Life in the slow lane.....

Our "backyard" is just beautiful. The campground is surrounded by wildflower meadows, and some of them have walking trails. The flowers will be fading soon....many of them already are. Directly across the street from the campground is a trail that leads into the woods and the hills. There are so many different kinds of flowers growing together...its like a giant bouquet. 

across the street from the campground

 Some of the flowers are already starting to fade now that summer is in full swing. Glad we were here to see the blooms!

heading back to walk in the meadows behind the campground

 The campground is surrounded by mountains, as well. When we first got here about 2 weeks ago, there was snow on lots of the mountain tops. Most of it has melted now.

heading back to our campground from across the street

 Walking in the meadow behind the campground, towards Henry's Lake, is a nice walk we take in the evenings. Its cooler then, the sun is not as strong, and the cows have moved on to another pasture so we don't have to walk through them.

road back to the campground 

One of the activities not to be missed around here is a float trip on the Henry's Fork of the Snake River. Mack's Inn has rafts, crawdads (flat bottom boats like a row boat, only with paddles), and canoes for rent for a leisurely 2-3 hour float. As we were arranging for a boat, the guide pointed out a bald eagle. Luckily, it landed in a tree and I could focus the camera on it.

bald eagle

a bald eagle and a friend

 We were driven upstream a few miles, and dropped off at the cleanest, clearest river I've ever seen. The river was very shallow, being an average of 3 feet deep. (I took off my lifejacket when we beached on pebbles!) Some of the river areas were so shallow, we had to get out and pull the boat. Canoes and rafts had more "walking" to do with their boats. Being that we were in the flat-bottom boat, we didn't need that much water to float. The water is so clean and clear, however its 52 degrees. Refreshing!!

what clear water!!

all set to float for a few hours

ready Tom?

beached on pebbles

So that's what we did. We went with the flow.  Didn't have to paddle too much, only if we wanted to go faster, or steer. Since it was a leisurely float trip...that's just what we did! It was so relaxing. The river meanders, so we would get a view of the mountains every here and now. And there were lots of fish, just jumping out of the water. We saw lots of schools of fish. Big ones!! 

going with the current

very clear water, and very shallow in most parts

I did my share of paddling and pulling the boat-really!!

 We were hoping to see moose, as it was one of the earlier float trips and the guide said we may see moose and their calves. A nice couple of families from Las Vegas were in the two rafts that started at the same time as us and were having so much fun! I think it was their first raft trip and they were trying everything. I'm sure any moose in the area were long gone before we rounded the bends with all the screaming and paddling commands. Hahahha. What a nice group though! We all had fun!

pelican above our friends in the rafts

So we just floated slowly down the river with the current. Sloowly. It was great!

pretty much just floating with the current

so relaxing

pelican flying by

osprey?

what fun on the river!