August 23-26, 2021
Island Park, Idaho
Monday morning we wake once again to smoky skies. No!!! Our friends Jim and Maggie are arriving and I was so looking forward to sharing the natural beauty of this place :-( Maybe it will clear before we all leave in a few days.
Jim and Maggie are our only "combined" friends. We went to high school with Jim, and welcomed Maggie to the family many years ago. Plus they travel part time in their 5er, we follow each other's adventures, and have met up on the road. So while we have lots of both high school and traveling friends, these are the only who combine the two! I still don't understand why more of our retired friends don't travel, but it's not for everyone I guess.
Lots of hugs upon their arrival then soon it's time to get caught up with dinner at our place. Realizing we haven't seen each other since Super Bowl at our Arizona house in February 2020 is unbelievable! The guys play Cribbage of course. Maggie and I talk until well after dark, solving most of the world's problems.
Next morning the smoke seems lighter, and we're soon off to see Mesa Falls. It's fun to share these beautiful places with our dear friends.
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| Upper Mesa Falls |
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| I love getting to see the very edge of the falls. |
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| Bright orange lichen glows from across the canyon. |
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| Lower Mesa Falls. |
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| Love the power of these beautiful falls. |
Back home for a nap and then Maggie brings homemade enchiladas (I prefer her "itchyladas" name!) for our dinner. More cribbage and conversation - how we've missed these two :-)
Wednesday we're all in the Jeep and off to show them our newest discovery of Red Rock Mountain and Centennial Valley. In addition to the routes we explored earlier in the week, we see more of the wildlife refuge, Elk Lake, and a glimpse of Lower Lake.
We all keep our eyes open for moose, but none show themselves. A very exciting sighting is a large, very beautiful, Badger! Maggie and Bill see dirt flying in the air, and I back up to see what it is. Jim is sure it's a Badger and gets out, cautiously getting a little closer to confirm. He moves much quicker back to the Jeep when the animal backs out of the hole to prove him correct! No pics, happened too quickly, but a great sighting. Swan and Magpies, and a large Antelope herd round out our wildlife for the day.
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| Jim and Maggie |
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| Although there is a "swan pond" at the state park, this family of three on Elk Lake are the first Swans we see. |
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| Duck photo-bomber! |
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| Little Lizzie waits for us to catch up. |
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| Then she stalks the unsuspecting explorers..... |
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| Elk Lake |
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| Taylor Mountain |
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| Widgeon Pond |
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| A new 8000 acre fire nearby has been contained, but the valley is getting more smoke again. Lower Red Rocks Lake is filled with what look like man-made islands (I can't find what they are). |
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| One of dozens of antelope in the distance. |
Back home for a short break then we pile into their truck and return to Ennis! A couple other high school friends who live in Sheridan, Montana, are meeting us for dinner. A thunder storm greets us when we arrive, including lightening and hail - woohoo! Tavern 287 serves up more great meals and our visit with Jack and Sheila (siblings who moved from our hometown in 1970) is more fun catching up.
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| In a little town filled with burgers and steak, it's wonderful to find fresh beet salad and pheasant rangoon! |
It went way too fast, and we didn't get the bright blue skies we were hoping for, but our time with good friends was really wonderful. This time there won't be a long wait to see them again - we'll all be at the high school reunion in October.
Oh the memories…I just love that area sooooo much! Thanks for taking me back there! Harriman State Park is beautiful and Quake Lake is very interesting if you have time to visit!
ReplyDeleteBill told me to be sure to put Quake Lake on the list for next time!! I love that there's so much to see and do here since we always want to come back :-)
DeleteSuch a great area to visit! we've only seen Mesa Falls once and really did nothing else there as we passed thru. Gotta go back - thanks for some great ideas.
ReplyDeleteThere's a scenic drive through the St Andrews sand dunes we want to catch next time - seems there's always something to come back for :-)
DeleteWhat a beautiful area! And how fun to share it with good friends. The waterfall is spectacular (and you captured a rainbow!) and your wildlife sightings were great. We've only seen badgers a couple of times, and they are so darned fast we couldn't get a photo, either.
ReplyDeleteDid your friends drive all the way from Sheridan, WY to meet you for dinner in Ennis? That's a long way! The food looks worth the trip, LOL.
I always love finding those waterfall rainbows! I'll add the Montana to Sheridan - it's just 28 miles west of Ennis :-) Although us Eagle Mountain people have been known to travel pretty far to meet up with our old friends!
DeleteAgain, lots of good ideas for our upcoming travels. We'll keep our eyes peeled for Moose for you!
ReplyDeleteThanks!! I forgot to include that Bill saw a black bear in the hills above the north side of the lake :-)
DeleteSo much water in this post. Love the falls, lake, pond and rhe swans. Great pictures of them all. You have SO many friends. How wonderful but dont talk rhem into RVing, I can't gwt reservations as it is. :-)
ReplyDeleteLOL! I hear you :-) These are the only ones who do any extensive RVing. I feel that way when I read the FB forum and see all who are planning to go fulltime in the near future. It was wonderful to see so much water even though the foliage was much more dry this time.
DeleteHow fun!!! It's always so much fun to show your favorite places to good friends!
ReplyDeleteTrue!! It was really great to share this place with them.
DeleteEven with smoke that area is drop dead gorgeous. Love the waterfalls. Dreaming of waterfalls as it's been WAY too long. Good visiting.
ReplyDeleteThere's something about falls that make me happy - so powerful and cleansing!
DeleteWhat a terrific meeting with friends! Mesa Falls is spectacular. Fantastic photos. I,too, enjoy seeing the edge. That swan family is so darn cute. We've been all around this area but never where you were. Thanks for the idea. We've never seen a badger in the wild. Glad your friend had a keen eye.
ReplyDeleteBadgers are beautiful but so intense! Of all the beautiful places we attempted in August this was the one we were most hoping for clear skies. We already want to go back :-)))))
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