Take a Hike ~

We did it! We took a family hike.  Alex and Michelle have wanted us all to come out and go on a hike up to a waterfall and picnic with them, and we finally found a day that would work for all of us. Here is a picture of Alex and Michelle's house. (So next time you are in Arco and eating Fried Pickles from Pickle's Place you can look across the street and you'll know where they live.)

We went up to the Lower Cedar Spring outside of Mackay. Here is a picture of the whole hiking group. Yes, I hiked too, but someone has to be the photographer.

 You can see that we were quite a diverse group, Grandparents, a teenager, lots of young adults, little girls and a baby boy. Most of the time Sydni rode on someone's shoulders. You can see Kymber up there walking. She also took turns getting piggyback rides.

But for a while she wanted to walk and didn't even want to hold someone's hand. This slowed the pace down quite a bit.  She was totally enjoying the day especially since she loves rocks and dirt.

Kristine has a Photography class this year and was taking pictures all along the way. Can't wait to see her pictures too.

The trail followed along the river, so the whole trail we got to hear the happy babbling brook sounds.

I loved this view of the girls. Yes, I was usually at the end of the line, so this is what I saw most of.

Kaden was such a good little guy. Jen (and everyone else) carried him, so he is getting an early start on enjoying the out of doors.

Break time. Kaden needed a bottle so we all stopped to rest. Actually Alex set a good pace and stopped frequently to tell us interesting stories. This was a good time for Sydni to bring me handfuls of dirt and rocks she found.

 

Thanks to Alex and Michelle for getting us out for such a fun family day.

Summer Vacation ~

I don't think anything helps to relax and recharge you more than going on vacation and then coming home. We just got back from a little trip to Northern Idaho and did just that. Luckily Jennifer, Trever and Kaden were able to come with us. Jennifer was the trip photographer so I had to wait and get her pictures downloaded to my computer before I could share them. So here you go. I little peek of our trip.

 

First night stop at the Pizza Factory.

 

Delicious pizza and rootbeer. Kaden was glad to be out of the car seat. He was a good little traveler.

 

 At the trailhead of the Hiawatha Bike Trail. An old railroad bed converted to an amazing bike trail. The trail is 15 miles one way and then a shuttle back to the top.

 

The trail starts off with a 1.6 mile tunnel. (Helmets and bike lights were required.) The shuttle dropped them off at the other side of the long tunnel, so they got to do it twice.

 

Beautiful mountain views. Jen did a good job with pictures.

 

I love this picture of Jen and Rod. They have been biking buddies for years.

I'm glad Jen found Trever who enjoys going on family bike trips with us.

 

Trever makes friends wherever he goes.

 

Kaden hung out Kristine and I. We took a little walk to the start of the first tunnel and enjoyed the nice cool air at the opening of the tunnel. They say it is about 40' inside. He loved being cooled down and fell right asleep. While Kristine and I were up there taking pictures of mossy rocks, our bikers came out of the tunnel. It was so fun to hear about their ride.

 

Here is Lake Coeur d'Alene. So beautiful right in the middle of the mountains.

 

The next day we went to Silverwood Amusement Park.

 

Here is the fearless crew heading off to conquer the roller coasters. Kaden and I went to buy a refillable sports bottle of ice water, which I refilled many, many times during the day.

  

Here is my little buddy. Rod and I enjoyed the cool grass under a shady tree with Kaden while Jennifer, Trever and Kristine were at the water park.

First trip to the mountains ~

Summer has finally come to SE Idaho and we took advantage of a beautiful day to get away to the mountains.  We were expecting crowds of 4-wheelers and motorbikes, and planned to just enjoy the mountain with all of them, but for some reason there were very few people out enjoying the day. This was Gus's first time out hiking, so we were curious to see what he would do. He loved it. I had him ride up on my lap so we would avoid the carsick episode from our last drive to the canyon. 

When we drop Rod and his bike off, we usually drive straight down to the pick up spot before we start hiking. Today Rod told me about a look out spot that was down the trail a little ways, so we started hiking right there.  He was right, it was beautiful.  Gus loved hiking. He did the typical hound dog nose to the ground hiking and I snapped pictures along the way. I don't trust him off of the leash yet, so he had to stay with me. He would stop and check out every little smell.  After this first hike, we drove down the canyon and waited for Rod to finish his ride. After about 10 minutes I could tell Gus was anxious to get moving again, so we went on another hike up the trail and ended up meeting Rod on his way down. Two hikes in one trip is quite an accomplishment for me and my short dog, but we loved it and can't wait to get out again.

I can't leave this post with out filling you in on every last detail.  Gus did get car sick on the way home so he has earned his new nickname "Barfy". But the good sure out weighed the bad,  (and he wasn't sitting on my lap at the time) so we will do it all again.

A day at the mountains ~

Have you ever been to Targhee Creek? It is a beautiful hiking/biking trail between Island Park and West Yellowstone. We loaded up the Bikes, the Daughters and the Dogs and a picnie and went for a family trip on Saturday. It was so fun to get away. We especially enjoyed having Jenny with us. When kids grow up and busy with school and jobs it is harder to get time with them. She rode with Rod on their bikes and Kristine and I hiked with the dogs. We hiked for about an hour and a half, which is really good for me and the short, fat dogs. Kristine carried bug spray in one hand and a dog leash in the other. she was so much fun to hike with. I love my girls.

Pictures from the mountains ~

The dogs loved the mountains! I think Candie, the black one, loves the ride up as much as getting out to run. She was up on my lap standing on the edge of the window with her ears flapping in the breeze. If I could get my girls to come up with me, there might be pictures of them too, but for now, the dogs are enjoying getting their picture taken.