Camping was on our summertime "must do" list and we very nearly let summer go by without doing it! Looking at the calendar we were sort of horrified at how few weekends we have left before school starts. We decided if we were going to make it happen, this was going to be the weekend.
Mike suggested going to the Gros Ventres, and when he said it he had that same glimmer in his eye that he did when he agreed to the Goodwin Lake Hike a few weeks ago, and I knew this trip was as much a chance for him to drive his Land Rover on a crazy road as it was a chance to go off the grid for a little while.
I have a history with this road. Years ago, when camping was a regular occurrence, the Gros Ventre wilderness became one of our favorite spots. Its nearby, easy to get to, pretty quiet and very beautiful. There are plenty of campsites that are very easy to get to, but one particular day, board with these spots we ventured down the road further, until we came to what appeared to be a happy little road that went down a happy little hill to the bank of the river across from a very interesting mountain. In those days, we drove an old, beat up Subaru Legacy Wagon. It was a marvelous car, but it had a ridiculously low ground clearance. The road consisted of two deep ruts with a mound of earth in the middle. Clearly this road had been forged by very large pick up trucks and ATV's. This did not stop me. I got the Subaru up, with two wheels on the middle mound of earth and the other two on the side of the road where the sagebrush grew. One little mistake and our Subaru would become a permanent fixture of that road. A rancher type fellow was out there that day, saw what I was doing and starting waving frantically. "Little Lady" he said "I don't think you're going to make it down there in this little car!" "Watch me sir!" I responded and I continued my way down this "road" in my quirky (stupid) manner. At the end of the hill, quite pleased with myself, we discovered that I was not done yet. The actual campsite was down another steep hillside, this time with a rutted, extremely rocky curvy road. I argued that we should just park the car at the top of the road and haul our stuff down the rest of the way. But Mike, still laughing at this crazy thing I had just done, egged me on to continue. So I did, and I made it down alright, although it was very unnerving hearing large rocks scrape the bottom of my car and I was certain I was going to break an axel. Finally at the bottom of the hill, Mike was very impressed with my insanity. I however spent the remaining time fretting about how the hell I was going to get that car l out of there. When the dreaded day came, I was very near anxiety attack time. I was certain we would be walking out, and I was trying to figure out how much it would cost to have our old Subaru towed out of there if (and in my mind, when) I got it stuck on some giant rock or something. But somehow I managed to make it, me white knuckling it in the Subaru, with Mike at the top of the hill yelling his guidance and cheering me on.
So when Mike said he wanted to camp in the Gros Ventres, I knew exactly what he had in mind.
The video really doesn't do this "road" justice. It really is something to marvel at in person. But Mike and his Rovey certainly do make it look as easy as pie. This is the last section of the road, the first part was easy with Rovey's high ground clearance. Later on this day, when Eli and I took a nap, Mike and Sully took off to find more crazy roads to play on, I could hear them off in the distance, with the engine gunning and the car bouncing and Sully squealing with delight. I kept my eyes on the river because I fully expected that Mike would find someway to get the Rovey in the water and test out its waterproof driving capabilities. Fortunately (from my point of view) he could not find entry, although he admitted that he had tried.
 |
| Lunch Time |
PLAYING IN THE RIVER
ELI PLAYING IN THE TENT
ELI, THE FILTHIEST BABY EVER.
FINALLY TIME TO ROAST THE MARSHMALLOWS!
(He'd been asking to do so since 9:30 am)
This may be my new favorite picture of Sully, he really savored the roasted marshmallow.
GETTING READY FOR A CHILLY, (REALLY CHILLY) NIGHT
Which hat should Eli Wear?
His Own? NO!
His Brother's? It is pretty funny.
Mommy's?
TURNING IN FOR THE NIGHT. (ALSO KNOWN AS MIKE AND MY EXCUSE TO GO TO SLEEP AT 8 PM)
