Mt. Rainer National Park

On wednesday I drove 7 hours from Boise to Mt. Rainer National Park. The picture above is my first glimpse of the 14,441 ft. mountain. I found a great spot to camp in the Ohanapecosh section of the park. The site had a fresh smell of pine in the air and rushing river just below my tent site.


The beauty of this national park is almost indescribable. It's so much more than just a mountain with snow on the top of it. The park is filled with forests, glaciers, rivers, lakes, waterfalls, wildflowers, and much more. First stop was Grove of the Patriarchs which features 1000-year old Douglas fir and western red cedar trees.



I hiked to Silver Falls and then later stopped at Hidden Lake.


From the Sunrise area of the park I hiked to Frozen Lake and then up to Fremont Lookout. The roundtrip was a little over 5 miles with the Lookout providing a beautiful view of Mt. Rainer.

Boise, ID

On sunday I drove from Hailey to Boise. I made one interesting stop along the way in the Twin Falls area. I stopped to look at and admire Shoshone Falls. I arrived in Boise late sunday afternoon and it was about 96 degrees. The plan was to camp for 3 nights but with the 10 pm temperatures expected to be in the low 80's I searched for an alternative. I found Hostel Boise. The hostel provided a/c, reliable wifi, and a comfortable bed.


I explored Boise by foot and by bicycle. The Boise Greenbelt provided 30 miles of paved trails winding through city parks, Boise State University, and along the Boise River. I watched people "float" down the river in rafts, intertubes, kayaks, and other interesting floatation devices.


I saw Honest Abe and the state capitol building.


I visted the Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial. The Memorial is an impressive display of statues, benches, engraved quotes, flowers, grass, and waterfalls.


I discovered the Boise Co-Op Grocery store in the charming Hyde Park neighborhood.


I give two thumbs up for Boise. It's a very relaxed and easy going city with great natural scenery, distinct neighborhoods, lots of trees, and green parks. The name Boise is derived from Les Bois, the french term used for trees or woods. Boise also had a spectacular Rose Garden in Julia Davis Park. It's always good to stop and smell the roses once in a while.

Hailey, ID

On wednesday I drove from West Yellowstone, MT to Hailey, ID. The route I took brought me past Craters of the Moon National Monument. I didn't have a lot of time so I took a few pics, got a few bug bites, and jumped back in the car. I arrived in Hailey having set up my 2nd couchsurfing stop, this time with Sam Bell, his wife Julie, 14 year old vegetarian daughter Sarah, twin 12-year old boys Alex (aka Alejandro) and Nick, and last but not least 7 year old Katie. As soon as I arrived we headed over to the Wicked Spud for the wednesday night live music. It was a scene from smalltown America where everyone seemed to know everyone, kids ran around freely, and the beer flowed on a warm summer night. Here's an overview picture of Hailey from a nearby mountain we hiked part of the way.


While staying in Hailey I also visted nearby Ketchum and Sun Valley. This area features the Sawtooth Mountains, the Big Wood River, lots of mountains for skiing, and the Wood River Bike Trail System. I took advantage of the rails-to-trails bike path to explore the area and climb some hills. Here's a shot looking towards Ketchum and Sun Valley as well as the Sawtooth Mountains.


Here's a clean view of the area to the west of Hailey.


Here are pictures of Sam & Katie followed by the twins Alex & Nick.



Saturday afternoon we went up to the Sun Valley Skating Center for some summertime outdoor ice skating. Everybody had fun skating and the kids got their hands on some jawbreakers which for me just added to the excitement. I had my first jawbreaker in about 25 years.


I wore my lucky Cubs hat given to me by my cousin Allison and her husband Phil and it paid off big time. I didn't fall once while skating and afterwards I got a free beer at Lefty's Bar & Grill in Ketchum. When I walked into Lefty's the restaurant manager shouted "Free Beer for the man in the Cubs hat". It turns out the manager moved to Sun Valley from Roselle and makes sure to give a free beer to the first Cubs fan through the door each day.

Yellowstone National Park

I spent about 2 days in Yellowstone National Park and West Yellowstone, MT. When you think of Yellowstone National Park you think of Old Faithful. This park is huge and has so much more to offer than the Old Faithful. I probably took about 50 pictures of various geysers and then headed to the Canyon area to check out what's know as the Upper and Lower Falls. I've selected some of the best pictures as a sample of what I saw. Visitors realy need a full week or more to explore the park fully. There were a couple of downsides to the park. Camping was a little crowded and the temperature got down to about 38 degrees in the early morning hours. The crowds as well as wildlife blocking traffic at times caused some lenghtly delays getting into and out of the park.






After driving 14 miles in 2 hours to get out of the park it was 10 pm and I didn't have a campsite lined up for the night. I planned on taking Highway 20 into Idaho to Henry's State Park Campground when I stumbled on the Old Madison Hotel. After seven straight nights of camping I was ready for a bed and a hot shower. This hostel appeared at just the right time. I'm now in Hailey, ID which is near Ketchum and Sun Valley. I'll report again in a few days.

Jackson Windup

The weekend focus was on biking and enjoying the beautiful scenery. On saturday I met with couchsuring contact Rose Caiazzo for an introduction to mountain biking in Jackson. She took me to the nearby Cache Creek Trails. The first time through we did what is known as the Putt-Putt Trail. The singletrack riding and scenery were jawdropping. The second time through I went on my own and did the Hagen Loop which runs along Cache Creek and though several pine forests. Pictures just don't do this area justice but here ya go.




On sunday morning I got some laundry done while it rained for the first time on my trip. It cleared up for an afternoon road ride along Fall Creek Rd. This lightly traveled backroad offered rolling hills and more great views of the Tetons. I did have to be careful of a few cows crossing the road.



The 5 days of camping in Jackson came to a finish as I enjoyed a great meal with some of my camping neighbors. Skip and Liz from New York City had been camping next to me for the last three days. They came fully prepared with tables, cookware, food, wine, beer, and welcoming hearts. They also asked Nicolas from Paris to join us. Nicolas was stopping in Jackson for one night only as part of a cross country bike tour from New York to San Francisco. The four of us shared an evening of food, drink, laughter, and great conversation. Now on to Yellowstone.

Grand Teton National Park/Jackson

On wednesday night I drove into Teton County. I had hoped to arrive by sundown but the trip required me to pull over for several scenic lookouts. At one such stop a couple of buffalo slowed things down even more by crossing the road.


I was able to find a campsite about 10 minutes outside of Jackson. The site has hot showers, friendly people, it's across the street from a bike trail, and it's close to town. I'll wind up staying at this site for 4 or 5 nights. On thursday afternoon I met up with Jack Delay from Teton Village for a hike. Jack is another couchsurfing contact who is an avid skier, hiker, and biker.


The first portion of the hike seen above was a pretty steep climb. We hiked up to the tram above Teton Village. All told this was a 5-mile hike with about 4,200 feet of elevation gain. We took several rests to catch our breath and drink water. Going back down was much easier. We took the tram and returned to Teton Village in 5 minutes




Late friday afternoon I packed a sandwich and headed into Great Teton National Park. I rode about 20 miles through forests and meadows to reach Jenny Lake. Along the way I spotted a moose drinking water.


I found a nice quite spot overlooking Jenny Lake with the mountains in the background when I looked over my shoulder and saw a bear about 50 feet away. Fortunately the bear didn't seem interested in me or my sandwich. I slowly moved in the oppostite direction of the bear and it kept moving on its own path barely noticing me. I decided to move to the other side of the parking lot near the Snake River to eat my dinner. Sorry, didn't have time to whip out the camera and take pictures of the bear.

Wyoming Part I

On tuesday I drove from Laramie to the Wind River campground about 20 miles south of Thermopolis. I got an unexpected surprise on the portion of the drive from Rawlins to Shoshoni. The surprise was some of the most beautiful uninhabited land I've ever seen. Along this stetch which took about 3 hours to cover I probably saw about 25 cars or trucks and even fewer homes.


On this route I passed several towns including Lamont, Muddy Gap, Jeffrey City, and Sand Draw. These towns were so small they didn't have houses, gas stations, post offices, or for that matter any people. Nevertheless, Wyoming has some of the most beautiful country I've ever seen and I haven't even been to Jackson yet.


All of this driving was done so I could visit the thriving metropolis of Thermopolis. What's in Thermopolis you ask? The World's Largest Mineral Hot Springs which can be seen at Hot Springs State Park.


At 8:15 this morning I entered the building shown below. I was able to relax in 104 degree natural mineral water for 20 minutes. The bath house was free due to an agreement with the Shoshone and Arapaho Indians that has been in place since 1896.