Sawtell Peak, Henry's Lake, Buffalo River Dam and the Dunes

This summer we've been trying to take little family trips just to get out and see the beautiful area that we live in. With the new baby and little kiddos we've had to make sure we're going adventures everyone can participate in. Earlier this year we went on our first summer adventure of 2012 to the sand dunes to let the kids out and they had a blast. We decided we'd make sure we'd take a few more day trips here and there and just enjoy the time we had together. A few weeks ago we broke away again and went to play out in nature again.

We started the day out by meeting up with someone who wanted to purchase something from us online. While we made the trade she told us about a fun place to go check out while we were up in Island Park. We decided to see where we were in our day and maybe make a stop at the location she told us about... if we could find it.

Our first stop was out at Sawtell Peak up in Island Park. Paul had found this road on a field trip he took with his biology class his last semester at school. Once he found it was a public access road he HAD to go check it out. When we first looked at the map it looked like it was going to be a lot harder drive than it was but it ended up being a perfect drive for the kids.

When we first started out I kind of thought to myself, "that's really where we're going?" and Paul just smiled the whole way up. We were a little bummed it wasn't a clearer day but it was pretty amazing to be up in the clouds like we were when we got to the top. It was FREEZING when we got up there because of the clouds but watching how excited Riann was because she got to "touch" them was priceless.

As we started up the mountain. There's quite a bit more mountain under those clouds.

Once we got up to the top and we were inside the clouds. It was crazy cold and there was still a ton of snow on the ground but we still got some pretty amazing views when the clouds would break.

The view from the top was amazing!!! The peaks and valley's on the other side of the peak were spectacular and the colors of the trees, grasses and flowers were beautiful. I wish the camera would have caught how vibrant everything was.

Just some of the view from the top.

When we caught a glimpse of the top of the peak from the bottom you could see a radio tower. When we first turned on the road going up the mountain Paul pointed to it and told Riann that's where we were going. When we got there we didn't realize it was going to be so big. We didn't know what to tell Riann it was so we called it a giant soccer ball and the whole trip around the peak she pointed it out every time she saw it. Later we found out that the FAA operates a flight traffic control radar station from the summit and that's what the giant ball was. They've got some pretty intense up signage up there. There's no trespassing into the actual building and up on the tower and next to all of the no trespassing signs there are pretty specific signs telling you how the building is patrolled and it lists the various ways you'll be shot or contained if you happen to be found trespassing. That being said the whole area around the building is open to the public and there is a lot of really cool stuff to check out.

The "Giant Soccer Ball"

On the way back down we finally got some breaks from the clouds and the views throughout the whole drive were amazing. There was still a lot of snow at the top because it was so cold and what you could see of the valley was awesome. Island Park is a part of the Targhee National Forest and out here you don't get many trees like we're used to back in Washington but the area out there reminds me a lot of "home" and it was wonderful to spend the day out in the green forest.

Some of the surroundings as we started going back down. This was all right at the very top once we rounded the corner from the tower.

Lots of the green forest and views of the valley.

There were tons of wild flowers still in bloom up the whole mountain side. Every time we stopped Riann asked me to pick her some. I love being out in the flowers like this. They're amazing!!

The photo on the left is the Google map Paul found of the road before we went up. The photos on the right are from the actual road on the way down. We couldn't get any good shots of the switchbacks from further down because the trees were so much thicker but you can see it was a pretty great road from the few photos we got from the top.

While we were at the top of the peak we saw Henry's Lake off to the North of where we were. I didn't realize there was a lake out in Island Park, I just thought it was all river. When we got to the bottom of the mountain we realized we had more than half the day left over so we decided to head on over to the lake and see what we had been missing out on. It was a beautiful lake and maybe we'll be able to hit it up next year, when the weather is a lot warmer. There wasn't much of a public access beach but once the kids are older that probably wouldn't be a huge deal.

Henry's Lake. They let us have a "drive through" pass so we could just check out the area without paying to actually use it. It was fun to drive through and see what the area looked like. We also circled around a few times to drive through a flock of seagulls. Riann and Colby loved that part the most.

After checking out the lake we decided we had enough time to go check out the dam that the lady we had met up with earlier in the day had told us about. It was a beautiful spot and there was a lot for the kids to check out. As a kid we would go visit my grandparents in The Dallas, Oregon and there's The Dallas Dam out there. I remember always having a fun time checking out the dam and playing around. It was fun to share a moment like that with my kids even if this dam was on a MUCH smaller scale than some of the other dams I've visited.

The Buffalo River Dam. This is what everything looked like when we first walked up.

Past the dam you can see down to the Snake River. It was gorgeous! We even got to see a few fishermen out "working".

Paul took the kids around while I hung out with Roslyn. She was having a grumpy moment from being stuck in the car all day. They really enjoyed checking out the water and walking up and down the fish ladder (that's the grate underneath them in the main shot). I just wish there were actual fish for them to see.

After playing at the dam we decided to make one more stop on our way back and let the kids get out and really play around in a place where we didn't have to worry so much about them falling off a cliff or falling into the water. We stopped at the Sand Dunes to let them play and stretch and just be themselves. I think they were grateful for the change to get out of the car and to have the freedom to plan on their own without Paul and I nagging them to "be safe".

Our kids LOVE the sand!!

It was a beautiful day while we were out playing. For how cold it was when we started off it ended pretty warm.

I decided after our first adventure this year I was going to try to get a photo of the car on every trip we made. I'm bummed that we didn't get a picture of the car at the top of Sawtell but as I was picking some flowers for Riann I was able to get a shot coming down the mountain. The rest of the photos are from the rest of the stops we made on our day out.

The top photo is from the down down at Sawtell, the bottle left is from the Buffalo River Dam and the bottom right photo is from the Sand Dunes. We had a couple come and chat with us while we were on the dunes because they couldn't believe we drove our car out on them. They had had some trouble with their 4-wheeler on the dunes and couldn't believe we were able to get a car out there. I love this thing!!!