When Dad heard that I would be coming to Cascade for a few days, he immediately had an adventure in mind! He wanted to drive out to the South Fork of the Salmon for the day. This is an excellent winter excursion because the road deep into the backcountry is maintained year round for the residents of Yellow Pine. Although there were beautiful blue skies and the sun was unobstructed by a single cloud, it was, as could be expected, a mighty frigid day! After so many deeply cold nights, the frost accumulation on the trees and bushes was quite spectacular! Although I had routinely driven to the top of Big Creek during the winter, I had never been BEYOND the summit. It was an absolutely beautiful drive--although I must say, the roads were EXTREMELY icy and we weren't able to make it as far down the South Fork as we had anticipated. However, it was, as Dad says, a great "Windshield Adventure." You spend all day behind the windshield but, in the dead of winter, it still feels like a terrific adventure!
I was so thrilled with the sky when we stopped for these photos!
It was such an amazing BRILLIANT BLUE!
WARM LAKE HIGHWAY.
My dad is such a wealth of knowledge and I spent the entire trip trying to glean as much information from him as I possibly could! As we neared the turn-out for Trail Creek Hotsprings, I began asking him questions about the popular springs. Rather spontaneously we decided to hike down to them and have a look around!
THIS is why I LOVE adventuring!
TRAIL CREEK HOTSPRINGS
Dad and Jackson exploring the springs right before . . .
Dad fell in the creek!
Oops! Good thing we were mostly on a Windshield Adventure!
Jackson and I ready to hike back up the trail/toboggan run!
THE SOUTH FORK ROAD
My mom calls this the Golf Cart Road. It is a very popular road during salmon season yet it is a VERY NARROW one lane road! Meeting cars on this road makes for slow and difficult passings with, at times, sheer cliff drop-offs on one side!
Sure is pretty in the winter though!
SOUTH FORK OF THE SALMON
MAGNIFICENT FROST
FROZEN WATERFALLS
ICY RIVER
THE DEVASTATION OF THE FOREST FIRES WAS ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE!
We turned around at the historic Reed Ranch (which Dad and I both read everything ever written on when we returned home from our trip.) We had to drive SO slowly on the icy roads, we weren't able to make nearly as far as I had hoped. However, we did spot a few animals on the trip!
My dad was very fond of this particular elk. The sunshine lit up the fuzz on the top of her head so it looked like she was a "red-head." Dad said it was a Makayla Elk!
IT WAS AN ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL DAY!
My dad is SO much fun to adventure with! (Unfortunately my mom had to work and wasn't able to go with us. Next time Mommy!). He knows so much about this area and told me great stories along the way! As I mentioned, we came home and dug out the books and maps and refreshed our memories about the very colorful history of this area. Although I thoroughly enjoyed the adventure itself, I enjoyed spending the day talking and laughing with my dad even more! We have SO many adventures planned for this spring! I can't wait!!!
ADVENTURE ON!
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