Saturday 555 Miles Lamoile Canyon, NV
Sunday 1053 Miles Hwy 12, ID (Mile Marker 142 Hotsprings)
Monday 1300 Miles Kalispell, Montana (Keith's House)
Tuesday 1452 Miles Kalispell, Montana (Keith's House)
Wednesday 1880 Miles Livingston (Beth and Walts Property)
Thursday 1950 Miles Ribbon Lake, Yellowstone WY
Friday 2116 Miles Grand Tetons
Sat/Sun 3231 Miles Drove all Night Home
"Glaciers in Nevada!????"
After packing all evening the night before, we headed out on the road at about 9:30AM. DJ and I love road trips so the long drive was quite fun. We were in Reno before we knew it. At around 7 or so we pulled into Lamiolle Canyon in nevada. As we approached it looked any other steep walled canyon in the desert; however as we entered the canyon it turned into a lush glacier carved valley filled with pines and aspens. After the RV in the campsite next to us turned off his 500W patio flood light, we got a beautiful view of the stars. (We were having camera problems!)
"Which way to the Springs?"
We were planning to go to Jerry Johnson springs on Highway 12 in Idaho; however we learned of a better springs from some guy getting gas next to us in the evening. "Just park at the turnout next to mile marker 142, then follow the creek about 1 mile to the warmest, cleanest, springs in Idaho......sure you can find it in the dark" the guy said. So We did. Unfortunately it was quite crowded, we had to fumble around in the dark to find a flat spot to pitch our tent as most of the good sites were taken. Once got settled on a little island in the middle of the creek, it was quite cozy. We got up in the morning and for the most part had the springs to ourselves. It was hot and clean and best of all had about a 8' waterfall comming from a pipe in the top pool that pounded away any tension that may have been left in our shoulders from the civilized world. (Camera still troubled)
We drove to Bigfork and went to see the place Mom used to live and the river I spent my childhood summers playing in. I had told DJ about one of my other favorite pastimes and she was dying to try.....floating the swan river. We didn't have innertubes so we tried using our air mattress......it worked great,because the air matress floated so high in the water, we could even float over the shallow sections that would normally make you walk. It brought back many memories for me and DJ absolutely loved relaxing on the senic river with beautiful Swan mountain range on one side and fledgling Ospreys nesting in the pines on the other. We ended up at Keiths in the evening and had a great visit. (Unfortunatley, our camera was still acting up)
Off to Glacier to see one of the most beautiful places in the country. But guess what, you cant see anything when the whole park is submurged in clouds! We took a hike to Avalanche lake since the vast overlooks were completely white and wet. This picture is the river on the way up (taken a couple of years ago...our camera was still not working!) Afterwords,we headed into Kalispell to catch some live blues music in the park with Keith, Tatsy, Paulette, Gary, and Emma.
We couldn't leave flathead valley without seing Glacier in it's full splendor. We were a bit nervous on our way as Hungry Horse was COMPLETELY fogged in. The view opened up as we entered Glacier and we got to see all the grand vistas I remembered (although they were a little hazy.) We then headed out the east side of Glacier down to Livinston where DJ's friends Beth and Walt Weissman live for the summers. They bought 100 Acres of beatuiful forest surrounded on 3 sides by National wilderness and forrest. The are currently living in one of the existing log cabins while they plan their dramatic new house. We had some delicious Salmon that Walt BBQed with smoky wood chips for a favor that mixed incredibly with Huckleberry sauce.
We began the Day by bathing in the "Boiling River" hotsprings. 120 degree water cascades into the freezing yellowstone river setting up a temperature gradient so you can select your desired temperature. It's funny how burning hot and icy cold water feel almost identical! We saw lots of Bison on our way to the sulphur pits. Our favorites geothermal sites were "Dragons Mouth" where loud gasps of steam exit from a cave, and a unnamed bubbling mud pit off the side of the road where 3 foot hemispheres of thick mud would emerge from a muddy pond and burst with an undescribable sound. We then loaded up our backpacks and headed out to make camp at Ribbon Lake.
Man did we saw a lot of things this day. We woke up at our tranquil lake and after our Coffe headed back to what turned out twice as many tourists as the day before. We braved them all and saw so many thermal features and beautiful scenery that we were continuously amazed. We caught an eruption of Old Faithful then watched about 10 guysers and thermal pits on our walk to Morning Glory pool which was beautiful as well. Unfortunatly our pictures of the Old Faithful Inn didn't come out, it is the largest log building in the world and absolutely amazing primitive engineering feat.
A little behind schedule, we decided to take Saturday to tour the Tetons instead of comming straight home. We took a stroll and drove through the park to enjoy the scenery. Fueled by the excitement of a great Wyoming firework purchase we headed home around 2PM. We traded off driving on the way home and decided not to stop for the night. We made it home around 4AM and stumbled to bed smiling with the memories of our awesome week.
