in Sawtooths, Miniature poodles, Pioneer Fire in Idaho 2016, Red Fish Lake Lodge
Posted in Hiking, Idaho, Redfish Lake, travel | 1 Comment »

Craters of the Moon, Pioneer Fire, and Redfish Lake, Idaho

September 3, 2016

A couple weeks ago (August 21-24, 2016) our family made a trip to Redfish Lake Lodge in the Sawtooth mountains near Stanley, Idaho. Our group of 7 included David, Megan, and me, son Adam and wife Meredith from New York, and David’s siblings – Paul from Kenosha, WI, Pauline from Arizona. My brother, Eric, a.k.a ‘mountain goat’ met us at the lodge.

Redfish Lake is about a 4-hour drive from Idaho Falls. Traveling west on Highway 20 past Arco you come to Craters of the Moon National Monument. Craters of the Moon is one of the best-preserved flood basalt areas in the continental United States. We had to stop. Five of our group climbed to the top of Inferno Cone. A short but steep trail up the cinder cone leads to an overlook of the entire monument. Five of our group hiked to the top. I snapped a photo of them on their way back down.

Family portrait on Inferno Cinder Cone

Bottom left is Paul, then David, Pauline behind, and Adam and Meredith on top.

Next we walked the 1/2-mile trail to Indian Tunnel.

Megan leads the way

Craters of the Moon

We all made it to the tunnel but only Adam and Meredith went through it. I met them at the exit and captured photos as they emerged. First Meredith’s head pops through

Meredith is reborn

Then Adam

Adam emerges

This Indian tunnel link gives you a photo of the tunnel opening just before you find your way back out.

Adam and Meredith scramble up

and we follow the cairns imbedded in the molten rock surfaces to get us back to the trail.

Heading back

An hour later we lunch in Ketchum and then head toward Galena Summit. Beautiful day! We keep an eye on the car in our rear view mirror – it’s Paul driving my blue Avalon with Adam and Meredith

toward Galena Summit

Check out the Galena Summit view! What?

Galena Summit

The far peaks, by Redfish Lake, are socked in with smoke. Oh well. We had already heard about the Pioneer Fire in the Boise National Forest, northeast of Boise, that had started on July 28 and was working its way toward Stanley. The fire is still burning today (Sept 3, 2016) and will likely keep burning into October. Check out this link to the Pioneer Fire – published two days ago, on Sept. 1. It shows a video of the Pioneer Fire taken from a helicopter four days ago, on August 30. Hot, dry weather this week caused the wildfire to grow much larger. There are more than 1,100 people working to contain the fire, and as of August 31, it was 58 percent contained. It has grown 13 times larger since July 28.

There are multiple fires in Idaho this summer due to a considerably long dry period combined with excessive amounts of old dead timber. This summer has been one of the driest summers on record in Idaho.

Onward to Redfish Lake, those aren’t rain clouds ahead!

smoky ahead!

We’ve reached the blanket of smoke now

Pioneer Fire near Stanley and Redfish

The Sawtooths are coming into view. Mount Heyburn is the jagged peak on the left.

5:30 PM. We’ve pulled into Redfish Lodge – time to check in, in what should be broad daylight. Eerie.

Check out the sun, Megan!

(We made a trip to Redfish August of last year as well, during beautiful weather. I took lots of photos of the Sawtooths and blogged about it exactly a year ago. – click on the link here to see clear photos of Redfish Lake Lodge and the magnificent Sawtooths in late August 2015…)

We check in at our cabin. Then gather for dinner at the Lodge. “Hey Paul, Adam, Meredith – pose for a photo!”

Bloggers are annoying

That’s better :0 :

Eat, rest, and be merry, all, but mostly, build up strength, because tomorrow we’re doing the 10-mile round trip hike to Hell Roaring Lake. Yeah, I guess we are. My brother Eric met us at Red Fish Lake Lodge for dinner and somehow talked us into it.

Adam, Meredith, Pauline, Eric, Megan at dinner (David, Jody and Paul missing from photo). Meredith loves to be photographed

Sure, Eric. We’ll do it. Does that sound like a potential death march to you?

Tags:Craters of the Moon National Monument, Indian Tunnel at Craters of the Moon, Inferno Cinder Cone at Craters of the Moon, Pioneer Fire in Idaho 2016, Red Fish Lake, Sawtooth Mountains
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Niagara Falls, Canada (Part 3)

August 5, 2016

June 30, 2016. We’ve crossed the bridge to the Canadian side of Nagara Falls now, where you experience the classic, iconic, picture perfect views of the Falls. There’ll be no more digressing in my blog about such things as ghosts, giant worms, slippery sidewalks and the Made in America Store selling American Flag t-shirts made in Bangladesh.

But, when you arrive in Niagara Falls, Canada, you don’t just magically land at the Falls. You have to find parking, or in our case, find your motel, then find your way down to the Falls. We’re on the 17th floor of the Doubletree Inn. I took a panoramic photo of the view from our motel window:

Niagara Falls, Canada

You see the mist of the Falls on the far right side of the picture. A bit of a trek for us. We decide to park next to the Skylon Tower (that needle tower) and walk. The Skylon Tower, built in 1965, was undoubtedly fabulous for its time, but today stands like fossilized dinosaur. The main floor is one giant empty arcade. We walk around the second story perimeter and experience our first sighting of the Falls:

View of the Falls from the second floor balcony of the Skylon Tower

There you see Terrapin Point across the river where we stood yesterday and I took photos and videos next to the Falls.

Well, let me tell you. You might look like you’re close to the Falls, but try to get down to Niagara Parkway and the Falls. The rooftops you see in the picture above are structures built above a steep drop-off, as if coming off a bluff. Here is a Google map of the area. The only road down to Niagara Parkway on our side of town is Murray Street, unbeknownst to us. We cross it and keep going on Fallsview Boulevard, parallel to the Falls. We hear the Falls, we glean glimpses of the Falls, but we can’t get down to the Falls.

What are we doing up here?

Alas! We arrive at a cable car that transports you over the drop-off right to the Visitor’s Center on the Falls!

Problem solved!

Down we go

Hold on, Megan!

Looking back up you can see how steep the drop-off is that separates the town and motels from the Falls.

Here’s the visitor’s Center:

And the iconic views of Horseshoe and American Falls:

Horseshoe Falls

American Falls

I took a video:

A photo of David and American Falls:

Which is more handsome?

Another view of Horseshoe Falls:

Maid of the Mist

A panoramic photo:

Back in the Visitors Center now, the ‘Journey Behind the Falls’ tour looks interesting. Let’s do it!

Waiting in line, part of the experience

We wait in line. Up at the window we learn that the next available tour is four hours from now … Okay so you need to plan ahead here. Our next trip to Niagara Falls (yeah, right) we’ll book the tour first thing, then see the Falls, then go to lunch, then …. well, maybe you can book it online …?

There were no stories in the Visitors Center about folks going over the Falls in a barrel but there was this story of the only person to unintentionally go over the Falls and survive:

Young Roger Woodward. The sign reads: ‘After a boating accident on July 9, 1960 the 7-year-old was swept over the Falls wearing only a life jacket and a swimsuit . The crew of the Maid of the Mist II rescued Roger, pulling him unharmed from the churning water. Roger’s 17-year-old sister Deanne was pulled from the river above the Falls by two onlookers and the driver of the boat, Jim Honeycutt, lost his life in the tragic event.’

The first recorded person to survive going over the Falls was Annie Edson Taylor, “The heroin of Horseshoe Falls” who went over the Falls in a barrel in 1901. Though bruised and battered, Annie made it. Here’s a link with photos and stories of Annie and other daredevils going over the falls. Annie expected fame and fortune from her publicized stunt. She died in poverty.

The link also includes photos of ‘Infamous Bobby Leach’ who plunged over the Falls in a steel barrel on July 25, 1911. Bobby broke both kneecaps and his jaw during this dare devil stunt. Years later while touring in New Zealand, Bobby slipped on an orange peel and died from complications due to gangrene.

Oh no. Did I digress?

“Better to be caught in a patch of yarrow than to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel.” (Brilliant, Jody)

I dunno. I should put a wrap on this trip. Aw, but over the next four days we attend a wedding, celebrate Canada Day, attend the Annual Gay Pride Parade in Toronto, get stuck in US customs on the way to the airport, and lose my carry-on luggage on one of our flights home. There. Five blogs in one, excluding digressions.

Except I did capture a fine photo of Justin Trudeau …

Tags:Dare devils of Niagara Falls, Going over Niagara Falls in a barrel, Niagara Falls Canada, Skylon Tower, Terrapin Point
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Niagara Falls – Part 2

July 29, 2016

to continue … it’s Wednesday, June 29. We’re in Niagara Falls on the American side, exploring the sites – This sign gives you a big picture of the area and the layout of the Falls:

overhead view of American Falls and Horseshoe Falls

You see American Falls in the center and Horseshoe Falls on the left. We were at the number ‘1’ area earlier, that I just blogged about – where the Maid of the Mist loads and unloads, where we walked up alongside American Falls in our blue raincoats and took the video…

After lunch we walked over the bridge to Goat Island

Bridge to Goat Island

out to Terrapin Point (# 3 on the map)- right up beside Horseshoe Falls

Walking to Terrapin Point

We’re approaching the Falls now…

Horseshoe Falls ahead

You get the best views of the Falls from the Canadian side. But on the American side you can stand right alongside the cascading American and Horseshoe Falls.

American Side of Horseshoe Falls

I took a video

The walks are slippery.

Looking right you see American Falls and the bridge that crosses the Niagara River into Canada.

American Falls

Walking back. It’s fun to people watch

Fashionistas

Captured one last video of the Niagara River and Horseshoe Falls

Crossing the bridge back from Goat Island.

Where’s the crowds?

Sure picked a good time to visit Niagara Falls, hardly any crowds. Judging from the entrance to the Maid of the Mist, lines can swell to Disneyland proportions.

The trolley cars are fun

Especially when the lines are short and you can find a seat at the Trolley stop.

Hey look! Giant worms.

Special Attraction

Aw, cute.

Okay, so I suddenly find myself out of photos and videos of Niagara Falls – American side. We didn’t cover every special attraction but we absolutely couldn’t pass up the Haunted House.

Niagara Falls Haunted House

Seeing it reminded me that Megan had never been in a Haunted House. When I was seven or so, I went through a Haunted House, and I remembered it as one of the most exhilarating experiences of my childhood. David and I had to take Megan through this Haunted House to remedy the depravity of her childhood. We had no choice as parents, here, as far as I was concerned.

We’re going in now. (Signs are posted that photography is allowed.)

Shhhh! Walk softly … Be very afraid

Are you scared yet? David leads the way…. he’s so brave…

Blink your eyes fast while watching this next exhibit

‘Psycho vision’

Uh, well maybe 55 years ago this Haunted House might have spooked a 7-year-old. (Doubtful?)

But, then, as I was about to exit the Haunted House, I swear, a ghost grabbed my i-Phone and shot this video …

Let me outta here!

Okay, time to drive over the bridge through Customs to the Canadian side …

Tags:Niagara Falls New York, Niagara Falls trolleys, Niagara River, Niagra Falls Haunted House, Terrapin Point
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Niagara Falls – American Falls

July 24, 2016

Don’t you just love it when people go visit a place like Niagara Falls, take about 600 photos and videos, and then feel compelled to share their wonderful trip with you? But what the heck. You get to experience it vicariously on the backs of someone else’s dime and efforts to get there – which for us, David, Megan and I, meant driving 250 miles to the Salt Lake Airport, flying into Buffalo, NY, arriving at 11pm – renting a motel in Buffalo, renting a car the next morning, driving to Niagara Falls. We wanted to experience both the American and Canadian sides of the Falls, so we first rented a motel on the American side.

Just to flesh out the experience of flying, at the get-go in Salt Lake, in the security line, David got his pocket knife confiscated. He turns to me all annoyed since I’m the one that Googled ‘Can you take pocket knives on airplanes’ in the car getting to the airport and reported “Yes, you can honey” and read aloud all the detailed descriptions of size of blade, showed him the photos, it had to fold down, etc. But then after his knife was confiscated and we were in line at a kiosk to buy stamps to mail it back to us, I got onto another site that clarified that indeed, in 2013, the FAA had approved folding pocket knives on planes, but after blowback, had repealed the decision. I had obviously read a 2013 post. It cost $6.80 to mail the knife back, but the lady running the register, from Estonia or somewhere, would only let us buy $6.00 worth – “I need the stamps” she said. Great. No problem. David put our address as both the sender and recipient and sure enough the thing got delivered.

Thus, Travel Tip # 1: “Leave pocket knives behind no matter what you read on the Internet.”

Travel Tip #2: “When it’s time to board the plane, screw the lid tightly on your water bottle before putting it in your backpack.” Of course, you’re in such a frenzy gathering up all your stuff and securing your position in line to make sure you can grab what might be the last space for your suitcase in the overhead compartment. Good news, we had overhead space. Bad news, why was there a puddle of water under Megan’s backpack on my seat? I reach in her pack and pull out the empty plastic water bottle. OMG! Quick! Grab all the contents – movies, paperback book, journal, stuffed animal, sweatshirt, pens, cell phone and charger – now the pack is empty except for the puddle dripping through the bottom onto our feet. “Here, honey!” – I shove the pack into David’s arms. “What do you want me to do with it?” he says. “Give it to the Stewardess!” David jumps up and disappears – returns from the lavatory five minutes later. He had turned the thing wrong side out and dumped what was left of the water, wiped it as best he could. It was still soaking wet. Megan and I fly the whole way with a wet empty backpack nestled at our feet, its contents strewed across our seats, all of it drying out.

Oh, and by the way. (Travel Tip #3): The airlines no longer nestle those nifty folded barf bags with built-in ties in the seat pockets in front of you. So when you’re overcome with the urge to hurl you have to flag down a stewardess. (How many on that flight besides Megan suffered from flight anxiety?)

Good news and good news: Although Megan felt the urge to hurl through most of that 2-hour flight from Salt Lake to Minneapolis, she didn’t. The other good news: We had snagged ourselves, free from Delta Airlines, a right fine hamper-sized waterproof bag with handles, perfect for stowing a whole trips’ worth of dirty clothes. Albeit on the flight we now faced the additional challenge of keeping the bag in barf position while avoiding knocking the movies and other contents of Megan’s pack off our seats to seemingly Timbuktu since we didn’t have enough leg room to bend over and pick them up.

Flight barf bag – our first free souvenir

We dumped the dirty contents of the bag directly into a laundry basket when we arrived home. I’m saving the bag for future use – like maybe as a hamper on our next camping trip. Or a car barf bag, in case the whole family and the dog on a road trip all come down with food poisoning and/or nasty bug at the same time.

I could write a detailed blog by itself just about passports. First, you need an agreed-upon plan for managing your passports. Besides checking their expiration dates months before your trip, also find a safe and secure place to stow them while traveling, but also not so secure to where you can’t find them at Customs. I zipped my and Megan’s passports into a secure pocket in my purse. Which is where I also shoved my boarding pass. So when I whipped out my boarding pass at check-in the passports flew out and landed at David’s feet. “What the heck! Put those in a safe place!” Hey, they were in a safe place. He took over the job of managing all the passports, which reduced my stress tremendously. Now, no matter what, if they get lost it’s his fault. No tips for you on passports, other than: “Be cognizant and hyper-anxious at all times as to the whereabouts of all passports. Put one person in charge of them so there is no question as to who’s to blame if they get lost.”

On the drive now, from Buffalo to Viagra Falls. Uh, Niagara Falls. (My computer auto corrects to ‘Viagra’ when I misspell Niagara as ‘Niagra’)

I don’t know what bridge this is but I like the picture.

Must be going over the Niagara River?

Hey, I was stressed here, okay? – taking photos, trying to relax a little, had we left something back at the motel in Buffalo? Where’s our phone charger?? Megan do you have your phone? Did I leave my book on the bedside?…

We decided to spend our first full day at American Falls, or at the American side of Niagara Falls. We’re watching that “Maid of the Mist” boat loaded to the gills with folks in blue raincoats. (It’s coming and going with a corresponding boat loaded with folks in red raincoats.) The boat lingers for several minutes right at the base of the Falls. Must be a thunderously wet, but exhilarating (perhaps, if you’re not buckled over the sides with sea sickness) experience.

“Maid of the MIst”

The one with red raincoats is right at the Falls now:

We’re in line now, alongside a large group of, Mennonites??

contemplating whether to take that “Maid of the Mist’ boat to the falls. We decide just to pay to get on the upper viewing deck. What a fantastic view:

View of Niagara Falls from American side – notice the walkway that leads to the Falls

Oh, a boat is returning.

Blue Maid of the Mist returning from the Falls

We decide to go down and take that walk along the shore up next to the falls. We arrive near the dock just as the masses of folks in blue raincoats are getting off the boat. Gee it would be nice to be wearing those raincoats when we’re up next to the falls… No problem! People are taking them off and tossing them in the recycle bin. Hey you paid for those! Great. We pull three of them out of the trash, what the heck, put them on …

Megan and David – outfitted for the mist

We merge with the blue crowd off the boat walking the misty path that leads you alongside American Falls. Along the way I’m humming that low-toned “HarUmmmm-Um, HarUmm-a-rum-a-rum” song from the ‘Wizard of Oz’ movie when Tin Man, Scarecrow, and Lion, with his tail sticking out, dress as Guards, and merge with the group of Guards marching into the Witch’s castle, to rescue Dorothy.

There, you see the Falls thundering ahead…

American Falls at Niagara Falls

We’re as close as we want to get now … here, I took a video

Granted mostly all you see is mist. That’s Niagara Falls, Canada, across the River.

There’s lots of touristy things to do in Niagara Falls. Here you see advertised the Discovery Pass combining five major tourist attractions saving ‘up to 29%’ in price:

‘Unforgettable memories at an unbelievable price’

Maid of the Mist, Cave of the Winds, Niagara: Legends of Adventure Theater, Gorge Discovery Center, Aquarium. You know, if you have time…

Plus, this attraction:

Can’t believe David passed that up looking for a place for lunch. We ended up having lunch at the Rainforest Cafe:

Megan nestled comfortably with her bench companions

Next to the Apes: (Not to be confused with the ‘Alps’)

We have to shop for a t-shirt or some kind of souvenir. Hey, let’s check out that huge Made In America Store.

Heading toward souvenir city

That building is so huge, the stuff they sell could even be made right there. Perhaps there’s a clothing factory in those upper stories and other manufacturing/packaging businesses as well?

Ascending the stairs to the Made in America Store, with a patriotic skip in our step.

Checking out the clothing racks. How do you get more American than this shirt!

Made in America for sure, could’ve even been made upstairs!

Made in Bangladesh?

Okay, well uh, guess I kinda got off track seeing as I have maybe, 40 more photos of the Falls alone. Plus video. Actually I’ve only covered the first 1 1/2 days of our 7-day trip. “Oh, please don’t put us through this, Jody” you say?

What, you want to make the trip yourself?

Tags:American Falls, Made in America Store Niagara Falls, Maid of the Mist, Niagara Falls New York, Rainforest Cafe Niagara Falls
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Pocatello, Idaho

June 15, 2016

My car has been getting crappy gas mileage lately, at least five miles to the gallon less in town than it used to. Since I do all town driving, I thought maybe a trip on the freeway would blow some carbon out of the engine…

So one day recently, when we had a few free hours, David suggested we drive to Pocatello, a town 45 miles south of Idaho Falls on I-15. ‘Poky’ is about the same size as Idaho Falls, about 58,000 people. It’s a college town, home of Idaho State University. In fact, I attended ISU my freshman and sophomore years of college back in …. 1971-1973. Lived in an apartment in Pocatello just a few blocks from campus. I haven’t visited Poky in years. Yeah, Let’s go!

Poky here we come!

Our plan is to first visit Ross Park. David heard it has a climbing wall, and it’s large. Let’s get a good walk in at Ross Park before lunch. Yes! And then visit my old stompin’ grounds 40-plus years ago. See if we can find my old apartment …

I remembered walking to Ross Park back in college (since I didn’t own a car) but it doesn’t look the least bit familiar now. We step out of the car into a grassy area and immediately spot two marmots. Marmots. Rock chucks.

Now I know marmots are supposed to be common large rodents, but I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen a marmot (if you discount road kill). So I’m pretty excited. Get a photo! Dang, these critters are fast …

Fleeing marmot

No problem. We scare up two more marmots. “Get a photo David!” (He’s closer) One marmot ducks into a ledge of rocks and thinks he’s outwitted us, but, nope, not my hubby. David follows that marmot right to his hole:

Jeez, can’t a marmot have some privacy?

We must have seen six, maybe eight marmots at Ross Park. So, yeah, if anyone asks, you can tell them, Ross Park has marmots.

Now we’re walking toward the swimming pool/ water park with a huge snaking water slide. Wow. The pool’s stacked with families and people of all ages. “Check out this car.” David says. “Cop magnet.”

Party on! No, wait. Panty on. I say.

Yeah. David says. It’s Panty on, party off or Panty off, party on!

Yes, I see. Thanks for enlightening us, honey. The car is confusing. So, for them I guess it’s ‘party off’…

(We have such intellectual conversations)

We’re alongside a parked train now, on the tracks that border one end of the park.

Huh, this is interesting… “Do not hammer on car” Now, who would do that, exactly how … and, why?

Do not arouse car

‘Do not apply vibrators to any part of car body.’

Uh, let me guess. The car has a G-spot? If you had thought to bring your vibrator with you to Ross Park, just remember to get the car loaded first. If you do everything right, you might see the car explode.

Well then, now look at these adorable little ducklings. Oh how cute! The mom is up on top quacking furiously, while several new-born chicks are making a run for…

See mother duck top left

Oh no!! ROAR! GROWWWWWL” I SCREAM at them and scare them back up to mommy.

Find mommy!

To keep them out of that disgusting pond:

What’s green and looks like anti-freeze?

Okay, time for lunch. Which brings me to my next topic: ‘Space burgers’. Now, I have to tell you, I may know of the only spot on planet Earth, and likely the whole Universe, that sells

Space burgers. They are to die for. Or at least, that’s how I remembered them from my college days. I would set aside a special Saturday to walk the several miles (3?) from my apartment to ‘Tastee Treat’ near Ross Park after cramming for an exam or something,

Space zombie after so much studying

Fortify myself with a couple of incredibly edible Space burgers.

David you must try a Space burger. Yes! There it is, Tastee Treat – Home of the Space Burger. It’s still there! Look! Aren’t you hungry? Pull IN!

We’re inside now. Check out the walls:

Dig that space border

70’s retro!

Check out the menu:

Uh, check out that girl in front of us

She can’t make up her mind. (Simple. Space burgers!) Gives us plenty of time to intellectualize about her outfit. Like, where does her body end and dress begin? How do you plan for such an outfit? Do you buy the dress and tattoo the body to match the dress; do you tattoo and then shop endlessly for the perfect dress, do you do both at once? Is she even wearing a dress??? i.e.:

At this point we’re just irritated after waiting so anxiously in line to order our Space burgers:

The counter at Tastee Treat

“Two Space burgers please.” Wow. Good price @ $2.39 each.

We head outdoors to a picnic table with our Space burgers.

But of course, you have to fly them first.

With ‘Star Wars’ sound effects.

Then, as a precaution, pray over them:

Take a first big bite:

Hmmmm. Not as spicy as I remember.

Gut bomb:

Let’s take it home as leftovers. You know, if we’re desperately hungry later…

Oh how convenient. A massive graveyard right across the street…

Drop dead of cardiac arrest eating your Space burger and they transport you directly across the street to the Mausoleum

Warning to Meredith from the Universe:

Do not eat at Tastee Treat!

Okay, well we drive past the University … and my old favorite breakfast place, Elmer’s

Hey, is that a vulture?

We drive around the various side streets near the University where I thought I might spot my old apartment. Nope. None of it looks the least bit familiar…

Let’s keep driving, maybe we’ll run into old town…

Well, we don’t.

We talked to my brother, Eric, a few days later. “Hey, we made a trip to Pocatello.”

“Oh! Did you visit my Antique Store? It’s in old town, which is really quite charming.”

“No, we didn’t Eric. We drove around, but we didn’t find old town.”

“How could you not? It’s easy – just off of Clark Street exit!”

“Yeah but we took 5th Street exit. We tried to find it, Eric. Drove all the way across Pocatello back to the first exit ‘Pocatello Creek Road’ to get back on the freeway home.

“And you didn’t find old town?”

“Nope.”

Though we did pass another point of interest:

‘PCP’ Mad ink, Sojourn, Twisted’

PCP. Yep. That sure resonates. Remember Angel Dust, a recreational drug of the 70’s? Psychedelic. Far Out! Helps explain why the 60’s and 70’s were so … Groovy. (This hallucinogenic drug laced in the 70’s with tobacco and marijuana has long since been banned and fizzled out.)

Well that about puts a wrap on our trip to Pocatello. Hmmm. Might need a do-over, you know, to visit Old Town, the University, Eric’s Antique Shop …

Check out those marmots again! Plus, my car still gets crappy gas mileage.

Tags:70's, Marmots, PCP's, Pocatello, Ross Park, Space Burgers
Posted in Drugs, Idaho, travel | 4 Comments »

Quake Lake, West Yellowstone, and ‘Snaggletooth’ – Part 3

June 11, 2016

On our way to Virginia City from Idaho Falls this past Memorial Day weekend, we stopped at the Quake Lake Visitors Center. It’s on Highway 287 about 44 miles south of Ennis, in southwestern Montana. The center sits at the site where, near midnight on August 17th, 1959, an earthquake near the Madison River triggered a massive landslide. The slide moved at 100 mph and in less than 1 minute, over 80 million tons of rock crashed into the narrow canyon, blocking the Madison River and forming Earthquake Lake.

This earth-changing event, known as the Hebgen Lake Earthquake, measured 7.5 on the Richter scale. At the time it was the second largest earthquake to occur in the lower 48 states in the 20th century. Twenty-eight people were killed, mostly campers along Hebgen Lake. In the Visitors Center you can read personal accounts of the event from survivors. Children who lost siblings and parents, wives or husbands who lost their spouses and children. A large boulder fell on a tent, killing a whole family, but their car parked next to the tent was untouched. Here is an arial photo of the landslide I found on the internet:

According to this wikipedia link, Hebgen Dam, built in 1917, sustained severe damage but continued to hold. The landslide, which occurred downstream from the dam, blocked almost all the flow of the Madison River. In less than a month, the waters had created what is now known as Quake Lake. Before the new landslide was breached by the quickly rising waters, a spillway was constructed to ensure erosion and minimize potential failure of the natural dam.

Eric led us on a detour off of 287 to visit two other Lakes, Cliff and Wade lakes, and coming back I shot my own distant photo of the landslide in the Madison River Canyon:

Landslide in Madison River Canyon

I captured these photos of Quake Lake:

Quake Lake

Today, Quake Lake is 190 feet deep and 6 miles long.

Continuing on 287 toward West Yellowstone, we’re now driving past Hebgen Lake:

The town of West Yellowstone, at the west entrance to Yellowstone Park, has a Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center. The Center houses a Grizzly Bear Habitat and three wolf habitats. The Grizzlies have been rescued from the wild or otherwise might have been put down due to their encounters with people. Kabuki and Nakina were out in the Habitat for us to see. (They have 8 bears they bring out at different times.) Here’s my photo of Nakina, who was the more active of the two:

Nakina, the Grizzly

Kabul and Nakina, brother and sister, were orphaned as cubs in 1998 after a landowner killed their mother and brother in Delta Junction, Alaska.

An IMAX theater is adjacent to the the Bear and Wolf Discovery Center, and across the street is another museum Eric made sure we didn’t miss, the Yellowstone Historical Center. (Here’s a link with a photo of the Historical Center and to learn more about the town of West Yellowstone, population < 1200 people.)

Inside the museum now, looking at freight wagons. Prior to 1915, almost all goods that reached the West were bounced across a trail or dirt road via freight wagons, piled high with goods such as food, building materials, feed for horses, and an infinite variety of other necessities, to stagecoach companies, camping companies and hotels in Yellowstone.

Freight Wagons

These wagons were used all over the American West.

Then you have the Sinter, an 8-passenger coach early travelers rode through Yellowstone Park:

The Sinter

A typical trip took five days over the grand loop. Transportation through the park in the summer evolved to the coach preferable to modern man, on display out in front of the museum:

Modern coaches through Yellowstone, okay, now we’re talkin’

But the real reason Eric dragged us all across the street to the Historical Museum was to see ‘Snaggletooth’. Standing nearly 8 feet tall and weighing 800-1000 pounds, this giant grizzly ‘reigned as monarch’ in Yellowstone Park. His name came from a tooth which protruded from his lower jaw. Except, his favorite hangout happened to be the West Yellowstone city dump. Two poachers from Idaho shot and killed him there in May, 1970. Here’s a link to the newspaper article about Snaggletooth’s death.

Meet Snaggletooth! Megan posed first:

Then Ben and Rhonda:

Lastly, Eric:

Yeah. Be doubly afraid, Eric.

Whereas Snaggletooth is poised, in one stroke, to rip off the top of your head, are you also aware of that razor-sharp-clawed beast on your chest about to tear your left hand to shreds?

Well, that about wraps up our Memorial Day Weekend trip to Virginia City.

Uh, unless I think of something …

Don’t feed or otherwise, leave garbage accessible to bears!

Tags:Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center, Hebgen Lake, Quake Lake, Snaggletooth, West Yellowstone, Yellowstone Historic Center
Posted in Montana, travel | 1 Comment »

Virginia City, Nevada City and Crystal Park (Part 2)

June 6, 2016

To continue the story of our trip to Virginia City, MT, Eric ran into an old friend, Roger, at the Bale of Hay Saloon Sunday evening. David snapped a photo of them:

Roger and Eric reconnecting at the Bale of Hay Saloon

Eric has known Roger for over 20 years, through his travels and antique dealings. They met up again the next morning on the front porch of the Fairweather Inn.

Roger and Eric chewing the fat on the front porch of Fairweather Inn

Roger and Eric chewing the fat at the Fairweather Inn

Roger is a very interesting fellow, a local. His family’s roots in Virgina City hail back to his great-grandfather who came over the hill into Virginia City back in 1862. Roger’s mother was born in the building that is now the Bale of Hay Saloon.

Roger worked in mining. He had also worked for Charles Bovey restoring the buildings in Virginia City. He now works for the state which bought the town buildings from the Bovey’s.

According to Roger, many music and other old machines were ruined by water damage in a major fire in 1983. However, a preserved fortune teller machine sits in the Gypsy Arcade, one of three in existence and the only one on public display. Roger states that David Copperfield offered to buy this machine for 2 million dollars, but the town turned him down. Here is a photo of it:

Your Fortune Told by the Human Voice!

So of course, you have to step into the the Gypsy Arcade, across the street from Fairweather Inn to check it out! (along with the other machines mentioned in my previous blog).

About a mile west of Virginia City is another ghost town, Nevada City.

Nevada City got its start the same time as Virginia City, when gold was discovered in Alder Gulch in 1863. Numerous other mining camps sprouted out along the gulch, becoming what became known as ‘Fourteen-mile City.’

You can stay at the Nevada City Hotel/cabins:

There’s Eric sleuthing it out

Star Bakery next door dishes up a fabulous breakfast.

Star Bakery

We ate there both mornings. Behind these buildings is an open-air mining town museum. Old miners’ cabins have been moved here and preserved.

A train runs between Virginia City and Nevada City.

Okay, not the original train. Eric found out from Roger that the original Steam Engine is stored in Nevada City. To get it up and running to specs would cost 150,000. Eric spots the building:

We peeked in at the magnificent shiny-as-new train steam engine. And a steam engine tractor and other old equipment. Maybe one day these items will be on display. Anyone want to donate 150K to get the real steam engine train running this year for summer tourists?

Eric’s inner gopher (yes, Eric, you’re the only one with an inner gopher) has us itching to dig for crystals, so on Sunday we pile into two vehicles for the 100-mile drive west to Crystal Park. We stop in Bannack, the first Territorial Capital of Montana, where gold was first discovered (as mentioned in my previous blog.) Bannack is a well-preserved ghost town now. The last people left in the 1970’s. We wandered up the winding staircase of the Meade Hotel:

Bannock’s Meade Hotel and neighboring saloon

And posed out front:

Megan, Jody and David

Ben and Rhonda get thrown in the town jail

Earthen roof and floor, open bars on windows, a ghastly place. Would they throw you in there in the winter?

Pulling into Crystal Park now, about 1:00 pm.

My vision at the get-go of this activity was of our whole group digging together like one big happy gopher family, in a big hole, or maybe two or three adjacent holes, chiseling crystalline treasures out of the dirt, sharing our finds, “Look at this one!” “Fantastic!” One digging, one sifting, passing our crystal finds hand to hand… great family bonding activity. And that’s how I thought we started out. With Eric heading up the trail in the lead, followed by Ben and Rhonda, then Scott, David, Megan and me. Maybe we were a little slow bringing up the rear with a gopher in the lead. I dunno. All I remember is going along happily, meanwhile coming upon a wiry middle-aged man emerging from a deep hole just six feet from the path, “Hey, find anything?” Scott, David, Megan and I pause to inquire…

He reaches into his pocket pulls out his find. “Look at this!”

Wow. That’s really gorgeous! “Can I take a photo of it???” I ask. “Sure….”

A Yuuuuge chunk of amethyst. Holy shit, you’re kidding.

We chat with him a bit. ‘Jack.” He lived 100 miles away to the west. Had risen at 3:30 am to get here and had been digging since 6:30 am. Hadn’t found much in his first two holes but had been lucky in this hole in the past so decided to dig here again. He comes about twice a year – late spring and early fall, and digs from sunrise to sunset. His wife makes and sells jewelry, and she will be thrilled with his find!

“Nice visiting with you, Jack! Thanks for sharing!” Hey, where’s the rest of the group? Eric, Ben and Rhonda have disappeared. No worry we’ll find them, just follow the path up and around and keep an eye out for them. We hike up, and with no sign of them we literally start yelling for Eric. We’ve made it to the top now. Oh well, I’ll capture the view:

Crystal Park Summit view

Megan and I park ourselves on a bench, while David and Scott wander further, calling for the others. Finally David comes back. “Scott’s going to keep looking …” Megan protests. “I don’t want to dig! I want to go back to the car!”

So the three of us wander back down the trail – there are lots of folks digging in holes, but none that we recognize. We make it back to the truck. David says he’ll stay with Megan. “I’ll just dig next to Jack!” I say.

So, I find a hole sandwiched between Jack and another boisterous family, doing exactly what I had pictured for our family. Dad, mom, mom’s sister, with two kids, all digging in a big hole, sharing the duties, and the joy, “Found another one!” “Oh, here, I’ll rinse it off!” “Wow, look at this large smokey crystal!” I started hopping out of my hole to witness their finds. After a half hour, I do find a little quartz crystal, about 3/4 inch long, the width of a colored pencil. Keep digging! Jack is digging like a maniac just below me, conspicuously quiet. I’m thinking that at least I’m digging just a few feet from the hiking path, surely the others will miss me and come looking for me!

Not. I’ll show them! I’ll find a big hunk like Jack’s and then they’ll wish they had found me! I dig by myself for the next 2 HOURS, finding little bits to keep me hopeful, listening to the exuberant yelps of the family in their big hole just feet away. Maybe they hear my groans, because at some point the dad comes over to me and drops a nice quartz crystal in my hand. “You can have this.” “Are you sure? Thanks!!” No problem, they have plenty. I check out their spoils … a large amethyst cluster, and about 20 other clusters and large crystals.

Eventually I hear Scott coming down the trail, whistling. “Scott! Did you find the others?” No. Scott ended up in his own hole digging by himself. Then Eric wanders out. “Is it time to go?” What the heck, Eric? Where were you?

Eric had started out digging with Ben and Rhonda, but then they had wandered off and Eric too had been digging by himself the past two hours. We had all dug alone, and none of us had found much. We were still waiting on Ben and Rhonda, so Eric finds a hole about 10 feet away from where I’m digging. His inner gopher gets to work. “Here’s a nice one!” The first crystal he finds is bigger than any of mine. “Oh, found another one!” A good-sized amethyst cluster. Jeez, Eric! Ben and Rhonda show up – they hadn’t found much but isn’t it time to go? It’s going on 6 PM. Yes. Megan and David show up – time to go!

Meanwhile Eric keeps uncovering crystals. We gotta go Eric! We’re all standing over him watching every scoop of dirt he lifts out of the inner crevices of his hole. Dump, sift … there, another one! You’re kidding! Over the last fifteen minutes Eric found about 10 crystals. Crystal whisperer, where were you?

In the parking lot Eric gives his amethyst crystal to Scott. Gives another crystal to Ben and Rhonda. Later I found out, he gave all his crystals away.

Here’s my spoils after my 2-plus hours of solitary digging, notice the fattest one at the bottom:

Thats the crystal gifted to me from the family digging in the hole next to me. Here you see a closeup:

Scott sent me a photo of his spoils, with the large amethyst cluster Eric dug up as his centerpiece:

Driving back to Virginia City all dirty and exhausted. I snap photos of the back seat:

Rhonda and Ben

Megan, you were so patient waiting for us all those hours, letting us discover our inner gophers.

Thank you, Megan! You’re tired too.

Thank you, David, for driving!

I caught this weird abstract photo of the front driver’s side seat where I was sitting.

Put a wrap on it, Jody. You don’t have to post every photo!

Okay. Crap! And I haven’t told you about Quake Lake and the Grizzly Bear … one more blog???

Oh, and when we got back Eric shared a photo of his crystal collection:

Eric’s crystal collection

That rascal. No wonder he gave all his crystals away.

Next time we go I’m digging with Eric, and whoever else goes along – in one big happy group. I want that gopher family digging bonding experience.

Yeah, with the crystal whisperer.

Tags:Bale of Hay Saloon, Crystal park Montana, Gypsy Arcade, Nevada City, Virginia city montana
Posted in Montana, travel | Leave a Comment »

Virginia City, Territorial Capital of Montana

June 2, 2016

This past Memorial Day weekend we traveled to Virginia City, Montana. It’s 168 miles from Idaho Falls, about a three hour drive. We hit the the road late Saturday morning, May 28, on Highway 20 north toward Island Park. But hey, we have to check out Mesa Falls on the way! So an hour into our drive, at Ashton, we hang a right onto Highway 32. Here we are now at Upper Mesa Falls. Beautiful!

Upper Mesa Falls

Especially with the spring run-off.

We pose for a family photo:

Jody, Eric, Megan, David, Ben, Rhonda

Our son, Ben, and girlfriend Rhonda flew up from Boulder, CO, to be with us (David, Megan and I). Plus my brother Eric, a.k.a. ‘Cuddles Cutes,’ and his friend Scott came along too. (Scott took the family photo…)

We just can’t do a trip without inviting Eric along. He plans the itinerary and knows every lake, fishing hole, historical site, ghost town, mountain peak, hike, hot springs, dirt road, campground, monument, and antique store within every 250-mile radius of Idaho Falls.

Plus his t-shirts are great conversation starters …

Lunch at the Trout Slayer in Island Park.

As in, “Where in the freak did you get that shirt, Eric?” or “So, uh, exactly what’s the scene with that cat on your shirt?”

Grey tabby cat riding a Bengal tiger with x-ray vision handling a two-headed axe leaping away from a raging forest fire under snow covered peaks …. Wuh?

We have arrived in Virginia City. Checked into five rooms at the Fairweather Inn.

David’s truck adds so much charm and authenticity to the photo

That’s us hanging out on the front porch.

Check out this link for some history of Virginia City. Also this wikipedia link on Virginia City.

Perched high in the Rocky Mountains in a bowl along Alder Gulch, Virginia City got its start when gold was discovered in Alder Gulch in 1863.

We drove to the spot where gold was initially discovered – about 1/4 mile from Virginia City Center:

On May 26, 1863, Bill Fairweather and Henry Edgar discovered gold near Alder Creek.

They wanted to keep their discovery secret. However, when they traveled 60 miles southwest to Bannack to purchase supplies, sharp-eyed prospectors spotted their bags of gold. 200 prospectors followed them back to Alder Gulch. News spread quickly and before long the area was flooded with prospectors living in makeshift shacks, tents, caves, or simply sleeping beneath the trees. Within a year, some 10,000 people were living in a number of mining camps lining the gulch.

In 1864 Congress created the new territory of Montana, separating it from Idaho Territory. Bannack, the site of the first gold strike in the area, became the territory’s first capital. However, just a year later, because of its bustling prosperity, the territorial capital was moved to Virginia City. Virginia City remained the capital for about ten years, until April 19, 1875, when it moved to Helena, Montana (Montana’s current capital). Virginia City was home to Montana’s first public school, newspaper, and telegraph.

The Montana gold mining days lasted from 1863 to 1935. The buildings were abandoned and people were dismantling them for firewood. In the 1940s, Charles and Sue Bovey began buying the town, putting much needed maintenance into failing structures. The ghost town of Virginia City began to be restored for tourism in the 1950s.

The population of Virginia City today is about 200 people, by definition, a ghost town. Most of the city is now owned by the state government and is a National Historic Landmark operated as an open-air museum. Of the nearly three hundred structures in town, almost half were built prior to 1900.

We ate dinner across the street from the Fairweather Inn at the Wells Fargo Restaurant.

The food was delicious. Great atmosphere. Eric appreciated the ceiling tin:

Ceiling and crown moulding made of tin

While Scott (in light blue shirt) hammed it up with a complete stranger on the piano:

Scott plays the blues

Virginia City is hoppin’ with afternoon and evening entertainment. Check out the live music at the Bale of Hay Saloon! The Opera House, with the Virginia City Players, offers the longest continuously operating live summer theater company in the western United States. Also, all summer long the Brewery Follies offer 2 hilarious adult live comedy shows a day. (We attended the 8PM show Saturday night.) We also heard during our visit that the Rock musician Dave Walker (a singer and guitarist for a number of bands; notably Savoy Brown and Fleetwood Mac) will be playing at the Wells Fargo Restaurant on Friday nights through this summer.

Here are my photos of town, which consists of about 2 blocks:

We explored the Gypsy Arcade across the street from our motel.

The Gypsy Arcade contains all kinds of crazy old machines – fortune teller machines, music machines, adult flip movie machines…

For a quarter you can find out your fortune by the color of your eyes!

Get a palm reading!

Watch a movie for 5 cents! A double row of flip movie machines were stationed in the center of the arcade:

Adult entertainment at its best!

I put my nickel in to watch an adult flip movie, OMG! The women exposed their petticoats, calves and ANKLES!

Music: The other Non-addictive, Mood-altering Non-substance … (sign hanging by the music machines)

Ask your Doctor if music is right for you.

I inserted a quarter into this music machine:

Took a video of the musical performance from beginning to end. Almost 2 minutes! You can watch the whole thing for free! Are you ready??? Here goes: (you’ve just put your quarter in…)

Waltz, anyone?

And to think you have to pay i-tunes a full 99 cents to download a song!

Well, crap. I still have lots more to tell you about our trip this past weekend. We also visited Bannack, the first territorial capital of Montana. We dug for crystals at Crystal Park. Then there’s Quake Lake … and the Grizzly Bear…

Uh, Part 2? ….

Tags:Brewery Follies, Montana, Montana gold rush, Montana History, Upper Mesa Falls, Virginia City, Virginia City Players, Wells Fargo Restaurant
Posted in Montana, travel | Leave a Comment »

Ketchum and ‘Antique Alley’

May 14, 2016

The first weekend in May we drove over to Ketchum, Idaho – David, Megan and I with my brother Eric. It’s about a 3-hour drive straight west from Idaho Falls. We invite Eric, you know, for his general entertainment value (he can’t help it) and plus he’s an absolute nature maniac – he’ll lead us on a hike or something …

We always make really good time with David at the wheel. Here we are flying past the Big Southern Butte about 45 minutes into the drive:

Big Southern Butte

We stop at the Craters of the Moon National Monument along the way, you know, to hike. To the top of Big Cinder Butte. Admittedly, not the most scenic hike you’ll ever do.

Where’s the spring foliage?

The top of the butte is out of view – goes well beyond what you see from the bottom. I learned this the one time I hiked up. David likes to jog up in a t-shirt in cold weather, exerting himself four times as much as your average sane man. He got Eric to go along this time, while Megan and I went up far enough for me to capture this photo of the Lost River Range in the distance:

Lost River Range as seen from Big Cinder Butte

I zoom in to take a photo of David and Eric coming down

… while listening to every word of their conversation, for real. From way up there I could hear every word that came out of their mouths, like they were talking in an echo chamber – I wanted to alert them lest I become privy to some sordid illicit tale, or something… But no worry.

We’ve arrived! In Ketchum. It’s “shoulder” season. What? Our favorite restaurant, The Pioneer Saloon, is closed for remodeling?

Where’s all the tourists?

The town’s dead. No worry. Eric suggests we visit an antique store, owned by a friend of his, one block off the main drag:

‘Antique Alley, open for business!’

Whoopee! The shelves are crammed with crazy retro collectibles and odd stuff. I face off eye-to-eye with a 15-inch sized Homer Simpson, set on a shelf, his chubby legs dangling over the edge. I could buy it for our son, Aaron! No. (You immediately start thinking of every person you could buy something for in a place like this.) Oh! I’ll buy this wooden duck pull toy (!!) – for our new grandson, Franklin! (Aaron’s son). The precious wooden pull toy quacks and waddles when you pull it!

Too adorable!

I did buy it. (Do today’s toddlers get off their i-pads long enough to play with such novel and precious toys? No?? ) It’s made in Germany.

I could spend hours in this shop!

“Megan and I will take a walk around town while you shop,” David says.

“That’s fine.” (Doesn’t deter Eric and me one bit.) I spot this retro 60’s record player.

Hey, I had one just like this! Back in grade school! Like, 1964 or something? (Ouch) “Eric! Let’s plug it in and see if it works!” Eric fiddles with it and gets it going. It works!

I’ll buy it!

Eric decides to be helpful by taking the record player off the shelf and over to the counter by the register. He has to move stuff out of the way to close the lid on the player.

“Oops! Dammit! I knocked over Mother Mary and broke her!”

“What?”

“This Mother Mary candelabra – it’s top heavy and it fell off the shelf, hit the floor, and broke! – oh, jeepers – and it’s $39.00!”

Eric’s friend, the shop owner, of course, is not around. Her substitute sales clerk is now alternating her stare, first at us and then down at the busted Mother Mary sitting on the counter. “This is the first time I’ve run this shop, Eric, and I don’t know what to do about this Mother Mary candelabra you broke.”

Jeez, (I’m thinking…) Eric, if you had to break something, did it have to be Mother Mary? … “I’ll just pay for it – no big deal,” I say. “Hey Eric, come through this door into this other room and take a look at this thing hanging in here.” We check it out…

Meanwhile, I get a text from David:

Got to pee. Time to go.

To which I reply:

We’re buying a cow. We need you. Come in.

I wait for David to enter the store. Which, he doesn’t.

I go out to the curb. There he is in the truck, hands on the wheel, with the engine running. Megan is in the back, all strapped in and ready to go.

“Honey, please read my last text message!”

He lifts his phone and looks at the message.

“What?”

“Yes, I am buying a cow and I need your help with it …”

More on that later…. suffice it to say I bought several things and just had the rattled clerk add the 39 bucks to my tab for the busted Mother Mary candelabra. We gathered her up, pieces and all, placed her inside a plastic grocery bag, tied it all up and shoved her into the back of David’s truck. ‘We’ll deal with her when we get home.’

Eric did lead us on a hike the next day. Up Corral Creek. I’ve no idea where the trail head is. Not much of a drive from Ketchum. We had not gone far when Eric discovered some elk antlers. One antler. And of course, where there is one antler, there is another antler, so he he was scouting around for the other antler. And had us scouting around the area too. It was literally like finding a needle in a haystack, but try to convince Eric of this. I finally found what I thought was a perfectly great facsimile to the other antler. Here Eric, try them on!!

Good enough Eric, now give it a rest!

Although, admittedly, the cat on Eric’s shirt appears unimpressed with Eric’s set of antlers.

Hiking back now. I snapped a photo of David and Megan ahead of me,

with Pioneer Mountain peaks as a backdrop.

Then we took a drive toward the snow peaked Boulder Mountains sprawled out in front of us:

Boulder Mountains

Eric then convinces us to go morel mushroom hunting – he knows of a spot near Bellevue, along the the Big Wood River. We drive several miles, hang a right, another right, then a left, circle through a residential area … “There it is!” says Eric, pointing to the parking area by the trail head. He leads us on our morel mushroom hunt – “I’ll look on this side, you branch out to the left …”

Eric, in a state of ecstasy, hunting for morels

Megan and David head back to the truck. None of us find morels. Not a one. Eric and I hear this ‘peck-peck-pecking.’ and spot a gargantuan red-headed woodpecker, if, indeed, it is a woodpecker, since it’s the size of a crow. We watch it for a couple of minutes and I zoom in and capture a photo:

Pileated woodpecker

Sure enough, it is called a Pileated woodpecker – a large woodpecker native to North America – the largest woodpecker in the US. It normally inhabits deciduous forests in eastern North America, the Great Lakes, and the boreal forests of Canada. Check out this Wiki-link! A map shows the areas of North America where these birds inhabit – and this part of Idaho is barely included!

I took a couple photos of the river:

the Big Wood River

Well, we’re back on the highway headed for home now – with views of the magnificent Lemhi Mountain Range carved against the crystal blue sky.

Saddle Mountain is the far left peak:

Home now. Time to unpack the car, unload the treasures I purchased at Antique Alley! The 60’s record player. The wooden, quacking, waddling duck. The cow. The cow? You know … the cow, the one where David had to turn off his truck, come back into the shop, and help me with? A flying cow, to be exact, tethered to the ceiling in Antique Alley. I wanted to buy it along with all the other stuff, but we couldn’t reach the hook to get it down. David was the only person around tall enough, standing on a stool, to untether the cow from the ceiling so I could buy it.

Hey, it goes great in our downstairs bathroom.

Yes, that’s a flying cow

You can pull on it when you’re sitting on the throne. Entertainment while you pee. Here, I took a video:

A suitable companion to another precious member of our family, a large gull with a 40-inch wing span, that flies over the washer and dryer in our back entry:

As for the bulging plastic tied up grocery bag that’s been sitting by the the back door since we got home …

Today I gingerly carried the bag into the kitchen, untied it, lifted out the busted Mother Mary and her missing pieces for close examination. Nope. There’s no fixing her. Here, I took a photo:

Strange. Those lights are eerie. It’s almost as if she’s still holding two lit candles.

What to do with her? I can’t just throw her in the trash bin. I just can’t do that to Mother Mary. Shove her upright in the garden deep enough so she looks whole? What’s she even doing at our house? Eric’s the one who knocked her off in the first place and busted her. He even treated our whole family to breakfast to compensate us for buying her.

Think I’ll just wrap her up and gift her back to Eric for his birthday.

Tags:Antique Alley, corral creek hike, East fork of Wood River, German pull toys, ID, Ketchum, Pileated woodpecker, Shoulder season in Ketchum, wooden flying cow, wooden flying sea gull
Posted in Idaho, travel | 3 Comments »

The Decompression of a Boomer