Wednesday, April 27/2016

I was up early this morning and managed to catch up on much of this blog.  I have not been very diligent in keeping up with it even when I was in Wickenburg.  In my defense though, it was sooo very busy that last month we were in Wickenburg that it just was not a priority.  That now has been rectified and although I promise myself to spend more time on the blog.....well, that just might not happen!!  Anyway, I got a lot of it done.
Today's travels were probably the most scenic we have ever taken and believe me, we have seen some pretty awesome sights.  We started out in Idaho and ended up in Wyoming.  To get from here to there, we travelled the Pioneer Scenic Byway.  This highway took us through some back country of Idaho where the history of the North American Indian, the Mormons and the Oregon Trail all play a role in today's mosaic of Idaho life.  The byway itself is 127 miles long and begins in Idaho's oldest town of Franklin.  It ends at the Wyoming border.  It travels past the town of Soda Springs, a city of 3000 and gets its name from the hundreds of natural springs of carbonated water that are located in the town and the surrounding area.  The springs were well known by the American Indians and were uses as a landmark along the Oregon Trail.  It was awesome.
Once into Wyoming, we entered what is known as the Grand Canyon of the Snake River.  Highway 89 runs through this canyon and offers incredible sights.  The Snake River often runs alongside the highway and today was full to capacity with the spring run off from the mountains.
This road eventually took us to the Grand Teton National Park,  Situated in the north west part of the State of Wyoming, it covers 310,000 acres and features the major peaks of the 40 mile long Teton Mountain Range.  "Grand Teton" is the name of the tallest mountain in the range and stands majestically above the forest floor.  The mountains were truly magnificent and a sight that everyone

Headed out

Our spot for the night

at Ocean Lake

one should see at least once in their lifetime.  They still had lots of snow on them and that only added to the wonder and splendor of this particular range of mountains.
Along the way we saw a ton of elk, some bison and some deer.  Spring has indeed sprung in the Grand Teton National Park.
As we continued on, Togwotee Pass in the Absaroka Mountains loomed ahead.  This particular pass in located on the continental divide and reaches elevations of 9658 feet at the summit.  The area receives heavy snowfall.  twenty five feet of snow is not unusual in this area but fifty feet has also been known to fall.  No wonder it is a mecca for snowmobile enthusiasts.  There were many "rent me" places along the road for those that what to have an alpine adventure!!
Today though, the road was clear but the snow was more that evident along the ditches and in the fields.  There is a ton of melting yet to come but I bet it is beautiful country in the summer as well.
We travelled through a few scattered snow flurries and eventually made it into the lower elevations without any problems,  As it was getting on in the evening, there were huge herds of mule deer out and about and both John and I were glad that they were happy to stay in the fields along the road.  No dodging of deer was necessary today!!
We stopped for the night at a wildlife refuge along highway 134.  We camped beside Ocean Lake and listened to the millions of birds that chose to make a stop here for the night.  Man, they all where singing their songs and sounded very happy.  There were even a few Canada Geese around to join in the chorus!!  We saw Robins too!!
It was a nice place to camp but it remained chilly and windy.  That seems to be the norm for this trip home.