Tendoy is a magical place for our family. We look forward to our trip every year and talk about our memories of it often. This year we decided to branch out a little and try out some new activities on our Tendoy trip to make it even more of a vacation.
We borrowed and cobbled together a truck trailer, bikes and 4-wheelers to take up to Tendoy on our adventure. Every other year we sped right on by Gilmore and Meadow Lake but this year we took the scenic detour. Gilmore is a ghost town of an old mining town. Kris remembers visiting with his uncle
Wynn and brother Eric when he was a teen. Back then they walked in and around exploring the buildings. But now they are all signed and fenced off, probably for our safety as most of them were crumbling away. We drove through but didn't take any pictures. Then we took the steep twisty road up to Meadow Lake for a picnic and a little fishing.
The lake is so high that when we stepped out of the pick-up the air felt cool but the blazing sun on our skin soon warmed us back up. We made sure to slather on the sunscreen. I was amazed at how clear the lake was. You could see each rock and twig on the bottom as well as the little fish who lazily swam by our bait. Leah and Eva loved cooling their toes in the cold water and casting their unbaited bobbers into the water.
Abi and Tal didn't fare any better with the fish. The scene was so beautiful that we almost didn't care though. Meadow Lake is crystal clear, ringed by rocky beaches on one half and towering mountain peaks on the other. This is surely a place to visit again. Our windy trip up became a tortuous crawl down as we were pulling a fully loaded trailer which threatened to push us down the mountain. Thankfully Kris was driving and I only white-knuckled the dashboard. As serendipity would have it, just as we pulled back onto the highway we passed Eric whose car had broken down and were able to give him a lift into camp.
On Thursday we decided to explore the town of Salmon, ID 30 minutes north of Tendoy and the seat of Lemhi County. We browsed the Lemhi County Historical Museum fascinated by the odds and ends of frontier life, like the croquet ball sized ball of hair from the stomach of a cow, EW!. Tal was really interested in the display about Chief Tendoy as he was Tal's Idaho Hero from the fourth grade. We also saw beautiful relics from the Chinese emmigrants, clothing, gold fingernail covers, pianos and dishes. Just across the road from the museum sits this community sculpture which we were excited to snap our picture in front of. Notice our matching T-shirts. We designed them ourselves with bleach pen.
After a nostalgic walk through the King's store, nostalgic for Sarah who used to shop there with "the ladies" while the men went riding, we had lunch at Savage Burger. It is a fun little grease pit memoralizing Salmon High School Savages sports. Burgers and fries hit the spot.
Then we were off to the Sacajawea Discovery Center. Inside the Center the kids touched exhibits and animal skins that would have been common to the Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery. We looked at maps tracing their path through Idaho, right along paths we love to ride. And we watched a beautiful movie that brought the adventures of Sacajawea and the Corps to life. Outside we hiked down the nature trail exploring the area as it would have looked when the Corps came through Idaho.
The kids especially loved the exhibits of tepees and different shelters the native people would have used. (And we think our tent gets crowded.)
Outside we all pose in front of this beautiful sculpture of Sacajawea holding her babe. What a strong and courageous woman she was.
Copper Queen, an abandoned mine, is a favorite spot for a ride. We missed the raspberries this year but instead took a short hike up to the top of the ridge. What gorgeous country.
One evening we tried our hand at fishing Hayden Ponds. Bust! But the little cousins had lots of fun throwing rocks into the culvert. This mischievous face knows she was caught in the act.
Sharkey Hot Springs is our favorite hangout after a long day of riding and playing. The kids beg to go every night after dinner. On our drive back to camp at twilight we often spot deer and their fawns drossing the road as they come down from the ridges to graze in the farmer's field. Our favorite ride of the trip was an early evening ride as we circled around the back of Sharkey and took the wood road back to Agency Creek. The air was crisp with scent of sage and the shrinking light cast a soft glow to the harsh landscape as herds of pronghorn wheeled across the ridges and valleys in front of us.
During the day little cousins laughed and played in the pool, the ditch, riding the little four-wheelers and chasing bugs.
One of my favorite spots to visit is the Sacajawea Memorial up Agency Creek Rd on the Continental Divide. I love hiking through the cool shade of the trees to the little spring that supposedly is the headwaters of the Missouri.
It takes 2 4-wheelers to take our family for a ride. We will put it on our wish list for one of these years. Luckily we have family who nice enough to let us borrow.
At the end of the week we are all glad to have come and spent time together, but looking forward to long showers and clean beds. Meek Family, Funk Family, and Hayes Family. (Not pictured are Jeremy and Walker Meek, Eric Meek, and Brandi and Jeremy who had all left early.)
Our last ride of the trip we all loaded onto the big red 4-wheeler and rode up to Chief Tendoy's Gravesite. Kris gave a little devotional and we took a moment to ponder our trip, memories and his life. Until next year.
August 7-11, 2013
