Kayaking in Yellowstone

We decided to take off Friday night for a weekend in Yellowstone! Living so close, we do end up in the parks a lot, but we did a couple of new things. First of all, we paddled on Yellowstone Lake to the shoreline geyser basin. We actually attempted this little trip a few weeks ago, but the winds were a bit fierce and I was only three weeks off knee surgery, so much to my surprise—I couldn’t balance my kayak. Yikes! We had to turn around, but my husband actually went back out a week or two later and explored. So, now we were going together and it was such a worthwhile trip!

You start on a launch point of black volcanic sand on the West Thumb of Yellowstone Lake, and start paddling to the point on the left of the lake. This is about as far as we got last time, where we saw an elk feeding along the shorline. A little later, we were lucky enough to see her twin fawns, resting on the beach. Poor little babies...they were kind of scared but were very good and kept their heads down just like they were supposed to.

Around the point you start to see the boardwalk (full of tourists) who are looking at the fishing cone and other mini-geysers around the shorline. The fishing cone has some neat stories attached, where visitors in the early 1900s would catch a fish on a line in the lake, then dip it in the boiling waters of the fishing cone and have a freshly-caught-and-cooked meal, right on the shore! Getting to see the fishing cone up-close and personal is a bit of a rare treat.

Around the point you start to see the boardwalk (full of tourists) who are looking at the fishing cone and other mini-geysers around the shorline. The fishing cone has some neat stories attached, where visitors in the early 1900s would catch a fish on a line in the lake, then dip it in the boiling waters of the fishing cone and have a freshly-caught-and-cooked meal, right on the shore! Getting to see the fishing cone up-close and personal is a bit of a rare treat. Going around, you get to see all sorts of things from the water that you can’t see from the shore—lots of little geysers and run-offs that pour hot showers down into the lake water (which is very cold). One section has a run-off that must be really hot, because it makes the lake water feel like a bath, but then just dip your fingers down another four or five inches in the water, and it’s freezing again.

We paddled along the shore to the end of the basin, stopped for some lunch, and then turned around again. I wanted a nap so bad—the combination of the hot sun, the cool breeze, the water, and a good lunch really got me in nap mode. We sort of forgot the tent poles this time, so we had to sleep in the back of the Bronco, which was sort of different, but hey, you just have to roll with the punches, right? To tell you the truth, it was kind of fun—sort of had that “pillow fort” quality to it!

The next day we decided to get out a super-secret map to the petrified forest on Specimen Ridge, near Norris, that a friend gave me a couple of years ago. The hand-drawn map has some sort of cryptic directions to it, and a neat commentary on petrified trees by Dr. Erling Dorf. The map and directions were drawn up in 1989, and from what I was told by my friend, it was a big secret that the park rangers didn’t even want anyone to know. Woohoo! A secret map to Yellowstone. So, we started off on a steep slog up the side of the hill, then cut over to the ridge, off-trail. Suddenly, a petrified stump appeared! It was so cool—then, just up a little, another, and then several others. Very neat.

Here's a picture of me, from the top of Specimen Ridge, looking down over the valley.

Post-Op Adventure: Stanley, Idaho

Yea! I finally got to go out and have a little fun. My knee is feeling well enough for a little sea kayaking and hiking, so we went to Redfish Lake in Stanley, Idaho this weekend. It was so gorgeous--I love Redfish, and Stanley is truly an old Wild West town. the weather started out nice and lot cooler than the 100+ temps we've been having.

We paddled to the far side of the lake, to a camping area called Inlet Campsite, where we woud spend a couple of nights. It only took an hour-and-a-half of paddling to get there (or you can hike in), but we were the only paddlers there; most people had power boats.

Well, there was one guy who swam, actually. It was pretty amazing to see that--he was training for the Navy SEALS. Once we got there, though, there were so many tents set up--we were afraid we might not get a spot! But we found one at the back--secluded from most of the others, and right along the fenceline/trail to other parts of the lake area. Very nice!
We spent most of the afternoon getting everything set up, then napping. This is why I love getting out so much--all the lazing around, reading, knitting, and napping. We slept so hard, then got up and my husband went for a little hike while I worked on my Ooops du Jour sweater. Dinner was chicken fajitas over a campstoves (there's a fire restriction right now), wine, and fruit.
The next day we went on a hike (see next post for amazing berry footage), then down to the beach for some sun, water, and more knitting (for me). Husband looking very hunky!
Sunday morning we slept in a bit and then packed up the boats and headed home. Sorry there aren't any pics of me--I guess I was hogging the camera the whole time! It was so much fun though, and I was so happy to finally get out and play a little. It kind of makes me not want to get my other knee done, because I know it just means more down time. The good news? My new knee didn't hurt at all on the hikes. Woohoo!

Berry Hiking: Stanley, Idaho

Our hike at Redfish Lake on Saturday had some unexpected treats: miles and miles of berries! I couldn't believe how many berry bushes we saw--usually when we hike, we see a few, but most have already been claimed by the bears. This was so much fun!

We saw Oregon Grapes (which we didn't eat, but I hear are good cooked, not raw):
The quintesential wild huckleberry, and there were miles and miles of huckleberry bushes everywhere! Huckleberries are best right from the bush, but also make great pancakes and jams.
Grouseberries, which are a close cousin to huckelberries, only in miniature (both the plants and the fruits). They are the cutest things, and often get overlooked because they're just a few inches high.
Here's a size comparison between huckelberries and grouseberries.
We also saw wild raspberries, which are kind of rare around here.

They're a bit smaller than domesticated raspberries, but just as sweet and flavorful.
And then we saw some thimbleberries down lower.
The fruits don't tend to last very long, and are best for eating right from the bush. The flavor is a bit like a rapsberry, but the texture is "denser."
We also saw three types of currents. These are golden, which have a very mild flavor, and we also saw red and black, which are much more sour.

Midnight Paddle on the Lake

What a fun night---I love it when the unexpected happens. I was home studying all day (have to do that today, too....ugh) and my husband and his friend climbed Dissapointment Peak in the Tetons. He got back and we hemmmed and hawed about going to a Bluegrass concert at the art museum because I also caught cold yesterday. I HATE being sick more than anything in world, in fact.

Anyway, after a few phone calls to see where our friends would be sitting, a peppermint and rosemary bath where I mostly sat pouting about my cold, and finally getting dressed and out the door, we made it just in time to see the last group, a fairly reknown fiddler from here. She was so cute and had tons of personality, too. Then my husband noticed a guy that we paddled with in the Tetons last October, and I went over say hi. He's pretty amazing to me, because despite being blind, he's an excellent paddler who thinks nothing of carrying his own boat over steep or rocky terrain, hiking around rocks and trees, etc. Okay, so there was the unfortunately incident where my husband walked him straight into a tree, but we won't discuss that any further (thank God it's at the "funny now" stage).

Anyway, I went and said hi to Todd and he asked if I wanted to paddle Gem Lake, about four miles away...tonight? Well, yeah! Of course I do---the news has been reporting a giant full moon for this weekend (not that it mattered either way to Todd, of course), and the chance to do something so fun and unexpected was too much temptation. I ran back to tell my husband and to invite the four friends we were with. Two weren't so sure, but the other two were ready to go load their kayaks. The not-so-sure's hadn't ever paddled before, but we convinced them and ran to get our kayaks: the sea kayaks for our friends and the whitewater boats for us (I hadn't been in that hated whitewater boat since I almost drowned).

After a mad rush to grab boats, floats, paddles, life jackets, and sweaters, we were at the launch ramp exactly at 10:30. Todd and his wife weren't there yet, but we got to meet their friends Jana and Bonnie. Jana's deaf and I got to practice my (really remedial) signing with her. She was a lot of fun and invited me to their ASL study group, which I just might take her up on. I feel like my sign is as bad as my French at this point...wow, use it or lose it, huh?.

Anyway, we jumped in the boats and launched. It was gorgeous, calm, warm, and so much fun for a bunch of people to just suddenly meet and instantly have so much to talk about. Until the cops showed up, of course....the park closes at 11. So, by midnight we were on our way home, somehow feeling like kids again....we almost tried to find an all-night diner for biscuits and gravy!