As the month of August arrived I marked 3 full months here at Yellowstone. I am appreciating the many lessons learned, the enjoyable adventures and remain ever grateful for the many new friends. This has been an exceptional time!
The past couple of weeks has had me working stretches of days in the clinic and then having a stretch of days off. Not to waste anytime while here, I have done my best to be a good steward by living each day to the fullest. I took a really fun adventure off grid into Idaho at the start of August into the Salmon-Challis National Forest. Like many adventures, this one started off with a point on the map as a target and the rest of the trip fell into place along the way. I aimed for an out of the way point of interest. Ram’s Head Cafe and Lodge is located about 20 miles off pavement and along the Salmon River valley. To begin the trip I headed south from Mammoth Hot Springs through Yellowstone to Madison, and then turned west passing through West Yellowstone and into Idaho. I followed a rural route and eventually came to the town of Salmon, Idaho where I picked up provisions for a few days. After getting supplies, I headed north to North Fork and then turned west into the Salmon National Forest along a long and winding forest service road. After about 2 hours of amazing canyons and tall peaks I followed the Salmon River to my destination, Ram’s Head Cafe. I checked into the my camp spot and then headed on over for a tasty dinner. My hosts are a husband and wife team operating this location for the past several years and make all feel welcome. My camp spot was right along the Salmon River which was quite appreciated because the temp on my dashboard was reading 108 degrees! I settled in for a night and enjoyed the sunset over the mountains and along the river.
The next morning I enjoyed coffee along the river before striking out to explore the many forest service roads and mountain peaks in the area. After a few hours, I settled into a nice spot with shade along the river to make base camp before doing some hiking. After returning from a nearly vertical hike, I tuned into the weather radio to get an update on the surrounding wild fires. Winds were now picking up, and a red-flag-warning was in effect for my area with soaring temps, low humidity and wind. I decided to pull back out of the area and into the town of Salmon as a precaution. I saw a few wildland fire crews out in the area. I found a great campsite just outside of town, up the mountain and tucked in from the wind…and most importantly…away from any wildfires. After a restful night, I found a local bakery and slowly started making my way back east. I came upon the Lewis and Clark trail and decided to follow-up back toward Yellowstone, as it was mostly off-road and went through the mountains. It was a fun ride home with high mountain passes, scenic valleys and impressive thunderstorms.
I spent a couple of days doing interesting training at the Yellowstone Wildland Fire Program Operations Center learning how teams work together across the region. The next few weeks will be busy with visitors…Heather returns for a few weeks. And…my sister and her family arrive for a fun filled few days. Summer is taking a turn toward early autumn here at Yellowstone, as temps at night are in the 40’s and the smell of Fall is in the air. The seasons change quickly here, and much like many good things, my time here at Yellowstone is on the downward slope. I appreciate everyone following along…thank you!
