Oh Jeepers!

Just after lunch today, we packed up the cooler and Spencer's bag and away we went on a little adventure to find Grave Lake somewhere between here and Elkford.

We drove up Highway 43 from the house and went to the Line Creek Mine site and drove the "dirt" road in front of it. We followed the back roads and ended up here... Grave Lake.

We started out by parking the truck and taking a walk across the lake. We met a family at the lake's edge having a bon fire lunch. Spencer even managed to join them in a hotdog!

Before we left, we took some family photos with the tripod.

The family that we met along the lake decided that they would take up some more back roads for a little tour behind them. They were from the area and were very familiar with the roads and the conditions.

We drove past a settling pond built for the mine and up a ridge and truly into the back country. We saw a sign warning people NOT to stop due to an avalanche area.... hmmm... wonder what's up next?

Just after the sign, this is what we came across. This was a photo taken looking up more than 45 degrees!

Yup... taken right in the avalanche zone!

Taking the back roads with our new guides in front of us....




There were some spots in the road the width of truck! The above photos are of areas that were much wider.

We waved goodbye to our guides and drove the way back to the main road.

Just coming out of the back country to the mine site, we saw a herd of elk resting on the ridge before the mine. There was close to 60 animals.

We crossed the paved road to the mine entrance and drove along another road in front of the mine that paralleled the highway. We crossed over a "wooden" bridge over the Elk River to the other side..... gorgeous isn't it?

Along this road we came across 3 families out having a bon fire again! They had a few kids too... a little older and a little younger than Spencer. We stopped to say hi and Spencer got to snacking again! He even managed to get a ride on a sled down one rather large hill ALL BY HIMSELF (thanks to a nudge from Daddy!). He lost a boot at the end and skidded on his cheek a bit but he was okay. Needless to say, he didn't want to go again!

We said goodbye to the 3 families and drove back out and back to the highway.

We took a right and drove into Elkford to finish off our little drove. Just as we entered Elkford, we spotted some elk in one of the horse farms. They were in feeding with the horses.

This fella was only 5-6 feet from the fence line at the road.


We had a nice drive and enjoyed the positive degree weather and sunshine. Except for a few, "glances over the STEEP drops" times, we all had a good time!!