Adventures at Adams Gulch

Although the local weather seems to be moderating a bit, it is still a little cool. Today was one of those picture perfect days with a glorious blue sky, warm sunshine, and a soft dry breeze. We had a lazy morning and planned to head for the library when it opened at noon. When we stepped outside, we decided that it was not an indoor library kind of day. We would take the boys to Adams Gulch and hike as far as the creek, so they could romp in the water. As we loaded them into the car, we sighted a pack of approximately 70-80 paragliders soaring over the mountain behind the rv. They were so high that we had to get the binoculars to determine exactly what they were. As we were watching, one of the rv park neighbors walked by with her dog. She told us that Paragliding Nationals competition was going on and that the pilots were using gps settings to set their flightpath. She knew this because one of the pilots has an rv next to hers. From our vantage point it looked like a collision was imminent.


We spotted an occasional paraglider pilot as we drove to the trailhead. It was nice to get back to Adams Gulch. I can't remember exactly when, but Ellen took me there years ago for my first hike. I was so out of shape that I almost died! She walked along and talked the entire loop while I was struggling to breathe, trying to keep up with her. Things have changed a little over the years, and now it is easier. At any rate, we took the boys up to the creek. They had a great time splashing in and out of the water. After a time, Sirius headed up the trail and I followed. Dick and Baxter followed me, and before we knew it, we were well into the Adams Gulch Loop. (Finally, I can cruise up and down and continue talking! I hope Ellen is watching me!) At the half-way point of the loop, there is a picnic table that is a memorial to a young man from Ketchum. I always wonder how they got that up there. It had to have been air-lifted, because the trail is narrow and winds around and up to the top. It used to seem like there were 10 hair-pin curves, but today I counted them and there are only four! As we approached the table, Baxter's ears perked up and he broke into a run. There were two young mountain bikers sitting on top of the table enjoying the view. We had a delightful conversation with them. The couple was from Bend, Oregon and this was their first trip to Sun Valley. They could not believe how wonderful the biking is here. Yesterday they biked up and down Bald Mountain, (9100' above sea level) the highest ski mountain in Sun Valley! We were impressed!

We continued the hike, and again, Baxter broke into a run. Ahead of us we saw two paraglider pilots in a meadow, stuffing their equipment into back packs. One man was near the trail. We greeted him and asked him how it was going. He replied, not well. He was in a 75K competition and he was only able to complete 10K. We gave him our condolences and continued. The pilot caught up to us a little later. He asked us where he was. We told him, and then I asked him how he was going to get back. He said he was looking for a ride to the main road and that he would be able to find his way back from there. (He was camping in a tent near River Run!) Of course, we would squeeze him and his 50-pound backpack (the size of a small casket) in the CRV and give him a ride to wherever he was headed. He and Dick walked up ahead of me. I stayed back, because by this time, Sirius was getting very tired. He kept searching for shade and water. The creek meandered along the trail, so the dogs did have water most of the way.

As we got back to the trailhead, we spied a sag wagon. The competition organizers somehow knew that several of the pilots were forced down in the Adams Gulch area. The man thanked us and we headed to our car. I told Dick that I was disappointed because I was curious about the competition and missed an opportunity to ask questions.

We headed out and stopped at a sport equipment shop so I could purchase hiking poles. (We did things backward today!) When we went to pay for the poles, the owner of the shop struck up a conversation with us and somehow it turned to the Paragliding Nationals. The man was a retired helicopter pilot and had a friend who held many of the (Idaho) state paragliding records. He explained the rudiments of paragliding and told us that today's competition was an international event with the best pilots coming from all over the world. They were to fly from Bald Mountain to Galena Summit. A few years ago, the competition was sponsored by a bread company whose owner was a paraglider pilot. At the end of the flight, the pilots had to come down on target and they used a very large, round loaf of bread for the bull's eye. The pilots had to hit that loaf with both feet and smash the bread! Today they were given gps coordinates for a target.

Now we are back at the library. Dick is working, I am blogging. --Lost in cyberspace!

For more information on the Paragliding Nationals in Sun Valley see:
http://www.suite101.com/content/us-paragliding-nationals-augsept-2010-in-sun-valley-idaho-a279119

Wow! We're in Cyberheaven!

After struggling for a couple of days with the rv park wifi, we decided to find a better option.--And did we ever! We are in cyberheaven! We are at The Community Library in Ketchum, where wifi is incredibly fast (or so it seems when contrasted to the frustrating process we had to endure at the rv park)! The park wifi booted you off every few minutes. Then you had to log back on, only to get a message that the server could not be found because "you were working offline, please uncheck working offline". By the time you got the appropriate box unchecked, you were no longer on the internet and you would have to start over. When the two of us were working at our laptops in the rv, there were audible groans of anguish and sometimes, naughty words. Now we can peacefully cruise the internet!

When we first entered the library, we were met by a very nice woman who explained all the services they offer. She asked if we wanted library cards, and since we will be here for a month it makes sense. We signed up and now have a three-month probationary period where we can take out (only) six items at a time. Makes me chuckle--never in my life have I taken more than a couple of items at a time from a library.

The Community Library is supported solely by local donations! They receive no state or federal funding. They operate a thrift shop called The Gold Mine. It is conveniently located in downtown Ketchum and when we cleaned out Ellen's condo, we took tons of wonderful things there. (Dick and his brother must have made 20 or 30 trips!) It is gratifying to see what all that was supporting. We would never have guessed. This place is huge and well-stocked, peaceful and comfortable. Their children's library is equally as nice. Dick has work to complete for KONE, so he will put in several hours at his laptop before all is said and done. We were delighted when we found this gem.

It is so good to be back!

The Meadows is an old rv park on the outskirts of Ketchum. The park is just that--a place to park your rv. It is bare bones. The sites are rather small by newer standards. This is our second season. Last year we stayed only 10 days and were very sad to leave.

There is plenty to do around here without having extra park amenities. We are approximately 1000 feet from the bike path that goes south beyond Hailey (I think around 25 miles). It goes north beyond Sun Valley and Ketchum. There are numerous hiking trails in the area. My favorites are Chocolate Gulch and Adams Gulch. I'll use the Wood River Y to swim laps. We located the Y last evening and the building is quite new and impressive.We are looking forward to Wagon Days over the Labor Day weekend, a festival that commemorates the time when 20-mule team ore wagons traversed the Galena Summit. Apparently it is one grand festival. There are all kinds of shops and restaurants in town. We are also looking forward to seeing friends of Ellen who have become our friends.

View in the back of our site

Dottie, the camp host is a real character! She has to be in her late seventies or early eighties. She does not mince words, and you get the full background on everything. She can be seen cruising the park on her three-wheeler bike, dressed to the nines. (She makes Cindy the glamor camper look shabby!) The great spot that we had last year was snarfed up by a tennis pro for the entire season. She did the best she could when we called for our reservations in January. When I called in August to confirm, I asked about our old spot. It was still taken, but she got really excited because she just had a "big cancellation". It was for a spot that was just as desirable. She switched us to that spot, and it is better than our original!

Today was an easy day. I stayed up very late last night (3:00 a.m.) to use the internet. With everyone sleeping, it is faster than the usual campground slow. I lounged around and did a little organizing. Just after Dick left for Boise, I heard a racket. It sounded like mothballs being dropped on top of the motor home. It was hail! It was perfectly calm outside, and the sun was shining in the distance, but there was a large black cloud just over us dropping hail. Very strange. I grabbed my camera and got a couple of shots of the hail on the camp chairs. It ended just as quickly as it started.

The boys (Sirius and Baxter) and I went for a long walk along the bike path. Dick cleaned the road dirt off my bike this morning and lubed it up, so I could ride while he is gone but I never got around to it. It is very cold and windy. Tomorrow I'll ride for sure when the weather man has promised that a warming trend will begin! I have been content just to putter and enjoy the sights that I have been looking forward to seeing for the past eleven months.

More Photos from yesterday's trip

Coming down from Lost Trail Pass

Pit stop for the pooches

A High Meadow

Main Street, Ketchum

Oh! What a day! Sunday, August 29, 2010

Lost Trail Pass

We awoke to rain. We had to be out of the rv park by 8:15 because we were having breakfast with Dick's friend, Jim. (We were to have dinner, but Jim's plane from LA was delayed last night, so dinner was postponed to breakfast.)  He suggested we meet at The Hayloft Saloon in Lolo, MT because it was on our way to Sun Valley. We had a great time and a great breakfast with Jim and his friend, Vicky. Before we knew it, it was 10:15 and we had to be on our way. The direct trip to Sun Valley was 277 miles. The long way around Galena Summit was 377 miles--both ways on winding two-lane highways. Since it was still raining we were certain that we would have to go the long way. (We had a contingency plan for the long way: We would spend the night in Argo, Idaho. We had tentative reservations that we could cancel.)

The road wasn't too bad and traffic was light. We started climbing around 50 miles out of Lolo and before we knew it, we were on the Lost Trail Pass in the Rocky Mountains on the border of Idaho and Montana. The pass is 7014 feet above sea level! The motor home was great, and the tow car tracked very well through all the curves. The clouds made the mountains and surrounding valleys look even more spectacular. At the bottom of the mountain we started through the Salmon River Valley. Dick commented that he thought we were going to avoid this by taking the long route around, and by the time we would get to the cut-off to Sun Valley we would be half-way there. We had 108 miles to decide whether or not to go the short route.

Salmon River

We skirted in and out of the rain for the next 100 miles, but by the time we came to the turn-off to Sun Valley at Challis, it was pretty dry. Dick decided to go for the short way, eventually going over Galena Summit. We spent the next few hours driving along the Salmon River. There were many hairpin turns, and maybe out of the 114 miles left, only 3 or 4 were on the straight-away. Each turn brought another amazing vista. When we finally emerged from the Salmon River Valley, we were met with a panorama of the Sawtooth Mountain Range in Stanley, Idaho. This is where we hiked 10.5 miles, climbing 4000 feet to Sawtooth Lake to scatter Ellen's ashes last year. We were surprised to see that there is still a great deal of snow pack on those mountains. The trail to the lake is usually impassible until mid-August/beginning of September because of snow pack. It starts snowing in October, so there is a six-week window for hiking. This summer has been very cool, so we may not get up there this year.

Stanley, Idaho

The mountains were shrouded with low clouds, but there were breaks of bright blue. Several miles down the road, we began to approach Galena Summit. Dark clouds hung over the road and within minutes it started pouring! Close to the summit (8701 feet above sea level) it was snowing! What a surprise! Thankfully the ground was warm enough so the roads were not icy. Once we got to the other side, we had a straight shot to Ketchum/Sun Valley. The sun came out when we got to town! I had a funny feeling when we passed the road to Ellen's condo. Our first trip to this magical place was in 1977 when our kids were young and we "adults" were crazy. I have lost track of the number of times we have returned, but this is the third time we've been here without Ellen. We'll never stop missing her and always be grateful that she introduced us to this area.

Missoula, Montana

Especially for Cindy! (Another "GOME"!)

Well, here we are at Jim & Mary's RV Park, advertised as being "Spacious and Friendly". It is 67°, sunny, and breezy. The owners of this park must be horticulturists! The park is filled with wonderful themed gardens, packed full of color. We discovered a nice little greenhouse tucked away at the end of the property. It is apparent that the management enforces a rule that nothing can be stored outside your rig. It sure makes a difference not to see stuff piled all over the extended stay sites. The place is neat as a pin, comfortable, and very pleasant. There is no doubt that the owners take great pride in this place.

We are meeting a friend of Dick's for dinner tonight who lives here in Missoula. Tomorrow is the big challenge. The road from Missoula to Sun Valley goes through several winding valleys and over Galena Pass. This can be avoided by going 100 miles out of the way.  We'll miss all that great scenery. We'll see.

Anaconda, Montana

Friday, Day 2 in Montana

Looking back at 7th Ranch as we left. (Taken through the motor home window.)

A little over 24 hours ago we were experiencing 102° heat! At the moment it is 61 ° and very windy. The expected overnight low is 36°. We took the dogs out after dinner and had to wear long pants and sweatshirts.

We woke up Friday morning to overcast skies and very comfortable temperatures. It was a nice contrast to yesterday's 102°! There was constant train traffic below the campground--All BNSF (Burlington Northern Santa Fe) and mostly long lines of coal cars. I really love trains! The mournful sound of the whistles lulled us to sleep and woke us in the morning.

Before we left Garryowen, we took the dogs on a trail behind the campground that goes straight up a hill to where there is an American flag. (It looked really pretty lit up at night.) The panorama was nice. The dogs needed the run. They have been cooped up or on leash since Sunday.

Fields at sunset at 7th Ranch, Garryowen, Montana

I think we finally solved the problem of Sirius' episodes of craziness. He dislikes riding and becomes terrified if Dick drives anywhere near rumble strips--unavoidable when we are going through construction or passing wide loads. Within seconds he bolts up to the front of the cab and tries to jump on Dick's or my lap. Yesterday we put him on the sofa and bolstered him with blankets. He is more secure and can look out the window. It worked. Next step is a harness to keep him safe. Baxter loves to ride so much that it takes 5 minutes after we start for him to be snoozing. He stays on the floor in the back of the cab.

Friday's ride took us through miles of Montana desolate range land broken up by Billings, Bozeman and Butte. It seemed that light showers followed us all day, making a mess of our dusty rig. We stopped in Bozeman to buy groceries. Anaconda is in the Rockies, just west of Butte. The last hour of our trip was truly beautiful. We got away from the showers as we wound through a couple of spectacular mountain passes and climbed to 5150 feet.

Fairmont RV Park is just that--an RV Park. The facilities are adequate, but minimal. It is in a pretty setting with mountain ranges off in the distance on all sides. It is older than the past couple of parks, so the sites are pretty small. Since it is the weekend, it is more populated than the parks during the week. It is nice to see all the families enjoying the outdoors. We see lots of kids on bikes and people walking their dogs.

Along the way--Billings Livestock Commission

As expected, last night was pretty cold. It was so hot when we were packing for this trip that I couldn't imagine needing our  down comforter. Silly me. It is in Davenport! Oh well. We have a furnace and heat pumps.

Today we will travel just over 100 miles to Missoula. There is a chance that we can go to Flathead Lake--the place that convinced us that we wanted to acquire a motor home!