Easy Ridin'

The moment finally came to prepare for my first motorcycle ride of the trip. I had ordered an aftermarket cruise control (really just a throttle lock) so I could relax the grip of my right hand during long rides. I grabbed some tools and went to work installing it on my bike. I had also ordered a windshield before we left home to make longer rides more comfortable. Unfortunately, the order didn't arrive in time, but that's another story.

It took a little creative work to get the "cruise control" installed
but I got it. I was really looking forward to the next days ride.

Larie has a bike called a "Dual Sport". Essentially it is designed to ride on paved as well as unsurfaced dirt roads. My bike is called a "Cruiser" and it's designed for paved highways. Larie's Dual Sport is more powerful and turns much more easily, while mine likes the gentle curves of a highway. Because of this, Larie shot out ahead shortly after we departed the camp ground. Not that my bike won't turn, it just takes a little more effort, and is less powerful. Primarily, I like to make sure Kim is comfortable with our speed and maneuvering. 

Heading up the highway you can see the cruise control on the left handle bar if
you look real close. Also, check Kim out taking the picture in the mirror!

We cruised back into Stanley and stopped for a cup of coffee. It was a beautiful day. Our objective was Sun Valley-Ketchum, two small resort towns that have grown together over time. Kim and I had spent a little time in Sun Valley at the ski resort years ago, so the scenery brought back fond memories! We pulled out at a vista point high above a beautiful valley as we climbed up over a mountain range that separated us from Sun Valley. It was a great photo op, and place to stretch our legs and restore circulation.

There was a great view from this roadside vista point. After
a few minutes, we roared off toward Sun Valley.

As we entered Sun Valley it was about 10 minutes until 12:00. Time for lunch. I noticed a "Rotary Club of Sun Valley" sign and pulled over to investigate. It was a noon club and the meeting was just getting underway at the local pizzeria. We quickly looked up the address and walked a block and a half to the meeting. As usual, it was fun dropping in as a visiting Rotarian. We listened as they discussed their recent successful fundraiser, and other community projects. It was nice to do a makeup meeting with Larie, and Kim. We all kept our attendance records intact.

President John (on the right) was just getting started in his term.
Turned out it was his second time through the mill. It seemed like
a fun and productive group'

Sun Valley Rotarians welcomed us to lunch with them!

 After lunch we wandered around town for a bit before returning to the bikes and "leathering up" for the ride back to camp. I followed Larie as he threaded his way through town looking for the ski area. Finally' I saw him pulled over after we had crossed one road two or three times. We jointly decided to just get on the highway, point the bikes toward Stanley, and open the throttles.

Speaking of opening the throttle, as I did so about ten miles out of Sun Valley the engine started to sputter due to lack of fuel. I had run out of gas in my main tank, and had to switch to reserve. I rarely have to go more than a few miles to fill up after I hit reserve (there is no fuel gage) so I immediately began to estimate my endurance, and knew that it was going to be close getting back to Stanley for more go-juice. I figured I could make it if I slowed down to get maximum mileage. As I slowed, Larie's lead increased until I could barely see him. Eventually he noticed and slowed down to check on me. I pulled over and explained the situation. Neither of us could remember seeing any gas stations between where we were and Stanley, so the plan to proceed at maximum endurance speed was ratified.

When it rains, it pours as they say. As I was riding along behind Larie, I noticed that a small screw was loosening up on my newly acquired cruise control. I started fiddling with it and holding it with the tip of the ring finger of my left hand. I thought I could just keep it from falling out, but was a little worried. It wouldn't have caused any trouble, but it would have been difficult to replace. Finally, after attempting to tighten it using thumb pressure, it almost fell out. I slowed and pulled over to the side of the road.

Once again Larie did a 180 to see what had gone wrong this time. He probably thought I had run out of gas. I explained the situation and Larie dug down into the bottom of his saddle bags and pulled out an emergency tool kit. Just so happened he had an allen wrench that fit the screw, and we tightened it up. He is really into being prepared, and I started calling him professor gadget after he showed me all of the tools and devices he has on hand to cover almost any emergency or need while out in the countryside on a ride.

Professor Gadget looks through his tool kit for the right wrench
to fix the problem.

 We continued towards Stanley, and I was starting to get pretty worried. My odometer was not reading correctly so I was only estimating my remaining range. It wasn't looking good. However, as we approached a small "town" I was hopeful that I had overlooked the presence of a refueling station there on our way out that morning. I had! The price was horrible (nearly $5.00 per gallon) but when you only have a 4 gallon capacity tank it still wasn't a big bill. Besides, it beat walking!

With a full tank we proceeded on to Stanley where we stopped for about an hour and nursed a beer. The world cup soccer match was on and Germany was annihilating Brazil I think. It was a nice relaxing pause in an eventful day. After the break, it was another 40 minutes or so to the campground. We needed to load up the bikes as we would be leaving for our next camp in White Bird on the next day. Larie had loaded both bikes at his house in Reno, and had unloaded both when he and Katie arrived at Bonneville CG, so it was my first experience in loading the toy hauler. All in all it was pretty easy. I let Larie ride my bike into the garage while I "spotted" by holding on to the "sissy bar" and walking along as he went up the ramp. It was a pretty easy process, but I am glad Larie was in the saddle, I probably would have driven through the sliding glass door into the kitchen.

Back at the campground, I maneuvered the Vulcan over to the toy
 hauler, but let Larie drive up the ramp!

I spotted to make sure there weren't any problems if the
engine cut out mid stream.

All loaded up and ready to head for White Bird!

We relaxed the rest of the evening, and I was thinking of not setting the alarm for the morning take-off the Trippets had planned. I figured I would probably wake up in time. Turned out I was wrong, but I was glad to catch up on some sleep, and It turned out that we had an interesting visit to the hot-springs that morning. More on that in another post.

That's All!

The Hot Springs

Well, I mentioned the hot springs in a couple of posts, so I figured that I ought to devote a short one to it. The day after the big ride, Kim and I slept in. We awoke at 9:00, to find that Lari and Katie had broken camp and headed on to White Bird ID and our next campsite. We felt very refreshed from our night's sleep, and decided to explore that downhill trail we had found the evening after our big hike.

From the parking area, the trail went on for about a quarter mile pitching down quite steeply at the end to a rocky outcropping just above the creek that ran through our campground. We smelled the mineral hot spring before we saw the clouds of steam along with the hot water flowing out of the outcrop. It was a very extensive spring, and included a small bath house that I am sure was not up to Forest Service regulations. However, I salute the local Ranger's good sense at leaving the thing alone for people to enjoy! It was very hot water, and I am amazed that our benevolent government hadn't fenced it off to protect us from ourselves!

The smell of sulfur was pretty overpowering at the spring. It was quite an
extensive spring, and very hot. Too hot to stand in at the source without
getting burned.

The bath house was very rustic, and people had carved their names and initials into the old and weathered wood. A pipe gathered hot water from the stream and brought it inside to an old bath tub inset into the floor. There was a large cork plug that was used to stop up the drain, and after the water got nearly to the top, it drained out of the tub at the lower end and back into the spring. This way, you had continuous clean and fresh hot mineral water to bath in. There was also another pipe with a valve on it that appeared to be an attempt at bringing some cooler water in to mix and control temperature. We filled the tub, but it was just too hot and we decided not to risk a burn. I imagine the temperature might vary over time as conditions in the underlying rock formations change.
 

It was a wonder that the bath house survived our benevolent government.

It was a very cool set up inside the bath house. The blue valve
on the right didn't really cool things down as I believe it was
meant to.

We wandered down to the creek where the hot water mixed in, and found some pools that folks had built with rocks over time. There was just enough depth to sit or lay down to soak. So, that is what we did for about twenty minutes. It was wonderful, and we had the whole place to ourselves!

We did get to soak for a while, down where the hot water was cooled some
by the creek. No pictures however, as this is a PG rated blog!

 After our soak, we hiked back to the truck totally refreshed and ready to continue our adventure. Next stop was White Bird Idaho on the Snake River near it's junction with the Salmon. We were looking forward to some more motorcycle riding and a whitewater jet boat ride up the Snake River in the Hell's Canyon National Recreation Area.

That's All!

Our Trek to Sawtooth Lake.

As I mentioned in my last post, we decided to take a nice long hike our first full day in camp on the Boise National Forest. Katie had scoped out several possibilities, and really liked one that took off above Stanley and headed up into the mountains to a place called Sawtooth lake. It was about a 5 mile hike each way. Kim and I have been working hard on our fitness and walking, so we readily agreed. I will tell you that 10 miles is a long way to walk especially uphill, at high altitude (the lake was near 8,000 feet). So we got up early the next morning so we could be up at the lake before the real heat of the day.

It was about a 45 minute drive back towards Stanley. We turned off the highway at Iron Creek, and drove another 5 miles to the trail head.

This is the map that was at the trail head. The red star indicates our location,and it just doesn't seem far at all to Sawtooth Lake....

We unloaded there, and filled our day packs with snacks and water. After a hike we had taken about a month previously with Steve and Sherry Padfield, Kim and I beefed up the water ration, carrying several bottles each including a big (32 oz) one. After a few obligatory pictures, we were off. Within about 10 minutes, my legs were already starting to feel fatigued, and I wondered how this was going to go. I think that as you age and lose physical conditioning, you make up for it by being in denial! Some might call it being "tough and experienced". Some might call it being stupid. Whatever, we were in for the whole enchilada, and I wasn't going to complain, or quit until we got to the lake!

Here we are all fresh and ready for a nice day hike!

The good news was that the trail wasn't steep. It was actually quite a gentle grade, but it was ALL uphill with an occasional steeper section especially as we progressed upwards. The first third of the hike was underneath the forest canopy. It was early yet, and the shade made it nice and cool. When we left the forest, and got on the more exposed sections of trail, the views were spectacular. The peaks and ridges were incredibly sharp and rugged. You can really see why they named them the Sawtooth Mountains.

The view from the trail after we broke out into more open
vistas. This definitely must have been "Sawtooth Ridge"
don't ya think?

Our first objective was Alpine lake. This was a smaller lake that the map showed just below Sawtooth lake. I kept looking up ahead and trying to catch the granite bowl like features that usually indicate a lake. We did come to a large open bowl, but it was bisected by many small streams and covered with alders instead of a crystal high mountain lake. I kept thinking Alpine Lake was just just over the next rise. The trail continued to steepen.

This log bridge crossed one of the small streams that coursed
down through the large granite bowl. I did fine until the
 last step off the log, then nearly did a header right into the creek.

We continued to climb, and climb, stopping occasionally to sip some water. We encountered a hiker coming down the trail and asked how far we had to go. She said we were getting close to Alpine Lake, and that after we needed to stay to the right across a snow field to find the trail to Sawtooth Lake again. I think Larie asked after we had gone ahead for a few minutes: "Did she say we have to cross a snow field?" "That's what I heard!" A short time later we rounded a bend in the trail to see Alpine Lake. In my secret thoughts, I had been planning on taking a refreshing swim when we reached this milestone. However, when we got there I saw that it was quite a hike DOWN to the lake from our route to Sawtooth, so I decided to conserve my energy (and legs), took another sip of water, and stepped on out with the rest of the crew.

Alpine Lake was quite a bit lower than the trail when it came
 into view. It was a beautiful site though, and gave us encouragement
for completing the hike.

 So, onward and ever upward, the trail was unrelenting. We climbed through a series off switchbacks until the trail disappeared into a snowfield. Remembering the young female hiker's instructions, we looked to the right for footprints. Upon closer inspection there they were. Kind of hard to see at first because the snow was so hard and compact they were very shallow. The top layer was just starting to soften making the traverse fairly easy. In a hundred yards or so the trail reappeared, and we were once again on Terra Firma.

Here's Kim, crossing our first (yes there was another one ahead)
snowfield.

It wasn't much farther that we spotted a lake. This must be Sawtooth! We bee-lined straight down to the water and then realized that this was way to small. It turned out to be a necked down outlet from the main lake, but we were close! Now we had to turn around and hike back up to the trail. Soon after, we were crossing another snowfield. It couldn't be much further.....could it??

Katie and I trudge across the second snowfield. We were very close now!

We walked over a small rise, and up a rocky chute where we scaled some boulders to finally reach our objective. There it was, the lower end of Sawtooth Lake. It was the 7th of July, and there was still snow and ice in the water. It was a beautiful sight. Just looking at it in person made the day's journey worthwhile. We continued around a point to find an overlook and a place to have lunch.

Our first glimpse of Sawtooth Lake. Cold crystal clear water
still partially covered with snow and ice from last winter.

There is something special about sitting down to a nice lunch out in the forest. When you have reached a difficult objective on a challenging hike, it is fabulous. As our heart rates came down, and we started munching and sipping water, we also drank in the incredible view. Mt. Regan towered in the distance, and was reflected in the icy blue waters of the lake. It was a welcome respite, and I definitely ate a little slower knowing that we were only halfway on our day hike.

Mt. Regan looms above Sawtooth Lake. You can see the ice at the south
end of the lake has persisted in the mountain's shadow. This photo was
taken from our lunch spot.

All good things must end, and the time came to pack our trash, take a swig of water and head back down the trail. 5 miles to the trail head. It was all downhill of course, but that can be tough on the knees. Especially OLD knees! One good thing about the trip back down was that we were familiar with the trail, so it was easier to keep track of progress. We made a little better time than the trip up as well.

This kind of looks uphill but it's not. I'm heading
 down the trail from Sawtooth, and approaching
 Alpine Lake which is down at the foot of that peak in
the upper right.

We got back down to within a mile and 3/4 and took a break by a sign at the fork in the trail. We all took a guess on how long until we got back to our truck parked at the trail head. Larie estimated 45 minutes, and that turned out to be the winner. It is always great to see the light glinting off the windshield of your vehicle through the trees as you approach the end of your trek.

We were glad to be getting close to the end of our adventure for the day. It
had been a wonderful hike, but mt feet were telling me it was time to drive for a while.

Once back at the vehicle, we downed the last few swiggs of our water, dumped our day packs in the bed of the truck and headed back to camp. It had been a very arduous day, but we were all in after glow. Once we got back, we decided to take advantage of the nearby hot springs because it really sounded like the right thing for our sore muscles. Unfortunately, when we checked it out, the trail that lead to the mineral baths went down a fairly steep trail into the distance. None of us felt like exploring downhill to find out more about the spring. So we went back to camp and grilled up some tri-tip and veggies, and washed them down with some tasty red wine. A great end to a great day!

That's All!

The Expedition Begins

We started our expedition by making a short hop to Reno and hooking up at the Grand Sierra Resort. After a day of packing, we got there just after dark, and did a quick set up then hit the hay. We would get an early start in the morning.

On the road finally the next morning, we headed out through Nevada on our first interstate trip in the Ahwahnee. Jeanne's sister Lorie named it that after we sent her a picture. It reminded her of the famous Ahwahnee lodge in Yosemite NP. Actually, I kind of agree. Kim and I were both pretty exhausted, but it felt very good to finally be on the road after all the planning and anticipation. We headed east on Interstate 80 and turned north at Wells, toward  Idaho. Just before the border, we swung into a cute little rest stop and took a nice break. Pretty country, but nothing like what we were headed for.

We hit the road headed through Nevada for Idaho!

This was a rest stop just outside of Jackpot NV. Kim was cooling
her feet, and checking out the "Little Fishies".

As we drove north through Idaho, the vegetation got more lush, and the land more mountainous. The last time Kim and I had been in this part of the country was when we made our 3 month tour in Ol' Jack back in 1976-77. It was very beautiful, and hauntingly familiar. Finally, we pulled into Stanley Idaho for fuel and a leg stretch. What a pretty little town. Checking the map we were only about an hour from our first camp site, Bonneville CG on the Boise National Forest. Knowing Forest Service campgrounds, I was a little worried that we would be able to fit the Ahwahnee in the spot, but Kim the planner assured me we were golden. Turned out she was absolutely correct!

We finally made it to Stanley Idaho and got our first view of
the Sawtooth Mountains. We took a hike the next day up into
these beautiful mountains.

 On our arrival, the camp host was waiting and waved us into or site, which we slid into without effort. Lari helped direct me, and we had the unit set up in less than 20 minutes. Larie and Katie had the coals all going and were just taking some meat off the grill, so we threw on some pork chops, and popped open a bottle of wine. It was great to be settling in after pulling our second home all that way. It trails very nicely, but it is still a big and heavy coach to be pulling.

We made it to camp at Bonneville Campground
on the Boise National Forest. Grilled pork fillets,
asparagus, and black eyed peas! That's Lari's
BMW Dual Sport bike in the background.

Oh yea, and a little vino to wash it all down

Lari has a 5th wheel "toy hauler". This is a cool machine that includes a garage in the back where you can stash all the motorized toys you want to bring along on those vacation trips. Lucky for me, Lari volunteered to bring along my Kawasaki Vulcan 800. All I had to do was supply tie downs, and help load and unload.

This was our friend Lari's (for Larimore) 5th wheel toy hauler.
It had a ten foot deep garage in the back that held both our
motorcycles.

After dinner, we stayed up late around the fire catching up, and planning the next few day's activities. Katie was set on taking a trail hike (about 10 miles) up to a place called Sawtooth Lake. It is right above the town of Stanley, so it would take about an hour back track to get to the trail head. Ten miles sounded pretty challenging, but after they hauled my bike all that way, I readily agreed to the hike. We could get on the bikes another day. 

Here's Big Red and the Ahwahnee all set up right next to the
creek, and within a short distance of some very nice mineral
 hot springs. I still think you can't beat Forest Service campgrounds.

We finally headed off to our luxurious vacation cabin and the full queen sized bed. We slept great, anticipating the next days adventure.

That's All!

Back for the 4th (of July that is!)

Still working on catching up my posts. Right now I am on my third fire assignment of the summer. I've only been home for a total of about two weeks since the end of June!

So, we humped it back from San Luis Obispo on July 3rd, and didn't even finish unpacking when we drove out to  Loyalton to help out with the Rotary Club's signature service project/fundraiser. The 4th of July Parade and picnic is looked forward to by the entire community of Loyalton. The club has probably been putting on this event for the last 40 years! We pull off a town parade in the morning, and then head out to the club picnic grounds that are on a nice little creek about 5 miles out of town. There we have an old fashioned town barbecue and hold a live auction. We offer "antiques" that are mostly old stuff people don't want anymore, but usually we raise between $3,000 and $8,000. We've been closer to the $3,000 end for the last couple of years now.

We worked the evening of the third by decorating our Rotary float entry for the parade this year. The theme was "75 Years of Service" and we had flags and banners from other Rotary clubs strung around hay bales and an old carriage. The whole contraption was festooned with patriotic crepe paper, and built on our flat bed trailer. Gail "Virus" Ellingwood helped Kim and I, but I had to recruit another driver, as I had to miss the parade since I was grilling tri-tip roasts in preparation for the big picnic.

Virus helped with the float decorations. Here she
and Kim pause for a sip of red wine. 

Next morning, Kim woke up with a bad stomach flu, and could not make it to the event. I headed out to Loyalton alone, and after frantically recruiting a driver for the float, headed out to start the coals. Unfortunately, when I got there, some helpful soul had already put about double the amount of charcoal necessary in the pit, and lit it off! So, when it was time to put on the meat, the coals were still way too hot. I held off for about a half hour, but finally started slapping on the meat. I soon determined that the fire was still way too hot, and the roasts were blackening quickly. I grabbed some help, and we yanked 'em off as fast as we could. We put them into an empty ice chest to stay warm and continue to cook while the coals cooled for another 30 or 40 minutes. Finally, we reloaded, and things went smoothly after that. The tri-tip was excellent, and we got lots of compliments. 

Mike "Lamb Chop" Fillipini does a great job of moving the
"antiques" off the auction block!

People love to sit in the shade and watch or bid at the auction.
At around 12:30 they start getting restless if the meal isn't ready
too!

Vendors come to the park and set up booths to add to the festive
atmosphere.

Jeff "Slack Jaw" Toraason (retired dentist) left, and Kenny
"Sparky" Gilmer (electrical contractor) worked the bar!

After folks started leaving it was time for clean up, and with a small club like ours, if even a few people leave thinking they have "done their share" cleanup can be a real bear! And so it was. I finally got home around 5:30. Kim was still recovering but much better. It was a long day of service, but left me feeling good as well as exhausted. Now we could head out for Idaho with a clear mind and enjoy our new 5th wheel!

That's All!