burn out week....trip to Slate Creek

So, our friend (and Assistant Manager of Housekeeping here at The 'Fish) Jodi decided that this week, being her last week here at Redfish, was going to be "Burn-Out Week." She has had a random adventure every day this week and plans on continuing thru Sunday night, as she leaves to go back to school at BYU-I on Monday morning.

Tonight was the random trip of the girls get-together. It started with a group of 4 of us wanting to go to this cave that Jodi thought she saw with her folks when they were here in Stanley exploring. So, she thought it would be fun to go and see what this cave was all about, and to see if, in-fact, it really was a cave. Well, plans changed at the last minute and we decided to go to Slate Creek (a suggestion from our G.M. Jeff.) It was a great last-minute change, cause it ended up being a blast. Eight of us girls ended up going and caravan'ing past Lower Stanley to Slate Creek.

We have had rain off and on for the past few days, so the dirt roads were kinda muddy and in some places there were HUGE mud puddles.....I LOVED the really big ones! My poor little trooper of a Honda Civic handled my torture very well, and she had quite the mud-bath to show for her adventure at the end of the evening. We, girls had a great time hiking and exploring. Above are the pictures that I was able to get. I still need to see if I can poole all of our photos and put them together in an album online, cause the other girls got some great shots!!

We explored the out buildings and the mine itself...which used to be a working silver mine. It is such a cool area, and there are so many things to explore. Lots of dug-outs and lean-to's all over! We went after we were all off work, and by this time it was starting to get dark earlier in the evening...so it is definitely somewhere I want to go back and spend the day. There are many cool things to explore and check out!!!

It was a wonderfully random, burn-out week adventure!! I will miss Jodi and Rachelle...our partners in crime with random adventures! :)

random adventure to Alturas Lake

Sometimes you just want to get out and drive. Today was that day for me. I had some time before my late afternoon work shift started. So, I got in my car and drove. I started in the direction of Ketchum and Sun Valley because I know there are lots of places that would be a fun and random adventure. I listened to music and opened my windows and sunroof...it was an absolutely gorgeous day!! Another beautiful day up here in the Stanley wilderness. =D As I drove, I decided to go to Alturas lake and check out the area.

This trip, like many others, came with a small detour on the way. If I see an interesting sign or possible fun spot along the way...I stop and check it out. Well this time my detour was Lake Perkins. So I found a spot to park my car and got out and explored. An amazing little path was right before me and I just walked and enjoyed the sunshine, and the random forest noises. The small path divided and reminded me of an old poem that we had to read in school, the one by Robert Frost and the phrase popped into my head, two roads diverged in a yellow wood and sorry I could not travel both. And like in the poem, I stood there for a minute and took in the view and the beauty that this little random adventure had to offer. I knew that either would get me to the same lake, just different views. Well, the path I chose had a gorgeous view!!! Very peaceful and well worth the detour!

I took my time returning to the car and then headed up the road to Alturas. This is where I found my happy place. I don't know why, or why this place...but something about this spot spoke to me and made me just let it all go. I sat there for a while, just thinking and listening to the waves of the lake and watching the cute little couple kayak from my side of the shore to the other side of the lake where the rest of the party seemed to be. The lake was interesting to watch, and three tones of water were visible and for some reason there were many little things that caught my attention. After the kayakers left, there was no one in my immediate area, and it was so peaceful and serene. I could have sat there all day! It was absolutely incredible!! A definite happy place was found at Alturas Lake =D

the folks' visit to Redfish

Mom and John were able to come up for a short visit. They wanted to check out camp-sites to possibly come back up in September and camp in the trailer. So, we toured around Redfish and they got to see where I am working and living for the summer. We also went to the Sawtooth Fish Hatchery in hopes of seeing them release the fish in the morning, but we got there too late; but we did see some of the Sockeye in the holding tanks. It was a short, but great visit!!

a visit to Petit Lake

I made a quick drive to Petit Lake this afternoon before work. There are still places close by that I haven't seen, so I made a goal to at least make some quick trips to see what they are all about. So, today's choice was Petit Lake which is just about 30 minutes outside of Redfish towards Sun Valley. The weather was beautiful and the lake was peaceful! Hardly anyone was there and it was nice to have the lake almost to myself....except the family of water-skier's and the picnic'ing family. It was a great afternoon and a beautiful spot to visit!

water football

We have had days of rain and thought that we could find a really muddy field to play some mud football. But when we got to the ranch, the fields weren't muddy enough...but the sprinklers were on part of the rolling hills off to the side of the driveway into the ranch, so the group decided to play water football instead. I sat the game out because my equilibrium was off (having felt like I'd been kicked in the head...thanks to this stupid migraine) and I sat on the fence with my camera and enjoyed the sights of the game. It was such a beautiful scene with the mountains and the setting sun in the background. Thanks to Del and his wife for letting us come to their ranch and play!

water slide and a hay ride

So, this is what we did for Family Home Evening with our singles group tonight. No, unfortunately this isn't us....I forgot to take my camera so this is a pic from the May Family Ranch's website. I think it's kinda an old picture because the slide now is much longer and sooo much fun!

The May Family Ranch is awesome!!! It is on Hwy 75 between Stanley and Challis and is where we had our single adult activity tonight, and we all had a blast!!! The May's own the Ranch and they are in our ward in Stanley and they (and the guests that had the whole Ranch privately reserved this week) were kind enough to let us come and partake of the waterslide fun! We did get some pictures because Sis. May was down at the bottom of the slide taking pictures of us as we all came sliding down. So, hopefully we will be able to get a few pictures from her to remember the fun evening.

After the sun went down behind the mountains and we all got chilly, Bro. May offered to take us on a good ol'fashioned hay ride...modernized of course, because he pulled us behind his really cool old-school John Deer tractor! It was awesome! We had a little mechanical problem...some lug nuts fell out of one of the front tires on our way out of the ranch so we all went on a scavenger hunt down the road to find the three that had become missing :) hahah! It was pretty comical, but we still had a good time and Jodi saved the day...she ran back to the ranch and got her tool kit (that her dad, the mechanic had given her I assume) and she came back with the wrench to help fix the tire with the found treasures from the scavenger hunt! :) It turned out well and we all had a great time.

a girls play day

It's been fun having the same day off as Karen and Laurel...we can always find something to do and it makes it more fun because we have friends to share it with. So one day we decided to take our day off and drive to Ketchum, and Hailey. We didn't make it to Sun Valley, cause we had too much fun elsewhere :) We walked around town, went to the bookstore, the Goldmine (a fun second-hand store), a couple of apparel stores to possibly find shoes (but had no luck with what we were looking for....spendy stores!), a really neat bead shop in Hailey where I found beads to make a "tribute to Redfish" necklace, and just drove around a bit to see the sights and find something interesting to do. One of the funniest things we did was in Hailey as we crossed the street....goofy enough that I had to get some pictures, plus it was music in the streets of Hailey day so we had to stop and listen for a bit before we made the journey back to the mountain wilderness of Redfish Lake Lodge and our jobs the next day.

a down home 4th of July

The 4th of July this year was pretty cool. The only sad part is that there were no fireworks over the river or the lake, but it was still great. We went into Stanley where they were having a community party....food, games, and a live band. It was a great atmosphere...plus with the sky doing all sorts of crazy pre-storm stuff it was a great and beautiful setting to take some awesome pictures.

play time at the park in Stanley

a few of us girls drove into Stanley for a change of scenery and some time on the play equipment at the park.....it's a gorgeous setting and was fun to just be childish! =]

a trip home and a couple of birthday parties, and a belated fathers day

A great, but quick trip home for my day off and a couple of birthday parties and to celebrate fathers day....for my 31st birthday, Seirra's 15th birthday, and Fathers Day.

a day off and hiking the Fishhook

Today was a fabulous day off! I stayed up late last night, so I let myself sleep in this morning. I had no crazy plans to drive home for my time off...so I had a kicked back, relax, no plans kinda day off, and it was absolutely fabulous! I took my time and lounged this morning. I took a trip "into town" aka Stanley to run a few errands....first stop the bakery! This little bakery in town has THE BEST cinnamon rolls ever! Life has been crazy lately, so I treated myself to one and it was great!!! I picked it up to go and took it with me to the lovely laundromat! A friend told me about it and said that they are super cheap (it's $3.50 per load here on campus *ouch!*)....so sad that I didn't get a picture of this little place, but the savings was totally worth it! And it gave me time, while sitting and waiting there, to read a bit and catch up with a friend on the phone....'cause I actually get really good cell reception in town! *yippee!* Too bad I have to drive to 10 minutes to get good cell reception. Oh well!...LOL!!! After getting some things done, I decided to hike the Fishhook Creek Trail just off the main Redfish Trailhead. I've wanted to do some exploring for quite some time, but I've never made it a priority...but today it happened. It was about 8 o'clock this evening, so the sun was starting to sink into the mountains and it made for an absolutely gorgeous hike into the mountains and along side Fishhook Creek! Still no pics with me in them, but I got some incredible scenery shots! Too breathtaking for words, some of them!!

tomorrow is the 10th day

I'm discovering that ten days is a long time to go without a day off! I thought working 6 days then having a day off was hard, but now I will appreciate going back to my normal 6 day work week! ;0 Tomorrow is day ten and then I have Friday off! Yippeeeeee! I'm sooo excited to have some time off and to be able to make a quick trip to Boise to be with family...I hope things turn out well.

We are making progress in the store. Our toy shipment came in the day before yesterday, and we've been having fun playing....uh, I mean putting them away and getting the store even more ready for peak season to hit ;-P We are almost there and have made much progress since the beginning of May when we started. Hopefully I'll have more pics in the next little while...because that will mean that the store is completely ready to go for the season.

Plus, I finally get a roommate this week....I think I do at least. A few weeks ago the G.M. promised me a highly pierced and tatooed roomie, and I'm holding him to his promise...so we'll see who she ends up to be! ;-) LOL!!!

close encounters of a chipmunk kind

So, we have this picnic area where the employees eat (when the weather is nice, that is) right behind the lodge...and there are lots of little creatures and wildlife running around. This happened a couple of weeks ago, where a chipmunk started ripping away one of the picnic tablecloths...the ones that have batting on the bottom. Well, she must have been nesting because she started ripping off the batting and literally shoving it down her throat and then made a run for it. Luckily, my camera has a decent zoom and I was able to get some pretty good shots of the event. Brave little critters are getting used to having humans around...they get pretty close and brave. It was a very entertaining lunch break! A few days later we saw the pet fox that frequents the lodge grounds aka "campus."

paddle-boating

Today was our last employee only day on campus....since opening day for the season is tomorrow, guests will begin arriving and things will change. We still had soooo much to do to get ready for opening day, but having the lodge and grounds to yourself before guests come up is an incredible experience...and my manager decided to give us the night to enjoy our own "private Redfish" one last time before guests arrived tomorrow afternoon. A couple of friends and I decided to go down to the docks and take out a paddle boat. Good thing the dock boys were still finishing up a few things before opening day....like docking more boats and finishing staining some of the docks, so we were able to have the lake all to ourselves in our little paddle boat. Unfortunately, I didn't take a camera with me out on the lake, but I got a few good shots on our way out to the docks. It was so fun to have the lake all to ourselves and to enjoy our own "private Redfish" one last time before guests begin to arrive!

yet another bonfire

I just thought I'd throw these up because some of them turned out really neat...I love a good fire, and looking back at the pics is fun =] and I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I do.

day-off trip to Ketchum, Sun Valley & Hailey

Ok, so my manager was in Boise today (as part of her bi-monthly shopping trip for the store), and she gave me the option of taking the day off. She said....well, you are salary so you should take the time off while you can! So, I didn't think twice. Ketchum and Sun Valley aren't too far away from Stanley, so I decided to do some sight seeing. The only catch was that everyone else that I'm up here with was working at the Lodge, so this would have to be a solo trip....so, sorry, the pictures are of scenery again! Sometime soon I will put more people-pics up ;-}

I was able to walk around, and look at some of the cute little shops and things in Ketchum and Sun Valley...The day was nice and relaxing and the trip was a great little adventure...quick but good!

my final resting place

Yesterday had to be the best day up here so far.....we got the ok to move into the Ritz! It's our place in employee housing this summer. Jodi and I were soooo excited! We've been looking forward to really getting settled in and unpacking our cars. Finally, our rooms are clean so we can move in (and even more importantly...the womens showers and bathrooms upstairs are clean). That means no more living out of a suitcase in the Lodge!!!! Yipppppeeeeee! =]

The first thing we did after dinner was packing up our lodge rooms and hauling all our stuff the 1/4 mile down the road to what we lovingly call.......

"The Ritz"

and some views inside our house...

Luckily, I'm not in the bungalow's......


close-up

They are really cute, and super cozy....like you practically live like sardines. Each bungalow has two sides, which means 8 people live in one of each of these buildings. The boys are this side of each bungalow and there are girls on the other side of the bldg. There are 2 sets of bunkbeds and a small room with a toilet and a shower and a small sink. My friend, Karen, was nice enough to let me take pictures of her bungalow (her roommates aren't up here yet, so for now she has it all to herself.) They are new and nice.....but, can I tell you how happy I am to only have one roommate and not 3! It definitely makes me a happy girl =]