Winter Indy Getaway
I-84 Diner spot
It was supposed to be a month long trip. Marsh retired in August and I had grand hopes of taking a sabbatical and being a dirtbag skier for the month of February. Deals closed and tidy. Snow abundant and fluffy. February didn’t quite work out like that. As always, I am grateful for my colleagues that help me out! Marsh and I headed out of town on a Wednesday afternoon mid-month.
The first stop on our Indy Pass… ( the Ski Pass with small little resorts with a handful of lifts and odd hours that mostly let you camp in their parking lots) was Brundage Mountain outside of McCall, ID. It was the perfect place to get acquainted with how this was going to work. We checked in. Parked in the lower lot with about 4 other overnight rigs and went out skiing for two hours. They had recent snow and the crowds were nil. I kept eyeing the trees, thinking this would be a great place to come back when coverage was good. My kind of angle and tree spacing!
We hit the bar at the end of the day for a burger and beer and then went to the trailer to snuggle in and rest up for day 2.
Our “rig” is a 1967 Aloha trailer that we pull behind a truck. My parents saw this trailer parked on some property outside of Burns, OR. My dad had worked at the Aloha factory outside of Portland, and my Grandpa, Fred Branin had the franchise to sell Aloha trailers at his car lot in Portland. My parents put a note on this old trailer and a few weeks later they got a call. The owner said he wouldn’t take a penny less than $600. Sold.
That was over 10 years ago. My parents didn’t really want the Aloha, they have a big comfortable trailer, so I got the smelly little thing. One wreck, a new partner, and thousands of dollars later, it’s just like I like it. Warm, easy, comfortable, organized, unique, and winter ready. Marsh has done some beautiful work and added lots of upgrades. The special features and lots of LOVE make it great. We call her Calamity.
We made our way through Missoula, and then to a resort called Lost Trails Powder Mountain, between Darby, MT and Salmon, ID. Lost Trails had fun Blue runs. Truth be told, that’s our favorite… We like “cruising the Blues”. That includes bluebird weather! Lost Trails had good homemade soup in their lodge and a big central wood fireplace to warm up around. They also had a great $5 beer that they brew themselves. We were the only ones camping in the lot that night. A storm came in as predicted and dropped about 7 inches of soft and beautiful snow. Lost trails is closed Tuesday and Wednesday’s. When we woke up on Tuesday morning, we put on our skins and hiked to the top of the run for a gorgeous run down. We had the place all to ourselves and did a second lap. Awesome!
We saw our morning tracks from the road!
We headed to Salmon, ID from there and a Bakery we were told was a must visit. Salmon was cute. We found a natural food store and stocked up on supplies, visited a thrift store for a few new DVD’s for our trailer tv, and found the local bike shop owned by Marsh’s friend Laurel’s, friend; Gonzo. Gonzo told us about our next stop. Sharkey Hot Springs.
The other photos we took of Sharkey were to risqué for this blog. This spot is remote!
We pulled into Driggs, ID where my son is living about 5:00 on a Wednesday night. Teddy, had just gotten off of work and saw us pull into the local market (we are hard to miss) So good to see my boy. We bought what we needed for a big mama lasagna meal and headed to a gorgeous home that Teddy was house and dog sitting at. We got to stay with him for four nights and enjoy creature comforts and the Olympics between skiing at Grand Targhee and watching Skijoring!
We cheered for Teddy and his company racing in City League.
Snow King Mountain in Jackson, WY is on the Indy Pass. Whenever anyone mentions this mountain, they usually add, “It’s really steep”. We found it fun and fast and the ultimate in “cruising the blues”. Luci joined us at Snow King. She had driven from Scottsdale to get a week of skiing in. That was the highlight of the trip. Hanging with both of my kids and Marsh.
It was our first time watching skijoring and it was all I hoped for! Great horses, good riders and skiers of all levels, and fabulous people watching! We also got lucky with great weather.
We said our goodbyes. Marsh and I headed to Beaver Mountain, UT and the kids went to Jackson Hole to rip it up on the slopes the way they do.
Our first night at Beaver we did a twilight hike into the nearby hills with our touring skis on. That is my favorite way to ski. We ate trailer ramen, and got back into our routine of watching an old movie snuggled in bed.
Lodge at Anthony Lakes and Gunsight.
Pink Elkhorns
After Beaver we camped at Pommerelle Resort near Idaho Falls, ID. We got rained out and headed to Boise, (and a hotel) We rested up and then drove to Anthony Lakes Ski area. It was fun to stop into my little Cowgirl Cottage in Baker City, and be reminded of how beautiful that country is, and how much I love that investment. Anthony Lakes didn’t disappoint either. A pink evening ski and a bluebird day riding the lift was really fun. We spent two nights camping before heading home. 16 days away. We came home with runny noses and sore throats and lots of dirty laundry and dishes. As always, it’s great to go away and great to come HOME.
Glad we flexed our Indy muscle and jumped in the truck and did our version of being dirtbag skiers.