We left Fort Collins on Wednesday, and drove to Lander. The Mountain Range RV park was not as nice as it was the last time we were there. We had dinner outside at the Gannett Restaurant, part of Lander Bar and Grill, and ice cream at the Scream Shack.
Thursday morning we hooked up and drove to the Wind River Wild Horse Sanctuary. Our guide was from France, and loved horses. These horses are rounded up by the BLM to prevent overpopulation, and some of them end up here. A few are adopted, but most spend the rest of their lives there on the farm. We then went back to Lander because Richard was having trouble with his eye. He saw the nurse practitioner, got a prescription, and got out of town around noon. We drove through Dubois, where we stopped at the NAPA dealer, and then over Togwotee pass, into the valley of Jackson hole. We headed for our campground at Gros Ventre, and chatted with Mike, who had left Lander earlier. We went to mass, and had dinner at Snake River Brewing.
Friday, Sandi and I went to the visitor center to get boat permits and inspections. In the afternoon, Mike and I paddled on Slide Lake in our sea kayaks, mostly looking for the outlet of the lake. The lake was created by a landslide in 1925, blocking the Gros Ventre River. I went to Dornans to get gas. Sandi cooked us and Mike a good dinner. Russ, Carol, David and Joan arrived, and we agreed that we were not boating on Saturday.
Saturday morning, Sandi and I drove into the park. We had intended to hike, but the parking lots were overflowing. We took some pictures from scenic overlooks. In the afternoon, we drove into Jackson, filled up the tank, visited the yarn shop, and went to the art fair. We chatted with various artists at the fair; Sandi bought some earrings. We had dinner at Snake River Brewing, and then went to mass. We made it back to camp to find that it had rained quite a bit. More people arrived, Karen, Mark, Aaron, and Marci. We had a planning meeting, and agreed to paddle the Snake River on Sunday, from Pacific Creek, near the Moran entrance, to Deadmans Bar.
Sunday, 13 of us paddled from Pacific Creek to Deadman's bar. The river was moving well, class 1, easy.
Monday, about a dozen people put in at the Jackson Lake Dam. We checked out the oxbows. Some folks were getting out at Pacific Creek, but our group paddled on to Deadman's bar, against the wind, hard work. Sandi went to look at historic Mormon Row. When we got to Deadman's bar, we found out that the key to the shuttle vehicle was at the put in. There was no cell phone coverage; I used my satellite communicator to text Sandi to come get us.
Tuesday, seven of us left camp at 7 am to go to String Lake and Leigh Lake. We got there early to get a parking space. The lake was glassy, all was quiet, it was a nice paddle. We paddled to the other end of String Lake, through a couple of narrow areas, to the portage to Leigh lake. The portage was relatively short, not much elevation gain. Leigh Lake is quite large, right at the foot of Mount Moran. We paddled to the West end, had lunch, and paddled back. As we got closer to the put in, we found we were in a beach scene, with lots of bathing suits, paddleboards, people walking in the lake, etc. Kind of a shock after seeing it early with almost no one there. This was my favorite day so far, great scenery, few folks until we returned in the afternoon.
Wednesday, Richard decided not to paddle, as he was tired. We decided to drive into town and run errands, including gas, propane, laundry, groceries, lunch, and REI for a wide brim hat.
Thursday we had a half dozen people for the run on the Snake from Deadman Bar to Moose. The river ran quickly, and we had to focus to stay clear of the downed trees and stumps. There were a lot of decisions where the river forked into two channels. We understood why the Park Service discourages folks from running it. We saw a pair of Sandhill Cranes on a sand bar. We all really enjoyed the paddle.
Friday, we had such a good time on Thursday we decided to do it again, with 8 boats and 9 people. Another beautiful day. We capped the trip off with a group dinner at Dornan's chuckwagon restaurnt.
This has been a great trip. People were very appreciative for Mike organizing the trip.
Saturday Sandi and I went early to String Lake, for a hike to Leigh Lake. String Lake was beautiful with a reflection of Mt. Moran. We chatted with a park volunteer who has lived in a patrol cabin on Leigh Lake. She and her husband are responsible for checking on the campsites on and near Leigh Lake, from Memorial Day to Labor Day. She said that some campsites are booked in early January, but the rest are available the day before. We saw Leigh Lake and returned to our truck. We headed back to our campsite, ate lunch, hooked up, and left. We let the campground office know that we had left early, so someone else could use our space. We headed back over Togwotee pass and the continental divide, but went to Riverton instead of Lander. There was a huge contrast, with Lander a cute tourist town, and Riverton a commercial center. We stayed at Wind River RV Park, an older park. The lady running it is nice. We attended mass in St. Margaret's Church, and ate Thai at a restaurant near the church. The left hand turn signal on the trailer was not working. After some troubleshooting, we decided to just head home and fix it there. We drove out to St. Stephen's mission; the church is beautiful on the outside, and Sandi says that it is just as beautiful inside.
The drive home was routine. We ate at Anong's Thai Cusine in Rawlins; we have enjoyed the Anong's in Laramie. All in all a very nice trip. Sandi had a lot of time to knit and read, and I got in a lot of paddling.
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