Fun trip up the mountain!

July 5 - No big breakfast today, simple cereal and fruit.  Bill went out soon after and did some weed eating although it’s not his work day.  I’m sure he also visited with neighbors and people in the office.  I cleaned up, although it’s day’s end and it doesn’t look like it now.  I also spent time on the computer as I do almost every day.

When Bill got back I told him I wanted to drive to the top of Sawtelle Peak since we were

Series of hairpin turns

told there’s a road to the top.   That’s the mountain with snow and radar on it that we see all day from the park.  Once he got showered and dressed we headed out.  From the turn off the paved road it’s 10 miles up a zig zaggy narrow road of hairpin turns and gravel.  There’s a slight fear at each curve that we’d meet another vehicle or an animal.  Bare (get it?) in mind that I had my camera in hand and ready but alas, not an animal was seen.  We did pass 2 4-wheelers coming down on the way up and one was flying.  There are some steep drop offs, so little Billy Chambers was not racing, that is for sure!

It is all part of the Targhee National Forest and we passed some maintenance building with equipment on the way up.  There were also several cell towers along the way.  At the top

View from the top

there were just 2 other cars when we arrived but several more before we left.  There is a huge radar at the top that looks like a soccer ball and other towers and one car of what must have been an employee.  We took lots of photos and walked from side to side but kept our distance from the restricted area. The mountain is part of a volcanic range and we got a big rock and a little rock for souvenirs.  It was strange to see the ball and towers, as from below it looks like a rectangular box up there.

The drive down was much more nervy than the drive up.  We were more along the outside

Making a snowball

of the road for the steep parts.  There were 7 vehicles on the way up and it was narrow passing so Bill stopped as he crept to the very edge to allow them to pass.  We stopped at the sign for the trail so I could play in the snow.  That was fun and it was cold on my hands!  What is snow if you don’t throw some?

Such form!

As it was going up, going down we didn’t see a speck of wildlife, but we sure enjoyed the view.  It was hazy today and I took some shots of the campground and the gas station but they’re not too good through the haze.  We could see Henry’s Lake and it’s much larger from up there than what we see from eye level.  It was such a nice side trip.  I’m not too sure Bill would have suggested going as he wasn’t too keen on the gravel road and dust on the car.

We tried a new place (for us) for lunch today.  Actually it’s another road we have never been

on, Phillips Lodge Loop Road.  At the lodge is Phillip’s Lodge Grill.  The dining/bar area is beautiful with huge log posts and all woody everywhere.  The menu was primarily burgers and sandwiches and some pasta.  We had planned on a light lunch and Bill had a grilled chicken sandwich with tater tots and I had a Reuben on marble rye.  I hadn’t had one in years as I don’t really do sandwiches but it was delicious.  Maybe it was just that I hadn’t had one but the cheese was melted into the sauerkraut and corned beef.  Um, um,um!  I don’t care for corned beef by itself but on a Reuben the juice of the kraut makes it all good!  Although the food was excellent, the service was a bit on the slow side and there were only a few tables with people, so we didn’t understand the delay.

We stopped at the post office and then headed back to the Valley View.  I was hungering for ice cream so we stopped at the gas station/convenience store next door and got some kind of bar on a stick.  It was OK, but not really what I was looking for.

Bill washed the car from our dusty trip while I did my email.  The wind picked up really bad again and Bill said he couldn’t grill out as it would blow the flame out.  I used the George Foreman and did hot links, a chicken breast and Italian sausage.  We had corn on the cob and broccoli slaw.  At least we have some grilled for later!