Trip Date: June 9, 2018
This is another trip that I didn’t write the story for until some 4 years later. That’s how it goes. Sometimes we travel a lot, or the trips are somewhat close together and I don’t get to the story writing right away and then a couple more trips happen, and then they just get left behind. When I feel like writing, I write; and when I don’t, I don’t, so some of the stories are written years later the trips and I have little but the pictures for recall, which is exactly why I try to keep up with the stories and am trying to keep up with the site so maybe someday I can go back and read the stories and remember all these trips, or maybe a grandchild or great grandchild will have an interest and will be able to see where we went and what we enjoyed doing.
This is maybe now 1 of 5 or so trips we have gone on with the Gough Clan. Rick and Jo have been very kind and generous to invite us on some of these trips and we are very fortunate to be able to go on some. I believe we had just gotten our new Toyota Camry Hybrid, so the thought of driving to Northern Idaho was not much of a concern. Gas certainly wasn’t at the $6.00 per gallon it is now, and with the new car, we were worry free travel wise for the 877 mile, 14 hour drive.
Island Park is a beautiful little community of large homes on large parcels built primarily around Island Park reservoir in the Northeast corner of the lower square part of Idaho, just 30 miles from the West entrance to Yellowstone National Park and Wyoming. Rick rented a massive place on the reservoir for us and even bought a boat just for the trip. What a guy. We had a ton of fun eating and playing games around the huge kitchen table, preparing meals in the massive kitchen, and sleeping in our upstairs bedroom with a little deck overlooking the lake.
Our first day up there was spent lounging after the huge drive and taking short walks on the dirt roads of the property. The other homes were spread some distance away so you really felt like you were out in the woods when out of the house. I recall Jo forgetting her medications so they had the neighbors go into the house and Nick used his UPS connections to get them delivered to a store not too far away. It was quite the commotion.
Nick and Shawn had towed trailers with quad runners on it and the kids were constantly coming and going. K and I went out with the crew and we had a great long ride on some cool trails that seemed especially created for quads and motorcycles and such. We saw an Osprey nest and some beautiful country. This was just a warm up for the main event, heading into Yellowstone. K and I had been to the Park with Jordan and seen a lot of country in the South part of the Park. This would be a great opportunity to see this NW corner, so I was excited to get going. As with many group enterprises, the wants of the individual are often surrendered for the wants of the herd.
And so it was that our first stop was not at the entrance to the park, but at the entrance to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center. I must admit that my initial level of disappointment was soon replaced with wonder at the collection and habitat for the wolves and bears. It was quite impressive and these folks had done a pretty remarkable job at giving these guys some type of life. I don’t know why they were in here and not out in the wild, but I hope it was because they were somehow injured and disabled or otherwise not able to fend for themselves in the real world. Join the club!
There were tons of animals and they were easy to see and get up close to. The place was not otherwise crowded at all so moving about was easy and fun with so many of our tribe there. Even the big birds of prey there were impressive. We had a good stay and then K and I headed out into the Park. What a spectacular place this is. It was cold and raining/snowing off and on, especially in the high country. Maybe the weather kept people out, but there were very few other people/cars the entire time we were in the Park. It was awesome.
We headed up Highway 191 along the Madison River. As I write this story and doing the googol map research, I am reminded of one of my prior trips to Yellowstone where I was able to walk from my campsite into a cold river and then over the hill from that to a hot river. I remember going back and forth a number of times between the hot creek and the cold. There were other people around, but it was not mobbed or the madhouse it would be today apparently. I have never been able to piece together my memories on subsequent trips, but this place sounds like a possibility. Between the Madison River and the Firehole River or Terrace Spring, this could be the place. I am almost certain I walked from the campground, so it had to have been close.
Now that I see the Boiling River along the Madison going out the North entrance out of Mammoth, maybe that was it, but I do not see a campground nearby. Any who, I think what we did on this trip was drive the Grand Loop Rd., heading North on 89 into Mammoth, then heading East on the Grand Loop which circles around Tower Creek , Cook Peak, and the wild spine that Observation Peak sits upon. The Loop drops into Canyon Village where we got out to see the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. The Loop then continues South along the shore of Yellowstone Lake where it becomes Highway 20. Then it heads West back to the West Thumb where it picks up 191 again. I believe we were gone 5 or 6 hours, and it was almost all out in the backcountry, away from crowds and parking issues.
We only had one minor interaction with some yahoos that stopped in the middle of the road to look at a few buffalo that were relaxing down by the river with their young. It was a beautiful spectacle to see with no one else around. This was a huge day with lots of driving, but it was all spectacular country and beautiful vistas, and interesting changing weather. We were pretty thrashed when we got home. Thank god someone else was cooking dinner and all I had to do was eat and climb the stairs to bed.
The next day the ladies wanted to go back to West Yellowstone for some more shopping so I took the opportunity to have them drop me off at the access road to Henrys Lake State Park. It was almost a 2 mile walk into the park, but it was a beautiful day and a pleasant walk with almost no vehicle traffic. I got out to the lake and found a trail to walk along the edge of the lake and down into a wetlands that was full of birds and frogs and toads and such. I wandered through the campground looking at all the different types of vehicles and equipment. I walked all the way out to the end of the peninsula where it looked like people had year round homes right on the lake. What a great spot to live. I got back to Highway 20 in plenty of time for them to pick me up from a great afternoon walk and exploration.
That night, I took a little night walk down the road. It was a tad creepy being so dark, and with very few homes, but those that were there were empty. I can’t say the whole walk was entirely enjoyable, but it was fun to be out at night and get a little cool fresh air and check out the night activities.
The next day I hit the local liquor store and took myself out for a drive somewhat in search of one of the Fur Trapper Rendezvous locations. From some prior trip research, I knew the trappers and explorers had met one year not too far from here. I headed out SE towards Rexburg, about 50 miles south, and then headed quite randomly East. It turns out the location of the 1832 Rendezvous was near Peirre’s Hole, which turns out now to be along main street of Driggs, Idaho. I don’t know if there is a monument or signage of any kind today, but I was happy to just be in the neck of the woods and remember the occasion and imagine how some of it might have been.
In my wanderings, I stumbled across Mesa Falls, a historic park managed jointly by the state park and national forest. The Henry’s Fork of the Salmon River flows through the park and forms the numerous falls as it cascades down numerous canyons. There is a great trail along the river and many overlooks built out near the major waterfalls. Unfortunately, the visitor center was closed, but it probably helped keep the number of people down, as I nearly had the place to myself. It was a gorgeous area, and coupled with my exploration around Pierre’s hole, made for a great day. I think that night was our turn to prepare dinner for everybody, but I have no idea what we did. No doubt I slaved away with little recognition or appreciation!
The next day was move-out day. We spent a lot of time picking up and cleaning and preparing for departure. On our way through Rexburg, we stopped at the drive through Yellowstone Bear World. It was a total tourist thing, but it also was pretty cool. It was full of bears, a few elk, an albino elk, and wasn’t at all crowded so you could totally just stop and watch them move about, play with their toys, climb a tree, or just hang out. It was worth the stop I thought. It only added an hour or so to the already 12 hour drive. This may have been the first trip we drove straight through such a distance, but it has become a thing now. We drove to Portland and then all the way home from Bonnie Lake WA, outside Tacoma, from Shawn and Sheridy’s place. It appears we will do the same this Fall when we go up to the San Juan Islands. However, this was another great trip with the Gough clan. We are very fortunate to be included and invited with them to go on these trips and really appreciate their kindness and generosity.
Island Park Photo Gallery
