git-r-dun and stuff

Waking up at the ranch is so great. The air is crisp and cool today. 56 degrees which is actually about 10 degrees higher then what we have been having. I come downstairs in the morning to make the coffee which I hand grind- it just tastes better that way! Then I pour myself a cup and curl up on the couch and watch the mountain wake up through the trees. Today is looking to be a bit overcast so we could get some of that desperately needed firestorm stopping rain. I am not sure what today holds but I am gonna use my hammock for awhile today. I am not making a great tour guide as I just want to sit and enjoy my ranch not take people all over Idaho or spend my hours in store buying groceries and parts for bathrooms. Ok done whining for now.

Yesterday we packed up the ‘Spedition and headed for Lunch Peak which is a fire station at 6363 feet up in the Cabinet Mountains. It is a wondrous view from there. It is 19 miles of switchbacks and rocky road from the time you leave Highway 200. We were about 11 miles up when we saw two people with backpacks headed downhill. Alas, their car had broken down while headed up to spend the weekend. They were hoping that we had a cellphone that would work so they could call for help- help they got, but no cell phones coulda supplied what they got!

Vern got busy and we were under the hood of that Subaru faster then you can say “git-r-dun” Of course someone named Vern had taken the tool box out so there was more room in the truck but someone named Susan scrounged up enough tools just the right size to work. We had to pull wires from our Spedition to make a new wire connection from battery to starter for them- we were with this couple for about 1 hour . The plus side is that our vehicle now has windows and overhead lights that work again- we have been blowing fuses like crazy- I think we found the demon and I am hoping that we killed it and didn’t just pass it forward.

We made it to Lunch Peak, which is spectacular. Last year when we drove up there, there was still snow on the ground-also in July- but Idaho got much less snow fall this year so the snow was gone and it was missing from most of the mountain peaks we could see. We ate sandwiches here and then headed to my favorite hidden spot- Porcupine Lake.

This Lake is a hidden wonder that no one knows about. Don’t I wish that was really true. Vern and Gail discovered this spot a couple years ago while hunting elk. I suppose when you are driving through a foot of snow it is more secluded but on a warm, summer weekend it was just too overpopulated. We got there first but that didn’t scare off those that wanted to be there. It is a 6 mile drive in from the main mountain trail road. Much of this six miles could only be done by 4x4. You must ford 2 creek beds, which do in fact wash your tires and parts of your bumpers sometimes. I forgot to check the elevation while I was there so you lose. Anyway, it is higher then Lunch Peak. So, way up high in the sky among the mountain tops is this hidden lake- probably about 10 acres of lake and the water is so clear. I wish I could bottle up the smells and the sounds and transport them and a photo to you but those will just have to live in my head for now-sorry.

After we arrived and had enjoyed the solitude and the thought that we were the only ones on earth that knew about this place 2 men and a Bichion Fresha dog showed up to fish our Lake- how rude. One yuppie fisherman, who actually owned the damned Elsie dog that his father was now walking around the lake, donned his waders and then sat in a blowup chair and had fins on his waders. We were hoping he would lean too far forward and fill his pants and then his dog could go in after him. Funny how the dad who was stuck with dog and fishing from shore was the only one catching fish.

Not 10 mins later this “lovely” family of displaced California yuppies dove up and with an air of superiority pretty much laid claim to our private lake as their camping spot for the evening and could we please leave while they hiked around our lake so they could set up camp soon. They mentioned that they had seen a bear about a mile down road- I am hoping that the bear smelled their yuppie bacon and came for an early breakfast of yuppies. We hung around for awhile longer just to make them wait-ha

Coming down that mountain I was hearing a strange sound from the back of our Spedition- yea, I was hanging my head out the window at the time. We had a flat tire but being the Wonder Woman I am, Vern and I had that tire changed in no time. I am a pro at changing tires!!!! Really.

We all felt a bit beat up from the rough and rocky mountain top ride but I think we were all glad that we had this adventure- I know the 2 hikers were glad we had gone adventuring.
We had left Vern’s bro Gail at home today and he worked on the bathroom while we were gone. The walls are now up, the toilet is working, the shower is almost ready to shower, the sink is almost done. It is looking awesome.

People are waking now so it is time to get up and get the kitchen opened up for the day.

Blessings from Moose Run Ranch!