Riding the Centennial Trail

We said our goodbyes to Ray and Judy as they headed north and we continued on westward to Coeur d’Alene for the weekend.  The 300 mile long Centennial Trail runs through Coeur d’Alene and on westward to the coast.  But near here it runs past the lake, the river and several other smaller lakes that makes for a scenic bike ride.

We logged almost 32 miles on this trail but it was all flat, no hills, no curves, no obstacles to go around, just straight and flat.  Nice if on a regular bike but not a very interesting ride on the e-bikes.

We did ride our bikes to the downtown area and that made for an interesting ride as we had to contend with traffic on the roads and losing the trail so that we got lost.  Thank goodness for Google Maps.

Shoshone & Coeur d’Alene

Taking a break from bike rides, Ray, Judy, John and I played golf on a mountainside golf course called Shoshone. I played horribly but John had a good day. 

The next day we drove up to Burke, an old gold mining town that was built in Burke Canyon.  The Frisco Stamp Mill was blown apart by striking working in 1890’s.  All we saw were its footings.  The town of Burke was established in a canyon so narrow that rails, roads and river shared the same thoroughfare.  In fact, the Tiger Hotel had the river and the railroad running through the middle of it.  And that’s how it was destroyed, by catching on fire due to sparks from the steam engine. Not much left to see today.

John and I rode our bikes from Kellogg to Wallace on the Trail of the Coeur d’Alene, a rails to trails that connects to the Hiawatha on the east and goes all the way to Coeur d’Alene on the west.  In between is Wallace, an historic Wild West and mining community with an interstate highway running over the top of its downtown area.  We stopped in the Northern Pacific Railroad Depot, walked the town and then rode back to Kellogg, about 30 miles total.  Most of the historic buildings and museums were closed or required a reservation so we didn’t see much.

The Route of the Hiawatha

In 1907, after years of exploration of the Bitterroot Mountains, surveying and planning, the Milwaukee Railroad started constructions of the line through the mountains to complete a route from Chicago to Seattle.  By 1911 freight and passenger trains were running through using electricity to power the locomotives.  Despite financial problems during many years the train kept running until 1980 when the last freight train came through the tunnels.

It wasn’t until May of 1998 that most of the trail was opened to hikers and bikers and it was in 2001 that the 1.7 mile long St. Paul tunnel was opened.  Today we went through that long, dark, wet tunnel plus 8 more tunnels and over 7 high trestles in our 15 mile ride down the trail.

We left Henry’s Lake on Sunday and drove 6 hours through Montana to Kellogg Idaho where we met up with our friends Ray and Judy so that we could ride the Hiawatha with them - our third time and their first.  The ride through that tunnel  was very daunting for Ray and Judy as they didn’t really know what to expect but John and I actually enjoyed it and had fun teasing them afterwards. The only lights in the tunnel came from our head lamps and bike lights, water is constantly running down the tunnel walls and collecting in ditches on either side of the bike path and it was COLD, 45 degrees all the way!

It was a beautiful day and the Bitterroots were glorious.  We’ve driven through forested mountains many times, but this bike ride took us up and into the forests, with the steep mountain sides falling below us and rock faces hugging the edges of the trail.  We could smell the pines and feel the still and quiet of the trees with gurgling mountain streams fall below the trestles.  It is a magical ride.  

Ray and Judy rode the bus back up to the parking lot below the St. Paul tunnel while John and I used the e-bikes to ride back up the 1.6% grade, 15 miles.  We all had to ride through the long tunnel a second time.  Fun, fun day!

Bubbles, Boils, Steams and Falls

We have extended out stay on Henry’s Lake through the weekend and since we are so close to the national park I decided we should spend at least one day exploring Yellowstone. We only covered about 40 miles inside the park from the West Entrance, thru Madison, Norris and to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.  We were able to view the falls but the road north was closed for the summer.

Along the way we stopped to view the Gibbon River and its falls, the Geyser Basin including the Blood Geyser although we did not see it erupt, and the Artists Paintpots.  We chose not to see Old Faithful to avoid the crowds plus we have seen it before, as we have seen all the others sites.

We spent a long time around the Lower and Upper Falls of the Grand Canyon.  We walked the trails along the river to get the best views of the falls from both sides of the canyon.

We also stopped in Canyon Village to get a souvenir hat and pin and trying to remember what it was like the last time we visited but all had changed.  The crowds were not nearly as bad as we thought they might be since there are many closed campgrounds and visitor centers, no tour buses and restricted areas.  The wild animals are still on their summer ranges far from the center of the park so we only slowed a couple of times to see a lone buffalo or a small herd of female elk.

On the way back I did make John stop to view the Norris Geyser Basin which is mostly boiling water and steam vents.  I still enjoy walking on the board walks and seeing the splashing of mini geysers, the blue waters and mineral covered lands along the Porcelain Basin Trail.

Earthquake Lake

This morning was a major cleaning day for me while John spent time making arrangements to get our Oasis pump replaced so we can again have hot water on demand.

This afternoon we took a driving tour to check out RV parks for this weekend and ended up driving through the Earthquake Lake Geologic Area.

On this day in 1959 a 7.5 earthquake, with its epicenter in Hebgen Lake, set off a massive landslide that sent 80 million tons of rock into the Madison River closing off the canyon and forming Earthquake Lake.  People camping in the canyon were awaken in the middle of the night by the explosive noise and high winds caused by the slide.  Massive boulder rained down and the road was broken. Over 300 people we caught in the mayhem, 28 lives were lost. Up stream from the slide, Hebgen Lake formed  massive waves that swept over the dam and up onto the shore line taking out lodges and cabins. One side of the lake sank 19 feet. Today you can see cabins on dry land that floated away in the floods and the scar from the landslide is most evident.  Engineers created a spillway to ease the pressure on the slide so that Earthquake Lake would not break through the rocks.

Henry’s Lake

Henry’s Lake State Park is about 15 miles west of the town of West Yellowstone.  John used up some of his luck to get us a site here for a whole week.  

We arrived on Thursday afternoon in the midst of a wind storm.  The lake is surrounded on three sides by mountains which produce unexpected and unexplainable winds. This day the winds were fast and fierce.  It felt like we were going to be blown over on our side!  

Supposedly a bevy (aka flock) of trumpeter swan spend their summer on the lake but we have not seen any yet.  It’s also supposed to be a good fishing lake but John hasn’t found the energy to get his fishing gear and kayak out of storage.  So I’ve had us walking around the campground and the neighborhood.

Yesterday was “Kill John Day”!  I insisted that we take a hike on the Targhee Creek Trail.  It was supposed to be 3 miles out and back, 6 total. I packed a lunch and we headed out at 11 am, temperature 85.  It really was a beautiful hike along alpine meadows, through forest and along the creek.  We had towering mountain sides on one side and mountain vistas on the other.   We had lunch at the 3 mike mark and I felt good enough to try to go on for another mile.  John was resistant but we started anyway.  Big mistake!!

We turned around about 1/2 mile past our lunch spot and had to endure the sun beating down on us almost the whole way back down.  Both of us were struggling to get back to the car and into A/C!  With no water left in the packs, we were glad to be finished with the hike.

Moonshine Arch

Thinking we would like one more day at River Run we asked if we could extend our stay on our site one more day.  We were told ‘no’ as the people coming in had locked the site.  We could move to another site.  It made no sense to us as there were at least 50 empty sites they could put the other people on.  We left and headed west.

First stop was Vernal Utah in the heart of dinosaur country and myriad rock formations.  Temperature 100!!  That was on Monday.  Today was almost as bad and we chose to explore a couple of places in the heat of the day.  Not real smart.

Just a few miles north of town and a few miles off the beaten path is the  Moonshine Arch.  We had to walk up a hill about .8 miles but it was worth the effort. The arch is about 85 feet long and 40 feet above our heads.

Back into town and out again on the other side we headed up Dry Fork Canyon past a memorial “Remember the Maine”, a ship that was blown up in Havana Harbor in 1898.  Another flag flies from atop a tall canyon wall opposite the memorial.  This is a very patriotic area!

In Dry Fork Canyon are Native American Petroglyphs from the Fremont culture which were created over 1,000 years ago.  The trail up was a true rock climb with trail markings of ribbon in bushes and twine strung between wooden dowel rods. But we were very close to the canyon walls where the petroglyphs were located.  

We thought about eating dinner out but every restaurant that John called did not require their servers to wear masks and we were not comfortable going to any of them.  On top of that, John had been in town and very few places or people wore masks. We decided to leave a day early and go somewhere where people understand the meaning of the word pandemic. 

Back at River Run

As usual for CO this time of year all the campgrounds are reserved for the weekends.  We have to squeeze into a commercial park or stay in the City Market parking lot.  So we are in the River Run RV Resort.  This place is so new it’s like a parking lot!  But we have full service, TV and WiFi! And we washed the RV although we were told half way through the process that it was not allowed!

Our dilemma now is where do we go next.  We have a site in Dillon but not until a week from now, we can cancel that site and go back to Tetons, or try to find a walk-in site near here or near Steamboat.  Decisions, decisions!

In the mean time we tried to ride the Granby-Fraser Trail but most of it is closed or single track gravel, or wide track gravel.  We rode 10 miles yesterday and said that was enough!  We also drove up to Winter Park Ski Resort and tried to walk down memory lane but things had changed so much we couldn’t find anything as we remembered.  Of course there is no snow and the memories are from 20-30 years ago! 

Granby Lake - Arapaho Bay

We stayed in Kremmling two nites to recover from the ranch, do laundry and try to get back into our routine. Monday found us traveling back to Granby and down to the eastern end of Granby Lake on Arapaho Bay where we have reserved a site for four days.

It’s a nice campground right on the lake with a mountain backdrop. It feels like Rocky Mountain but that park is 6 miles north of us.  These are the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area and the Arapaho National Recreation Area.  

One day we hiked the shoreline of Granby Lake a short distance.  The next day  we walked 4.5 miles around Monarch Lake with so many people it felt like a day at the fair but everyone was wearing a mask!

Today we hiked 2 miles up to Strawberry Lake.  This was a rather strenuous hike up but the forest and lake are very pretty.  John was lamenting that he should have brought his fishing rod until we read the signage that the lake has no game fish in it.  The lake and surrounding meadow is part of a rare and fragile ecosystem of extraordinary value. The mat of floating grass and peat, called a fen, is very delicate but an important part of the mountain area that took thousands of years to form but could be ruined in moments by foot traffic.

Last Day

The kids were very good about rounding up all their stuff and packing up to go home but there was still plenty to do today.

Luca went on his last horse ride and Vincent and Liam had a short ride to Parshall and a root beer float at PI Restaurant and Saloon.  They also got to play foosball while there and on the ride back they attempted to run the obstacle course except that Steamboat knew she was near home and wouldn’t obey Liam.

After loading up the Jeep and RV we drove to Kremmling where we had lunch before going whitewater rafting on the Colorado River.  This was a first for the boys and I think they enjoyed it.  A couple of splash wars and a 7 foot jump off a cliff into the freezing water were the highlights but we had a few rapids and a bump on a submerged rock.

According to Vincent and Luca the best part of the day was playing with their dog Scout and then hugging mom and dad. Erin and Bryan headed back home with all three boys.  They will meet RJ in Salina to hand over Liam to his dad.

John and I are pooped but satisfied that this was a truly wonderful adventure with our grandsons and one all of us will always remember.

P.S. It was 5 days later that we finally remembered that both of us went off and left our cowboy hats hanging on the wall of our room.

Horse Games and Stagecoach Inn

We had a bit of a dilemma this morning.  Do we go on a ride or stay around to watch Liam and Vincent play games on their horses.  The compromise was John watched the boys while Luca and I went on the ride.

I guess John was the only parent to watch but that was okay as his hips couldn’t have survived another ride in the saddle.  Luca and I went on the 3 hour long ride over a mountain ridge and down into the canyon where Sulfur Hot Springs is located.  My butt was sore, my feet cramping,  I had to use the bathroom and I was hungry by the time we arrived at the restaurant.

We had lunch of wild boar at the Stagecoach Inn that was built in the late 1800’s. Since the railroad didn’t arrive until the early 1900’s it was an overnight inn and restaurant for stagecoach and farmers.  It changed hands several times before Teddy Roosevelt slept here while mapping Rocky Mountain Nat. Park and Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday slept here.  Other owners created a motor court with covered car parking for the Model T’s then it was made into a hotel.  A fire took out part of the second floor in the 60’s.  Finally about 4 years ago the current owners fixed it up as a bed and breakfast, restaurant and bar.  It has become a growing and welcomed fixture in Sulfur Hot Springs.

The Ranch trailered the horses back and gave us a nice ride home.

Around the campfire this evening the Range Riders were give awards and a Golden Horseshoe as a momentous of this week.  Liam was awarded the “True Grit Cowboy” and Vincent was awarded “King Loper”!

Sand Dunes, Loping, and Pow Wow

Today started with a fun breakfast of blueberry pancakes cooked ny the owner, Cheri as the chef had the morning off.  To make it fun Cherie tossed the pancake in the air and you had to catch it in your plate!  I was the first in line and made an awesome catch, but in celebration the pancake slid off onto the floor! There was no celebration for the second toss.  The boys did well and then it was Grandpa’s turn.  Let’s just say he fed the pigs 2 pancakes!

Liam and Vincent spent most of the day on their horses.  Near here are some sand dunes so the Range Rides rode to the dunes, passing by a bear farm and an alpaca farm.  The dunes had areas they used as slides so the jeans were pretty worn when they got back.  While they were gone Luca did a moderate ride, getting to lope several times.  Speaking of loping, John and I were able to take a loping lesson and can ride a lope fairly well now.  Well enough to go on a moderate ride if we so desire.

While the boys played cards with their friends, I participated in a water color class.

After supper all the kids and teens went on a hayride ending at a campfire.  They had a hunt for a deer antler which allows the finder to ride bareback on his horse.  Liam was the winner!  Following the pow wow around their campfire the kids came back and joined their folks at our fire, listening and  singing with Randal, a local country musician.

It was a very late nite for all of us!

PS:  After visiting with the ranch owners, Cheri and Jerry, we discovered that the boys were unknowingly feeding us a fib! One of the wranglers leading their ride told them while passing a field of cattle it was a bear farm. HA HA!!!

Breakfast Ride and Hatchet Throws

I had to wake the boys up this morning at 7am!  Then we grabbed a quick snack of muffins, yogurt or nut bread before lining up for the big Breakfast Ride!  Everyone at the ranch rode together in their family groups after getting photos taken on our horses.  We had about a 90 minute ride up hills, by the river, through the woods and across the Colorado River to a beautiful picnic area where the chef and his crew had prepared a hug breakfast over open fires.  We ate bacon, sausage, potatoes, scrambled eggs, pancakes and sourdough biscuits!  Then we rode back separately.  Liam and Vincent went with the Range Riders, Luca did a moderate ride where they lopped several times and I did a scenic ride.  John was able to return by car.

The rest of the day was pretty relaxed until after supper when we all got to throw hatchets at a target and shoot a bow and arrows.  Liam and Luca did really well at archery while Vincent excelled with the hatchets.  John and I just looked silly out there but there was lots of laughter and comradery.

Trail Rides

The day started out cloudy, then cleared up then it rained then cleared again then cooled down.  Typical mountain weather, I think.

While Liam and Vincent joined the Range Riders for their morning activities, John, Luca, and I took a scenic, walking trail ride.  Luca and I did well, improving our riding skills but John struggled with groin and hip pain and sore muscles to a point whereby he almost wanted to get off and walk back.  Liam and I are really learning how to stop our horses from eating grass along the trail.  

In the afternoon Luca took a lopping class and really enjoyed that.  He said it was much easier than trotting.  John gathered up his fly fishing gear to fish in the CO River but was interrupted by a brief thunderstorm.  That same storm wet me down at the end of a fun scenic trail ride.  Liam and Vincent also tried lopping and also got to try the archery range.  All three boys have made friends and enjoy playing games, cards and other activities with them. 

First Full Day of Activities

Up and attem early. Liam and Vincent couldn’t wait to put on their boots and walk around at 6 am!! Following breakfast Liam and Vincent joined the kids program where they feed the goats, donkeys and sheep, play games, ride their horses, do crafts etc, in the mornings and much the same in the afternoons but adding swimming.

John, Luca and I did a lot of standing around waiting for our turn at getting on and riding our horses. While waiting we learned about these horses training and how we will work with them to go forward, backward and turning.  Then we got on the horse, practiced what we learned and went on a very short trail ride.  I didn’t fall off!!

After lunch the three of us took the Horsemanship class led by the owners Cheri and Jerry.  We spent 2 hours in the hot sun learning why horses do what they do and how to make them do what you ask them to do and how to ask them the right way.  It seems I give Cisco some very confusing signals!  The last thing we learned was trotting.  This is hard!  But fun!  They have never had a rider laugh as much as me when trying to trot!  As we dismounted and walked away from the corral John was teased about having the ‘cowboy’ walk.  He could not stand up straight, poor guy!

Cocktails, dinner and a wagon ride rounded off the day.  John and I were exhausted but it was a struggle to get the boys to go to bed!  They are all making new friends!

Bar Lazy J Ranch

Erin, Bryan, Luca, Vincent, and Liam arrived at the River Run RV Resort in Granby just in time for lunch.  By 2 we had loaded all the luggage into the Jeep, all the boys had claimed their spot in the RV with John, and we said goodbye to Erin and Bryan who were going to enjoy a CO vacation.

It was just a 30 minute drive to the Bar Lazy J Ranch so we arrived early but they were ready for us.  I drove in while John waited for parking instructions for the RV and then they brought them all to our cabin.  We have the Sweetbriar cabin next to the petting animals and by the badminton court.

The boys were so excited that they had their own room and own beds! Once we got a few things unpacked we located Sam’s Shed where we found our loaner cowboy boots. Then we stopped by the dining room and found our table and the BIG basket of homemade cookies!  It didn’t take long for other kids to show up and start a badminton game.

Before dinner we all watched they herd all the horses into the corral from the pasture & down the road. This is done every morning & evening.

Dinner at 6, and orientation to the ranch and the upcoming week and then the one thing we all were waiting for (at least the boys and I were eager for, maybe not John so much!)- meeting our horses!!

Luca got Zeus, Vincent met Rawhide, Liam’s on Steamboat, John met Tate, short for Tater Tot, and I’m riding Cisco. 

Preparing For the Ranch

As we left Grand Teton Nat. Park, clouds obscured the mountain tops as if to say we are sorry to see you leave.  Wednesday was a long day of driving south on some very narrow roads with a wicked cross wind.  By the time we reached Rawlins, WY for the night John was worn out.  We continued on to Granby, CO again traveling on narrow roads with winds howling across us.  Luckily it was a shorter travel day.

We have to shop for groceries, pack up clothes and prepare to abandon the RV for a week while we are riding horses at a dude ranch with our three grandsons.  The Bar Lazy J Ranch is just a short drive from Granby.  Our daughter and son-in-law are taking vacation time to bring the boys to us, then they will enjoy Colorado by themselves while we try to keep up with these youngsters.  YeeHaw!!!

Granite Canyon Hike

We spent the morning recovering from all our hiking and biking ie we slept in.  But as the afternoon approached I was getting restless so I talked John into walking a short part of the Granite Canyon Trail which is in the park but is not a really popular spot.

The hike was very easy as it took us across a field of wildflowers and then across a creek and into the forest.  We turned around after about a mile and a half so that we got home in time to shower and head back into Jackson for a delicious dinner at Glorietta Tratoria.

Regretfully we are pulling out in the morning and heading down to Colorado. We truly enjoy the Tetons but we have decided that July is not the month to come here.  From past experience we know that mid to late August is a much better time to enjoy these majestic mountains without so many crowds.

Teton Pass

As if hiking up 1,400 feet isn’t enough torture for us old folks, we turned right around the next day and rode our bikes up to the Teton Pass at 8,400 feet.  

We started at a trailhead on the Snake River and rode up to Wilson then crossed Hwy 22 and rode the trail up to the pass.  We never would have made it with out the help of our E-bikes.  We started out with the lowest assist and got slower and slower. I was the first to kick the assist up a notch and we stayed there the rest of the the way to the top.  I kept telling myself that if I could make it up the Going To The Sun road I could do this one.  It  was an eight mile slog up and a burn-up-the-brakes cruise down, but we made it!

We felt so good about that accomplishment that we chose to ride the trail up to Jackson Hole Ski resort, an additional 11 miles.  All that work took care of the sore muscles and wore us out!