Long awaited trip...

Since spring I have been delaying the planning for a particular trip that everyone else has been wanting to go on.  My two bits of concern were extreme heat and too many people to deal with.

So finally after the heat has now departed for the year and the masses of tourists have made their way back home, I made reservations for a place to stay a few days.  I was a little nervous when the clouds turned darker after we made our way off the interstate and down the state highway towards our destination.

Can you believe snow in the mountains already.  We found out after checking in that there was at least 2ft. of snow that had fell in some parts of the mountains just days before we came to the area.

 After getting checked into our cabin we gathered our things and started out on our awesome exploration.  The City of Rocks!

 It takes your breath away when you first see it.  I just can't explain it.

 We found Camp Rock where all the settlers that would come through the area write their names on the rock with axle grease from the wagon wheels.  Certainly something to see.  Absolutely amazing how some of the writings have lasted since the late 1800's.

 After looking over the Reserve map for a bit, a trail was decided upon and down we went.

 Through aspen groves,

 up and around Flaming Rock to wonderful vantage points to see beautiful views around us,

 the girls were most impressed to find holes in the rocks that they could climb to and sit in.

 After an exciting few hours exploring we made our way back to the cabin to wash up and go get some dinner.  After that we all realized that it was time to call it a day and get rested for a very long day starting the next morning.  

After breakfast we were back to the Reserve eager to start finding lots of new and exciting things within this awesome landscape.

Near the entrance of the Reserve are the remnants of an old stone house on the old Circle Creek Ranch.  We found out later that day that the house was built by an early settler around 1901 and stayed in tact until a fire gutted it in 1957.  All I kept thinking was how awesome it would be to have a house made out of all that beautiful stone.  And then to have The City of Rocks for a view right out your back door.  That would be just too much!  I wouldn't know how to act.

 A few more stops were made to see other parts of the Reserve and then we made it to the trail where we wanted to hike for the day.  There are just too many breath taking views to show here.  Every where you turn to look it amazes you that all this beauty is here for us to enjoy.  

Stops were made every so often to have a snack and look around.  Lizards were found.  Lots of crickets, chipmunks and birds.  Thank goodness no mountain lions were spotted nor heard while out on the trails.  It is always a concern that we are always reminding the girls about when we go out hiking.

 Little explorers were allowed to read the map the see where we were and where we needed to go.  They are getting better and better at reading maps and finding their way around places.

 Strolling through numerous aspen groves had me stopping to listen to their little leaves rustling in the wind.  They are my favorite trees to listen to when the wind blows.

 Soon after making our way to the end of our nearly 5 mile hike, it was back to the cabin for lunch and then out for more exploring at Castle Rock State Park.   A few hours were spent in this awesome bit of landscape looking for wildlife.  We were on the look out for moose, who were suppose to frequent this area quite a bit.  But during our visit we were not graced with any presence of them.  But Em sure was happy to see what she came on the trip to see.

A mountain cottontail!

Good thing Brenna is still short enough to see under the ridge of a rock and spotted one for Em to see.  The rest of us walked right on by without any notice of it.

 To say that we all were tired at the end of this day would be an understatement.  The girls and I were happy with our decision to just go back to the cabin and eat Cup of Noodles for dinner and call it a day.  But Glenn wouldn't hear of it and it was back to the restaurant to fill tummies with good food.  Later that night we watched the full moon come up and light up the entire valley.  Everything glowed with such beautiful bright light.  There were yips from coyotes that could be heard from the cabin and few moo's every now and then from the cows on the ranches nearby.  The peacefulness of this area is just beyond words.  We stood out on the porch of our cabin and literally listened to nothing.  No humming of cars and the goings on of everything near where we live.  It's surely something that must be experienced once in your life just so you know how wonderfully quiet nature is.  The only thing to be heard was the occasional breeze that passed by.  I've never slept better in my life.

The morning we were leaving we were seen off by 6 deer that were out in the field right behind our cabin.  The sunrise was gorgeous!  Golden light thrown across everything.

 The girls said goodbye to our stunning view of Castle Rock from our cabin.

 And then one last goodbye to our cozy little cabin that everyone hopes to see again.

 Off we went into the sunrise, headed back home.

Sniff.

To say that we had an absolute blast those short few days on this adventure would be a severe understatement.  Why it took us this long to make our way down to these parts I will never understand.  It's only 3 hours away!  We truly live in a most beautiful state!

We love you Idaho!  

Thanks for another spectacular trip for us to enjoy.