Life at Red Rock

How can it be that our month-long stay in Island Park is coming to an end in just a couple of days? Before we leave this beautiful part of the country, here's a quick look back at the place we've called home for the last month.

Here's a look at Red Rock from the road. How's that for a setting, huh? The place was looking pretty quiet when this picture was taken a couple of weeks ago.

Bullwinkle has enjoyed his comfortable spot with a view. Us, too.

We've spent plenty of time relaxing around here. One late afternoon the weather was actually pleasant enough for a campfire, which friends and neighbors Gordon and Juanita treated us to. It's a good thing we captured this rare event, as that was the only night we were able to enjoy a campfire! Every other night it's been too cold, wet or windy, or a combination of all three!

No campfire on this day early in our stay when it - look closely, now - SNOWED!

We made the best of the cold, damp weather and enjoyed time inside. Here are Paul and Gordon opening a very special package we all received from our friends and RVing buddies Sue and Doug in Canada.

The special package contained Tim Horton's coffee and mugs, a fluffy moose for us and a cute little Canadian bear for Gordon and Juanita. Thanks, guys! We wish you were here!

We made the most of the clear days we had, and there were several. Here's a view of Henry's Lake from the top of a hill the four of climbed in Rocky in search of a geocache.

While I was snapping that picture of the lake, the trusty cachers made the find!

Want to guess what those two are doing? They're displaying their mosquito-bitten arms! They fell prey to the blood suckers as they searched for a cache near the lake. Juanita and I were glad we took the long way and avoided the swarm. In the end, the cache was found and the boys only needed minor transfusions. (Just kidding!)

It was not all play at Red Rock. Neighbor Mike worked hard to keep his rig and truck clean.

Of course, just as Mike would get everything cleaned up, another round of ATVers would kick up some dust around the place! That's our very crowded park in the background.

A highlight of our month in Red Rock was a "neighborhood" gathering of friends and followers of Gordon and Juanita. We were blessed with gorgeous weather the day of the party, so we circled the chairs and fired up the grills.

Yes, I said grills - plural! Paul was in charge of chicken.

Rob filled his grill with bison burgers.

And, Gordon's Weber was loaded with brats from Restvedts' in Ennis.

Of course, everyone else brought an assortment of tasty side dishes. As you can see by the smiles on these faces, a good time was had by all. Nobody went away hungry!

Out here in the wilderness, we've enjoyed a taste of wildlife. We've enjoyed watching the antics of a couple of resident hawks, Henry and Henrietta. I think this is Henry. Of course, it could be Henrietta. We're not birders, so we wouldn't know.

Speaking of antics, the ground squirrels also provide a lot of entertainment around the park. These three popped out of a hole in the ground in Mike and Leslie's yard. I think they were on the look out for Henry!

This little wild thing was our neighbor for a few days. Marlin is just a puppy, but he won't get much bigger than this. He was a cutie!

As we get ready to make our way from Red Rock, the wildflowers are in bloom. That's a sure sign that Summer is here. No snow for at least a few weeks! (It's a very short season up here.) From here, we have a date with some family members in South Dakota. So, it's just about time for us to roll.

Thanks to our friends and neighbors for making our stay an enjoyable one. We hope Gordon and Juanita enjoy the rest of their season here and wish everyone safe and happy travels from this beautiful corner of the world.

Mesa Falls

Our plans for this gorgeous day were to stock up at the "neighborhood" Walmart, which is a mere 67 miles away in Rexburg. When Gordon and Juanita asked us if we wanted to join them for a trip to Mesa Falls, we decided that was the diversion we needed to break up our shopping trip. We headed south to the Mesa Falls Scenic Byway, a 27-mile loop off of Highway 20. With the Grand Tetons as a backdrop, it was a beautiful drive along Henry's Fork of the Salmon River. (Quick Quiz: Where does this river get its start? We were just there!)

The highlight of the trip was, of course, the falls. The Upper and Lower Mesa Falls are the only major falls in Idaho not used for irrigation or hydroelectric power, so visitors can view them in their natural, undisturbed beauty. Our short trek into the forest to see the Upper Falls was well worth the trip. And, today's abundant sunshine offered us another treat.

Today was a rainbow day at the falls. Now, that's stunning!

Who's that hiding in the forest? Gordon and Paul are enjoying another view of the falls.

And, there's Juanita enjoying the sunshine and the falls.

The Visitor Center at Mesa Falls is a beautifully restored log building that has been home to, among other things, a stage stop, an inn and a Boy Scout camp. With the sound of the falls in the background, the front porch is a great spot to sit and relax.

We've yet to see a moose (besides our own) on this trip. This mount is on display inside the visitor center.

With our visit to falls complete, we made our way to the southern end of the byway and on to Walmart. If you find yourself traveling along US-20 south of Island Park on your way north to Yellowstone, or south to Rexburg, we recommend you take this lovely little diversion. You'll be glad you did!

Sawtelle Peak

Spend any time at all around Island Park and you'll notice Sawtelle Peak. Standing at nearly 10,000 feet, this commanding mound forms the eastern end of the Centennial Mountains. If its height wasn't enough, the big round radar station on top makes it easy to spot from all over the place. For weeks it's been tempting us to come on up and take a look. So, today we did.

We made the 4,500-feet climb from the valley floor along an 8-mile gravel road. To break up the trip, we decided to search for a couple of geocaches along the way. At the first stop we met a couple of cachers on vacation from Tennessee. That's them in their Jeep heading up the hill from the first caching spot.

Paul made this quick and easy find at about 9,000 feet.

Even on this cloudy day, the view from the cache was spectacular.

The road, however, became just a bit more scary!

Take a look at one of the hairpins near the top. Rocky loved this!

Here's the final turn before reaching the top. No, there are no guardrails anywhere!

We knew we'd reached the top when we arrived at this imposing structure, an FAA long-range radar dome. We could look, but we could not touch!

What a view! This is Sawtelle's neighbor, Mount Jefferson.

You can see three states from the top. Paul is posing in front of Montana!

Here's a look at our neighborhood from the top. That's Henry's Lake. If you could see through the tree-covered hill in the lower right you'd see Bullwinkle!

Yes, Paul, I can see the lake from here just fine, thank you!

When we weren't gawking at the view of Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, several area lakes and the green valley below, we enjoyed a very colorful display of low-lying wildflowers at the peak. It's a amazing these little guys can survive up here.

The trip down was uneventful, and we're so pleased to report our trusty squirrel got us off the mountain safely. Now, when we look up at Sawtelle Peak we can say "We've been there!"

Madison River Canyon

Blessed with a break between morning and evening showers, we made a midday trip to the Madison River Canyon Earthquake Area. Along an 11-mile stretch of US Highway 287, we learned the story of what happened along these peaceful shores 50 years ago.

On the evening of August 19, 1959, the area just west of Yellowstone National Park experienced an 7.5 magnitude earthquake. At the time, it was the largest earthquake recorded in the United States. The property damage is still visible today. Here are the remains of one of two cabins along Hebgen Lake.

Although all of the surrounding structures were destroyed, this outhouse remained in one piece.

A woman in her 70s and her dog were sleeping in this cabin when the quake struck. The occupants survived, but the cabin ended up in rapidly rising Hebgen Lake.

A neighboring cabin is submerged several feet below the surface at this peaceful spot on Hebgen Lake.

The temblor caused a landslide of some 80 million tons of mountain onto a Forest Service campground below. The tumbling rock buried 19 campers alive and dammed the Madison River. The rapidly rising water killed another nine campers. The resulting lake was dubbed Earthquake Lake. More than 50 years later the evidence of that tragic night can be seen in the immense pile of rock at the far end of the new lake and the skeletal trees poking up on the lake surface.

In 1967 the US Forest Service opened a Visitor Center near the landslide. The building serves as an interpretive center about geology and the events of that fateful night and a memorial to its victims. The view from the Visitor Center is stunning, in an eerie sort of way.

On the other side of the debris pile, the Madison River and Highway 287 wind gently to the West.

As we emerged from Madison River Canyon, one of its current residents posed for a photo. We enjoyed a scenic drive through the valley back to Red Rock, arriving just in time for the showers to return on this last day of Spring.