Island Park, Idaho bid us farewell. In between showers, we explored the forest service roads where grand vistas and abundant flowers lined the hillside.
There was plenty of space to play king of the mountain...with no challengers!
Our various trips into Yellowstone revealed glimpses of the mysterious thermal hot springs such as Castle Geyser.
And on our quest to seek wildlife this hungry Black Bear munched away near the road construction zone, seemingly unaware of the cars passing by just a few feet away.
Further away in a meadow these impressive Elk stayed a distance away from the roadside.
Other beauties await in Idaho so we continued our trek to the Mesa Falls Scenic Byway where a short drive will take you to a couple of impressive falls.
The Upper Falls catches the sunlight in the morning displaying a beautiful rainbow hovering over the edge as the water thunders down. Traveling a bit further down the road, the Lower Falls come into view.
Russell, when not heading out on adventures with us, has decided that vacation is hard work and a comfy spot on the couch is just what a German Shepherd deserves!
Once we loaded all the toys, we made our way south to St.Anthony, Idaho to Sand Hills Resort...destination- Super Sand!
We met up with RZR forum members from American Rock Rods to show us around the massive dunes.
Chris tested his XP on the wide expanse of a bowl, running stock tires and fast acceleration!
And as usual, Russell was glad he rested up to romp and play on the small dunes near camp!
You can see we ended up with quite a riding crew of RZR XP's...and my RZR S...and one Can-Am. Along with Bill & Linda, we met up with Ray from Extreme Back Country and his daughter as well as Joe, Suzy and their son Marcel from Colorado, and Paul & Heather from Alberta.
The scenery is amazing, with Elgin Lake flanking one side of the dunes with views of the distant snow capped Teton mountain range to the east. Parked by the BLM area of Elgin Lake, the local Sheriff was taking visitors for rides in the custom buggy.
Did I mention that I had the only "S"? Hard to capture in a picture, the intense steepness tripped me up a few times and I was grateful for the winch on our neighbor's Can-Am to get me up the hill the rest of the way. Hmm...now Chris' RZR has been winched out of the snow in Utah and I've been winched out of the sand. Bill was a great guide to lead me onto some smaller dunes after a few hill challenges!
Perhaps this picture of Choke Cherry Dune will help with the perspective. In the middle are two RZR XP's making a run for the top. That is as far as a RZR can rise before turning downhill.
The sand dunes are marked along the edges with a BLM designated route to help navigate, but one still needs to watch for the lava rock and the ledges!
Caleb took on the sand with his Honda 250 and met the challenges of the lava rock. He persevered and will be ready for duning season with his Suzuki 400 that is waiting for him at home!
Dune trips are both exhilarating and challenging, relaxing and exhausting, and always made more entertaining with new friends and great riding!
With the trailers packed up again, we were back on the road heading north, stopping to rest and restock in the Cabela's parking lot in Billings, Montana. Then dodging the midwest summer storms, we stopped at Ft.Abraham Lincoln State Park in Mandan, North Dakota. The third day of driving we held up just shy of the border in Baudette, Minnesota at the Timbermill Community Park. Thursday morning we were ready to roll into Canada with a painless crossing and pleasant drive into Sioux Narrows, Ontario where we will be parked for a few weeks of fishing and playing on the water!
