Fun times with the Clarks in Huntsville, UT

We really enjoyed a 4 day visit with Joe and Barb Clark in the Huntsville/Ogden, UT area.  They are campground managers at Perception Campground which is one of 6 National Forest Campgrounds they oversee in the area.  Their park is remote and beautiful!  We were fortunate to see several of the local moose who visit the park on a regular basis.

Marty - after he ran out of the bushes and scared the heck out of me, he wandered a few feet away to have his morning breakfast and trim the bushes

Tom - testing out the manager role.   :-)

The host and hostess with the mostest!

Although they were working (very hard I may add!), we got to steal them away for a few short trips and of course to enjoy some ice cream at Dairy Queen (a favorite for the 4 of us).  Just a short drive up the mountain from their campground is a great spot for spectacular sunsets!

Spiral Jetty in the Great Salt Lake - We found this remote spot in Reader's Digest Off the Beaten Path and come to find it's also in 1,000 Places To See Before You Die.  This counterclockwise coil (15 feet wide and 1,500 feet long) was built of mud, salt crystals, basalt rocks, earth and water.  It was conceived by an American sculptor and completed in 1970 but spent most of the time under water until it re-emerged in 2002.

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge is a 74,000-acre refuge with lush marshes at the mouth of the river where it flows into the Great Salt Lake.  Although it is very dry this time of year we still saw many birds in the area (but didn't get many close up pictures).  We can only imagine what it would look like when the waters are up and the migrations are in full swing.  A Middle Creek (times 100) in Utah (our PA friends will know all about Middle Creek)!

Tuesday we arrived in Green River, UT and we will be in this area until August 30th.  We plan to enjoy lots of sightseeing, hiking and kayaking around Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef and Moab.

Til next time...Happy Trails!

Grand Teton National Park

Be Bear Aware!  That's the theme in Grand Teton and was as well in Yellowstone.  Although we didn't see any ourselves, we saw plenty of signs (skat and some very fresh!) that they do live here.

Grand Teton National Park is beautiful and not nearly as crowded as Yellowstone was.  Unfortunately, the wildfires in the area really put a smokey haze over the park and the mountains.  In 1.5 days we quickly did a driving tour of the park, two hikes and met our Kilimanjaro buddy, Amy Brummit.

Kilimanjaro climbing buddy, Amy Brummit
It was so great to see you, Amy!!  Come visit us on the road or maybe we'll see you on your travels! 

This morning we are headed from Victor, ID to Huntsville, UT (approx. 5 hours) to hang out with our friends, Joe & Barb Clark, until Tuesday.  Then we will hit the road for Green River, UT to visit Moab, Arches, Canyonlands and Capitol Reef.

Til next time...Happy Trails!

Yellowstone National Park - It's Beautiful But...

WAY TOO CROWDED!  Every time we drove into the park we would make the comment, "It's beautiful, but..."  We've learned from the locals to come in May or mid-late September to avoid the crowds.  We did manage to see most of the park and even get off the beaten path on a few hikes.  There's really not much to say about the beauty of the park (it is breath taking in areas) so I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Old Faithful

The Buffalo love to walk down the middle of the road - we would call this "Buffalo Backup" as traffic gets quite backed up from the wildlife on or near the road.  We would also encounter lots of "Elk Backup".

kayaking on Yellowstone Lake

the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Fisherman Paul - we met him on this hike to the Yellowstone River and tagged along once we heard about a grizzly spotting on the trail - he had 2 cans of bear spray!

Cliff and Wade Lakes, Montana - kayaking, fishing and serenity

Island Park, Idaho - Ashley (our neighbor in West Yellowstone) gave us great tips about Cliff and Wade Lakes as well as this area for Moose spotting.  My cousin, Lamar, tried so hard to find a moose for us in Maine but with no luck (they all seemed to hide while we were there).  Ashely hooked us up!  We saw 3 cows with their calves.

Tom paddling away from the moose crossing the river right in front of us!

Tomorrow we head to the Grand Tetons for a few days.  We're excited to visit Amy Brummit, a woman we climbed Kilimanjaro with in 2009.  Then we visit Barb & Joe Clark near Ogden, Utah for several days before heading to Arches, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands and Moab.  Fun times ahead!

Til next time...Happy Trails!