Hurray 4 Harriman

Harriman State Park is just totally awesome in every way, shape and form.  It's like having your own private and exclusive resort.  It's incredible.  It's one of the absolute best assets of our area of Idaho and arguably one of the best assets of the entire state.  If the same rich people had still owned it at the peak of the housing bubble, it probably would have been valued at a few hundred million dollars.  No kidding.  It's 11,000 acres with miles of Henry's Fork streamfront, commanding views of the Tetons and some of the best wildlife habitat anywhere.  Plus there were at least a couple dozen great buildings there when Parks got it.  Lakes, streams, pasture, you name it, Harriman's got it.  We love the place in the summer--the hiking and biking are the best.  But perhaps it shines best in the winter--it's like having your own private cross country ski/snowshoe resort almost all to yourself.  WOW!


Well, the photo album is above. If you wish to see them as individual photos, you can click on the link here.

http://picasaweb.google.com/idahohighlights/HarrimanJan92010#

We left home at 10:20 am, refueled at Fry's and arrived there at 11:30 am.  We took the slow approach and didn't get on the trail until 12:15.  We spent 2+ hours walking around in our snowshoes and then arrived back at the vehicle at 2:25 pm.  we packed up and arrived home at 4:07 pm.  We were unpacked with gear stowed and the truck in the garage by 4:30 pm.  The views of the Tetons today were outstanding.  What gems!

Luckily, we were able to get pretty close to some trumpeter swans--you can see them in the album.
Even though it was Free Ski Day and even though they bussed in a lot of BYU-I students, we had our trails pretty much to ourselves, interfacing with only a handful of people.  Out around Silver Lake we encountered only 2 people.  That's just the way it is in summer, too.  Odd, but true.

We both gave profuse thanks for having the studded rear tires on the Nissan.  Highway 20 was VERY icy--huge patches of sheet ice.  The studs gave us total stability and peace of mind.

Susun made some superb chicken salad with walnuts and red onions and all the usual suspects.  It was a perfect meal both before and after our snowshoe.

That's about it for our day.  Maybe I will think of something else to chatter about later.  Otherwise, have a great evening & Cheers!  J&S