More Adventures at the Springs

We took the Polaris Ranger for a ride in the Targhee National Forest, following Dan’s cousin Tim and Uncle Mike on their dirt bikes. They know this wilderness like the back of their hands, giving me more of a sense of comfort for this adventure. Uncle Mike made fun of me for wearing my ski/snow gear on this trip in May, but he and the other three were the ones who came back wet and cold. This trip involved crackling thunder and lightning, hail, and rain that stung because we rode through it really fast. There was one point where Tim and Mike waited for us at the bottom of a hill when I realized and freaked out that it was actually a steep 20ft cliff and made Dan drive back to where we came from. If we followed through, it would have been a straight nosedive to the bottom. I’m pretty sure I saved the Ranger from major damage, but the guys claim that it would have been fine….!? Whatever. We crossed many creeks/cricks and squeezed onto a bridge that was so tight on the tires that it bent a rim. We went full speed through mud puddles, one of which happened to drench us completely by surprise which was okay, because I had on my waterproof snow gear. Mike even showed us an awesome waterfall that Dan never knew existed. I also made a video of Mike crossing another creek, and it happened to be the time he would tank it, submerging his whole bike underwater. Tim and Mike got it out and used their tools to take the engine apart and get the water out. A good samaritan came by and gave them a bottle of engine oil with which to replace the current tank that had been mixed with water. We could have driven around much more, but it was time to head back with a now-temperamental motorcycle.

It was fun listening to Mike talk to other people on the trail – he is full of stories, including one about the winter when his snow machine quit on him on the side of the hill and it took him 8 more trips back to bring it back, mainly because it would snow another 6 feet in between each visit. I’m slowly learning to overcome my fear of things (or, really, it’s not fear, it’s just that I’m not DUMB, right?!!) going wrong in nature by understanding that it is the obstacles that make adventures memorable. I think a lot of map studying and general knowledge would help, too. (like, should we take an avalanche class if we snowmobile a lot? Do I need bear spray?)

It was great making it back to the cabin to be greeted by four happy dogs (only three pictured) and having fun new stories to tell the in-laws and Aunt Clyda.

 

Winter Catch-Up

Spring is my favorite season, but it is also the busiest and most stressful time of the school year, so I am going to catch up with a blogpost! Dan and I are both terrible at remembering memories and details of our adventures, so an attempt at retelling our stories will certainly fill me with gratitude and inspiration.

Our 2018-2019 Winter was a cold one. We spent most of vacation at the cabin in Green Canyon, where the highs of the day were in the single digits. Cabin life can be rough! Constant freezing temps can easily drain our energy, even when doing normal tasks. We usually visit when the in-laws are there, but this time around we had the cabin to ourselves for a few days and couldn’t figure out how to get the stove fire warm enough to heat up the house. We had to keep the solar panels brushed free of snow, the panel batteries warm with a propane-fueled ceramic heater, and monitor the wattage and our use of electricity. If the wattage was low, we used the generator and monitored our gas supply. A trip to town to get gas would have been an ordeal in itself. Fortunately, Dan’s parents joined us a few days later and warmed up the house in a few minutes!

Living in the cabin makes me think fondly of all of the conveniences we have in our day-to-day lives. A lot of it is meant to save us time, but I wonder if our smart phones/technology are beginning to do too much for us. Is it genuinely freeing up time for us to live, or to work more? Are people going to miss doing things the ‘long’ way?

We were able to make it to Relay Ridge again after a few failed attempts from prior trips. [see earlier posts] We had visited the ridge when we first started dating, and it was my first time riding a snow machine. As frigid as it was this time, the views were rewarding – I love being up and above the clouds. The snow was powdery-soft, waist-deep, and the machines in that snow made it feel like I was floating.

This was also the trip when we left Bella and gave her to my in-laws. We thought Bella would benefit from all that space to run, and Dan’s mother is available to walk her everyday. Our house is so quiet now because it is just us and Gogo, who doesn’t really bark, run out the door when it’s open, or eat food off of the counter. We miss Bella, but will still get to see her every so often. In fact, she is coming to visit this weekend!

 

Happy Summer

School’s out, and yes, we’re back at the cabin in East Idaho. Running the Teton Dam 5K to kick off summer vacation was exactly what I needed. I think we’ll have to do this every year! (sorry, Dan!) The weather was cool and brisk, and I love that our shirts labeled us as Dam Runners, which encouraged us to practice our use of puns for the day…

There’s a ton of family history related to the dam, which collapsed in 1976, killing 11 people and ruining all crops that year. It hasn’t been rebuilt since. The Teton Dam Race did not take us to the site of the dam itself (I think the 1/2 or Full marathon would have taken us to the dam), but we ended up with a great tour of Downtown Rexburg, which also has it’s own Greenbelt. I could try for the half next year, but don’t think Dan would want to run that distance with me.

We also made two more attempts to make it up to the relay towers behind the cabin. Dan and I made it there on snowmobiles (my first time riding) when we first started dating, and we’ve made two other failed attempts to get up there since. This time, we got stuck in snow and ended up digging ourselves out for an hour or two. There was just too much snow up there in June. We were so close. These are the pictures of us just almost being there.

Visiting the Cabin Again

If I were to use hockey games as a way to gauge how busy we’ve been, then this fall must have been a huge mess of overwhelming tied-up and swamped in overloaded no fun time. By the way, we are big Steelheads fans and go to games whenever we can. So if we’ve only seen one game so far this season, that’s pretty terrible.

Surprisingly, it didn’t feel too bad! December is supposed to be the month of death for music teachers, but I made sure to have fun this time around working with my students, and I felt they were pretty well prepared. I sure hope *knock on wood* it’s a sign that I’m getting the hang of things!

We’ve been back to the cabin whenever we can (Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas) to spend time with Dan’s parents. That place is our piece of idyllic heaven: miles of fields for the dogs to roam and run, nearby trails for the snowmobiles and new Ranger, wild animals passing by, hot springs at the bottom of the hill, and neighbors who are all family relatives. Seriously! Dan’s uncle lives down the hill and runs the hot spring business and lives next to his other uncle, who lives next to Dan’s cousin ….and so forth. The family traditionally uses the hot springs as their Christmas Eve gathering place (and every Sunday dinner); everyone brings a slow-cooker soup or dessert to eat, sing Christmas carols, then swims in the pools. Dan has several relatives, so I’m still having trouble remembering names. Another hot spring tradition is to climb the rafters and jump into the pool, which I only did once so that I can at least say I’ve done it. Well, I’ll probably do it again, but I’m just saying that I felt more air time at that moment than from what could be seen on the video.

Anyway, here are a few pictures from our adventures around the cabin, with the winter scenery.

Our goal was to make it up to the relay towers where we could get a good view of the Tetons. We’ve been trying to make it back up there since my first time ever out on the machines (we had just started dating), but something always happens. I think this was our third try since, and we had to stop this time just at the base of the last hill where the snow was too soft and the trail groomers had quit. I remember that first time thinking that the ride was really long, but this time, we could have made it as though it was a short trip. I must have been going realllllly slow that time, then! Good thing Dan is so patient with me!