4-wheeling the BH's continued...

So we continued on, traveling to the northern most part of the trail.  We were at the highest elevation, so the trail was going to be mostly downhill from here.  We got out of the meadow of cows, and then hit a stretch of really nasty, rocky, move-at-a-crawl kind of terrain.  I stopped when I got out of it, waited for Julie, and shared that "that was rough; I didn't care for that!"  Julie agreed.  But it was behind us...and maybe that was the worst.  Maybe not.  (I have no pictures of the rough terrain; too occupied surviving it.)

Another mile or so down the trail and we hit another stretch of very rough trail... whew...maybe that was the worst... Maybe not.

Then we hit yet another stretch that was really narrow (hence the reason for not allowing wide ATV's on the trail), full of boulders, drop-offs,  and sharp rocks, and I got pretty nervous on this one.  After I got through it, I stopped again to watch to see that Julie made it down OK.  She did, but she was shaken!  She had nearly tipped over her machine while negotiating one of the boulders, but putting all her weight to the right side of the machine got her through it.  NOT PRETTY.  She said, "We are NOT going back this way!!"  I agreed whole-heartedly, that we would continue completing the loop, no matter what!  There was no turning back at this point; we were closer to getting the end of the "yellow" trail, and continuing on was the only option.  Certainly, the worst was behind us!

We had to negotiate three water crossings and more rocks, but finally made it to a beautiful high- mountain lake.  That helped calm us...and it was a good place for lunch.  It was 1:30 pm.  Lunch was a bit overdue, but this was a good place to take a pause and relax.  The name of the lake is not possible to read on the map, as the letters are lost in the paper crease...but it's L.... Lake (north east of Battle Creek Campground).  If I Google the area, I might be able to find the name. 

We saw a couple people fishing on the other side. And before we left the lake, we saw a couple gals riding horseback (tourists from Georgia).  Then, as we started down the trail, we saw a family of hikers and 3 more guys on horseback.  I wondered if all these folks were a little perturbed that our ATV's were disturbing the quiet they were looking for on the mountain trails. Hmmm.  Sorry.

The remainder of the "yellow" trail was rough, but not as bad as we had just been through.  That anticipation of getting off the rough stuff kept us going. Then we finally made it to the "green" trail or jeep trail.  Whew....smooth sailing from here on. 

We took a pause and decided to ride up a short way to see the end of the road at Battle Creek Campground.  This campground was in an open meadow with lots of space for campers, horse-trailers, and corrals.  Very nice. 

From there, we headed  (south) down the  jeep trail, cruising back to the lodge, enjoying the scenery.  We met a couple guys on fat tire bikes, and they were having a great time. 

I couldn't have been more thankful to get back to the trailer, load up, and head out.   It had been a scenic drive, and because we made it through the rough stuff without incident, I was happy.  Julie and I both agreed that we were glad we made the trip, but we'd never do the same route again!  Once was enough; we spent all our "toughness" on that one.  Time to "refuel."

4-wheeling in the Big Horn Mountains

One of my 4-wheeling friends, Julie, and I wanted to see what trails looked like in the Big Horn Mountains, which are in northeast WY.  Since I don't have reason to travel through that area of the state, it had been many, many years since I'd been to TenSleep and roads heading east into the Big Horns. 

We had a map of the trail we wanted to take, but absolutely no idea what we might experience in terms of trail conditions and scenery.  So, it felt very much like an adventure.  Neither one of us knew of anyone who had been on that trail, so getting info was not easy. 

I must say it's a beautiful drive on the highway.  The canyon, the ancient rock formations, the lush green forest (no beetle-killed trees) were all wonderful sights.  We turned off the road at what appeared to be close to a trailhead; however, we discovered we had gone about mile too far.  So, we back-tracked to Deer Haven Lodge, parked, and unloaded.  Talking to a guy in the lodge, we were directed how to get to the road/trail we were looking for, but this guy had no other knowledge to share with us, which was a disappointment.  But, oh well.  Carry on.  We would figure it out.

The trail started out as a two lane mountain dirt road, which is very easy/smooth riding.  Eventually, as we headed farther north, the trail narrowed and became more of a 4-wheeler trail with big rocks and ruts to negotiate, but nothing too bad. 

Our goal was to ride this big loop, which would take us to a lake near Battle Creek Campground to the north, and then back down to our starting point.  The whole ride would be close to 40 miles.

As we got close to the northern most part of the ride, we were riding close to a canyon, with big mountains on the other side.  And also from here we were high enough that we could see for many, many miles in every direction.  A grand view. 

Then we entered a portion of the road that allowed only 4-wheelers that were 50 inches wide or less.  So, no side-by-side ATV's that seat 2 or 4 passengers were allowed.  And, on the map, the trail was marked as more difficult.  But, it did not look too bad...  we continued on. We drove through some meadows with a lot of grazing cows; thankfully, they moved out of the way, off the trail, as we approached.  Then, we ran into a section of rough trail, very narrow and rocky, but if this was the worst, we'd be OK...

More later.

Closing on a finish

I am so close to finishing this Serape Shawl.  The southwest colors are vibrant, and changing colors constantly has kept me interested.   I have been weaving in the ends as I go, so no big headache at the end.  Working the color pattern in stockinette (when the rest of the piece is in garter st) has been interesting.  I was contemplating figuring out how to do the color pattern in garter, and I finally realized it just wouldn't work.  Then I heard the voice that said, "That's why the the pattern was written this way, girl!"   Fine.

I have a lot of fringe to cut and attach - something to look forward to! 

Thoughts for Thursday

Is summer going by too fast?

How long will the hot temps last?

Is there rain in the forecast?

Are the sunset hues colorfast?

More fun at a fest

Over the weekend I took part in Lander's River Fest by being part of a fiber art group with a booth to sell our projects.  The Lander Art Center did a very fine job of setting up a lot of booths, activities, food, and entertainment; the event was a great success.  I enjoyed seeing so many interesting people, their families, dogs, and their enjoyment of the atmosphere in the park. 

I LOVED the live music.  What a treat.  And the day (weather) was just about perfect.  OK, it was stifling hot in mid afternoon because we lost the shade over our booth, but the sun kept moving, and we eventually got back some shade. Whew!! A dream-sickle shaved ice drink helped a lot. We all saw familiar faces, demonstrated our craft, made a few sales, enjoyed  lawn chair chat,  swayed to the music!

From sage ... to wood

It's probably because of the unusual frequent rains this spring, but my Russian Sage plants are bigger, taller, fuller than EVER.  They smell great, the blooms are pretty purple, and the bees are loving them. 

At our local craft fair in the park, I found a great little bird house.  Now...to find a place to secure it... hmmm. 

Hot temps and high winds

For all of you in the western states...I'm hoping you're enjoying the hot summer temps!  We also had 60 mph winds a few days ago, and the tumble weeds were blowing across the hot plains like I've never seen before.  Wall, after wall, after wall of weeds blew across the road; nearly every car sported a tumble weed for a hood ornament.  I had quite a session of cleaning out the grill of my car!

Then I saw the fence-line along my access road...oh my gosh.  It was filled with tumbleweeds.