Playing in the snow on Christmas

We had tons of snow... started falling just before Christmas and we are all relieved that we'll have a white Christmas. Last year we went to Vancouver to visit family and it rained ALL 8 days we were there... unbelievable!

The kids were so excited and couldn't wait to get into their snow suits. We had to go get Mia another one since hers was too small for her from last year. She's just about 2 inches shorter than Graycie, and two years younger. She will most likely be tall as Graycie by next year.


Pinot loved the snow and the girls chased her around the yard with snowballs. It was pure powder, not the best for making snowmen. So, we shoveled paths in the backyard and built some forts made out of snow. I thought about calling the guys to go out and toss a round of disc at Tautphaus Park, but never materialized.


The entire family and some of the neighbors were out playing in the snow too. Amber and I shoveled the driveway and sidewalk earlier, so our work was done for the day. We later took them to Freeman Park in Idaho Falls and let them slide down the hills for an hour.

That's about it, nothing but a snow day. The girls were really tired after all the playing and we still had wrapping to do before Xmas morning. We went over to Teresa and Joe's that night for Xmas eve dinner. Seth showed up a little late with a 500 lb. + Elk in his truck. He shot it earlier and was on his way to hang it up at his dads.

Target shooting with the girls

Took the girls shooting about 12 minutes West of Idaho Falls. It was Mia's first time shooting the .22 caliber rifle and Graycie's 5th time. Graycie absolutely loves shooting the rifle and after Mia saw her shoot a few times, she wanted a turn.

Graycie didn't want to give up the rifle, she really enjoys looking through the high-powered scope and lining up the X. She'll always tell me "daddy, its on the X"... and I always say... "we'll what are you wait'n for girl, shoot that thang!" She loves it. Pretty good shot too. She is just about nailing a 2 litre bottle about 60 or so yards away.

We went with our neighbors Dave and Sara. Dave brought a few nice rifles including a .17 rim fire. Graycie shot this once and seemed to like it. Was was nice... when Dave busted out his muzzle loader, what a nice weapon! My .22 is a Savage, all black stock, with a 12x9 on top. At the time I bought it, the Savage .22 caliber long rifle was the straightest shooter out there.

Here's a video of Graycie shooting away at a target about 50 yards away

Fall Creek Chritmas Tree Hunting

We got home late, me and Steve. We were out bunny hunting out in the desert with a few buddies, blasting away, losing track of time. Once home, we scattered to get our things ready and get the wife and kids to go get our Christmas tree. Steve and Christi and their kids were already at the house in Idaho Falls so it took us no time to get out the door. Took about 40 minutes to get to Fall Creek.

The water behind us is the Snake River. Great place to fish during the summertime and there are tons of small inlets to kayak through! This will be on our list for next spring.



We went to the usual spot, just up the Fall Creek Road, a little past the Fall Creek waterfall that flows into the Snake River. We go camping up here quite a bit in the summer and there is TONS of great fishing all over the area. A few years ago, when I went in search of a Christmas tree, I found a nice area that had 5 or 6 nice trees.



I marked the spot on my GPS so I'd always know exactly where I need to get my tree, and there'd be one waiting for us. We took Steve and Christi up there with us, along with their kids. Our kids and there's had fun playing in the snow and the two dogs enjoyed being out in the wilderness running like wild animals. The lil ones wanted to shoot the rifles so Steve and Frank let them shoot off a clip or two.

There was plenty of snow for all. Fall Creek is just before Swan Valley Idaho when you're heading towards Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We thought about going a little farther to see if Palisades lake was frozen or not, and to eat the square ice cream cones at the Swan Valley store. But, the cold set in and we headed West towards Idaho Falls. Had a GREAT sunset to stare at the whole way home. The girls snoozed... they were worn down and a little chilly.

Got the tree though, not bad for five bucks! Thats all a permit is here in Idaho, just tell them what forest you're going to. Anyways, time to set the tree up and have fun decorating.

Pumpkin Patch in Idaho Falls

We took off toward south of town, near Shelly Idaho, but just 5 miles from Idaho Falls to get our pumpkins for the season. The girls love going here because they get to pick their own pumpkins out. Plus they have a hay maze and other small things for the kids to do.

Here's a video of Daddy pulling the girls in the pumpkin basket



A beautiful day it was, sunny and no wind. Last year we went here it was windy, with 40 mph gusts. Not today though... a very sunny nice day!

We picked out 4 pumpkins, two big ones, and two small ones that the kids could carry. I had to pull the kids around in the cart to make the trip complete, they love it. We didn't stay too long as we wanted to get home and watch Battlestar Galactica :) Can't miss that show, ever!

Floating the S. Fork of the Snake River

What a great time. Sam, Steve, and myself set out early in the morning and drove up to the Conant boat launch. Its located East of Idaho Falls, before Swan Valley. We stopped, as usual at Albertos for a few breakfast burritos, had a safety meeting and headed out.

We got a big surprise when we pulled up to the boat launch and the Secret Service stopped us about 100 yards from the boat launch. Dick Cheney was here, and he was getting dressed into his fishing gear about 20 feet ahead of us. So, we had to hang out and wait for him and his 2 jet ski security outfits, plus a couple more boats with Secret Service manning the oars.

Here is a funny video of Steve asking me to take his gun and put in in the front of the boat. We JUST passed Vice President Cheney about 5 minutes ago, I'm quite sure we were being watched by a few people. Too funny... you hear the alarm in Sam's voice when he sees the gun!

Here's a picture of Dick Cheney walking to his boat.

Fun time, we piggy-backed the Vice President a few times that day. He was polite, never really intruded or interrupted out fishing day. We took Sam's drift boat and enjoyed the float through the valley. High cliffs on both sides and nothing but golden and amber trees. It was Fall and the leaves had turned bright yellow and red. Beautiful area in the Fall and a great float.

We stopped a few times to check out overhangs, caves, and creek inlets. We ended up at the Cottonwood Boat Ramp, just off River road. Fun float and everyone caught some fish. The float took about 7 hours and we did about 10 miles of floating. We were able to cut into some side slow water and had to drag the boat here and there. We ran into Cheney's party that was also on the side fishing, they just told us to hang there while they left and got back on their boats.

We got to the boat launch to pull out and the parking lot was filled with tons of support vehicles for the VP, plus a few ambulances and law enforcement type cars. We had a shuttle so the shuttle service drove Sam's truck from the launch area to the pullout boat launch. Nice service, makes it real nice having your car and trailer waiting there for us!

Kayaking on the Idaho Falls Greenbelt

It was Frank' birthday so we all went down to the Idaho Falls greenbelt, downtown Idaho Falls. It was a hot one, probably 90 degree's and being down on the water sure felt good. We went down to the usual drop in spot, right under the visitor overview deck looking over the falls. The kids were happy to get another boat ride and go right up to the falls.



It was a good float, taking maybe 40 minutes. We usually drop in right below the falls, goof off for a while and go right up to the falls and other outlets. The girls like going right up to the smaller falls and putting their hand in the running water. There are a few inlets that are similar to a cave like entrance. We can pull the kayaks right up to them and the girls can hang out under the waterfall, not getting wet.



Pretty calm day, say a few jet skiiers and a fishing boat, thats it, we had the river to ourselves. Of course when we put in, we were right next to the tourists on the greenbelt and they staired at us thinking we were nuts. When they saw us in the water having a good time, another story. The ride cruises along about 4 mph on the first part of the float. Once you float under the Broadway Bridge, there is a nice side current, that once you hit it, it speeds you up to about 9 mph for about 400 feet. The girls love it because we're crusing along pretty good, right along the southern bank of the Snake River.

Here's a very short video of us on the water



Here's a short video of the girls rolling down grass on the greenbelt

Fish Creek Camping Weekend

Steve and I were able to get away and go camping on Friday and Saturday. Amber and the girls were away in New Mexico visiting her Mom and Joe. So, I took off work a few hours early and Steve was already at my house, packing the car and almost ready to go. We had food, wood, dogs, and our poles. No kids, no wives, a full weekend and our tent. Ahhhh, time to ease into life. We were camping near Harriman State Park.

We packed the car as full as possible, through the dogs (Pinot and Buddy) in the back seat and took off towards the Island Park area. We stopped at a few "campgrounds" right on the Snake River and near Island Park Reservoir but didn't like the crowds... and the rules. They wanted the dogs tied up, hell no.

Heres a video of the bend on Fish Creek, feet from our campsite



We went towards Big Springs and found a great spot in the woods, about 20 feet from Fish Creek. What a great spot. It was a covered area of trees and forest. There was plenty of room for 20 other campsites within this area, but we had it all to ourselves.



We set up camp, fed the dogs and couldn't help but to wet a line. I won't bother to count the number of the fish we caught, I'm guessing 20 fish each, Brook Trout, Rainbow Trout, and Cutthroat. Not sure if either of us caught a German Brown or not.



Anyways, we started out just to test the waters and didn't really take much with us... so a couple of hours and miles later, we remembered we didn't bring food nor water. So we headed back... fished the entire way back of course. Had a great time. There was a nice 5 foot watering hole on the corner of a cut bank, right where we were camping... and oh was it refreshing. It was hot as hell out there, probably 85 or so.

Another short video of the camping area...






Set up camp, cooked up some great tin foil dinners. Tons of veggies and then we dumped a can of stew in the foil. It was goooood. Dogs had a blast all day and ran their asses off. We did about 4 or 5 miles total that day, they did probably 10 miles.




We were able to hit Moose Creek where it merged into Fish Creek. Very nice looking water and we were able to walk the middle of the creek most of the day. Tons of fish, beautiful country and nothing but the breeze and fresh air. Saw tons of wildlife... mostly eagles and ospreys. Saw a few deer, dog tracks, and of course deer and elk.

The next day we headed out and fished a bit here and there. We cruised up to Big Springs to see where the Snake River comes out of the mountain into a nice spring. You can walk over the bridge at Big Springs and see otters, tons of 2lb+ trout, ducks, and other wild life. We hiked and fished more when we got back... found some good garlic wild onions.

This is a video of the creek just a few feet away

Again, at sun down, we were back at camp. Fire going, dogs passed out, and we ate and had some rum and coke... eased into the rest of the night. Both nights were great sleeping. Not chilly, not too hot. The damn dogs slept in the tent with us though, and they snore and are pretty clumsy. We didn't want them outside in case of wolves or coyotes.

On the way back to Idaho Falls on Sunday we stopped everywhere. We went to the Buffalo River and the Madison River... stopped at a few campgrounds and found some killer spots to fish. We cruised over the Island park reservoir, saw the falls, and a few other rivers.



We took the Mesa Falls area loop where we were able to pull off and blast off a few clips of Steve's 22 magnum handgun. Pinot ran like the coward she is... hid behind the tree's until we were done. We went to Bear Gulch turnoff, just pass Mesa Falls, and hiked back about 2 miles through the abandoned train tunnel.



Found some AWESOME looking holes down below. It was on the Fall River, just an incredibly beautiful spot. Popular place for bikers in the Summer. We had to descend about 80 feet or so down some pretty large narly rocks... but made and enjoyed the beauty of the spot. Canyon setting, aqua blue holes with falls everywhere. Surrounded by the pine tree covered mountains. Very nice spot.



Fun time. It was exactly what the doctor ordered... peace and quiet, good friends, and a great time in the outdoors. Can't wait for the trip next summer.

Kayaking from Lorenzo to Menan

What a great July day for a float. We started out early and were at the launch, the pullout spot, by 0800. We met up there and left Dave's truck and headed for the launch in Lorenzo. We took off to float from the Lorenzo bridge, near Rigby Idaho (about 15 minutes from Idaho Falls). We floated about 8 miles, straight through the merge of the Henry's Fork of the Snake and the South Fork of the Snake River.



Conditions were perfect. Getting in the water by 0830 and a good flow of 5.5 mph pushing us along. No fishing this day, we were there to just sit back and let the water take us. For the most part, it was easy, relaxing floating. The river was a little swollen still so there were plenty of off-shoots to the south, little creek-like waterways heading in all directions, branching off into the woods. We took a few and found a few nice, fast corners.

We saw 2 gigantic Bald Eagle couples... unreal how big they were. We also saw 2 gigantic Osprey couples... these birds were bigger than Mia! We floated directly under a few eagles who were resting on a branch that overhung the river. Impressive birds they are... We later found out that 4 miles, up to the merge, is a national eagle sanctuary. You're not allowed to step foot on the bank.



A nice day it was. We stopped about midway to pull out and take a break, leak, and stretch... The float took a couple hours at the most. I left home at 0745 and was home by 1130. Not bad for a 9 or so mile float. Perfect weather, nothing but the water pushing us along. We of course started the day with an Alberto's Burrito... had a couple beers out there, of course not while we were floating, that would be illegal wouldn't it?

Here's a few video's of Frank and Dave floating down the Snake River