Williams Family Fun!: The Princess and the snake

Leave it to our little "princess" to befriend a snake - if it's not a snake, it's a frog! Atleast it was a small snake this time! The snake was at Deadwood Reservoir and the frog sanctuary was created at Stanley Lake with one of the new friends she made that week, Dylan. "Butterflies", as in social, don't usually befriend frogs and snakes, but she's unique and we love her that way!

Deadwood Reservoir, July 18-24, 2008

We have decided that unloading the bikes from the trailer and having everyone but the van driver and the two little girls ride the 24 miles of rugged dirt road into Deadwood is the fastest and least harrowing way to do it. The trailer is thousands of pounds lighter and we all don't suffer the head bobbing exercises of riding in the van.

"Mud pies"

Friends - Alexa, Téa, and Lexi

It's a beautiful, large body of water. It's not too cold and usually glassy, perfect for swimming, fishing, and paddling around in a rubber boat.

We even had guests over during our stay this summer! Rebecca's dad, John, and our college buddy, Rob Stano popped in for a visit.

This was part of the trail during our first attempt at Westside. We ended up riding it twice since it would surely be easier a second time - we'd be veterans, right? It was pretty trying with lots of deep and steep gullies and some water crossings.

This was that same spot after the guys made it a lot easier to cross.

This was me leading the pack to a water crossing and getting myself into a bit of a predicament.

Alexa was not amused. I also had to put this in because Ted loves this picture.

The water crossing

Pretty good depth

A view from directly across from our campsite

This picture was from the first break on the mommy and daddy ride of the trip which turned out to be very memorable to say the least. We thought we were going to do an easy little loop, but things changed.

We had just climbed a long steep hill and it was a pretty hot day.

We stopped in the meadow and I took this picture to mark the trail.

Jim and Rebecca approaching us in the meadow.

Rebecca coming out of the meadow on Deadwood Ridge Trail

Mmm, moist trail!

Mmm, not so moist trail, but -

it's all good!

Fun, fun!

This is the expression that comes with the title "blissfully ignorant".

It was such nice riding - I really enjoyed these trails, although Ted cannot say as much. He was stressed! The problem all started when a ways back from here, we parted ways from the Edgars.

We had looked at the clock and it was almost 7 p.m. We had already been riding for a couple of hours and Jim and Rebecca decided to get back to the kids by turning around. They urged us to continue exploring and do "the loop." We proceeded and found that "the loop" wasn't little and was by no means easy! The sun was going down fast and we had no idea how much farther we had to go, nor how horrible the trails were ahead.

This is the view from the side of Nellie's basin, "the trail from h---" - it was overgrown and steep!

Exhibit A, steep

Dense trees, nice view

Exhibit B, overgrown

This was the view from the top of one of the climbs. We ended up surviving the adventure, but it was really just in the nick of time. We got to the dirt road literally just before the sun disappeared. We were forced to ride the 15 miles of road back to camp in the dark since neither of our bikes had headlights. Fortunately, the dirt appeared white in the dark. We arrived at the campsite around 10 p.m. to cheering children munching on corn dogs. The Edgars had arrived less than an hour prior to us. Ted says it was the best corn dog he ever ate.

When we were not biking, we enjoyed various activities like shooting guns with Grandpa John,

letting moths land on us,

making friends with cool beetles,

picking up our little sisters with our fingers,

taking cool photos, and

making memorials of Grandma Fern who passed away earlier in the summer.

Téa wanted to send it afloat in the lake.

We love you Grandma Great!

Ted and Jim enjoyed a little wood carving.

Testing, testing...

perfect!

We have created a few camping traditions.

These include launching potatoes with Mr. E's huge cannon,

smokin'

and making campmade apple pies from scratch.

(Who needs a rolling pin? A bottle of vitamin I works great!)

Looks great, Ted!

Here is Alexa showing off a pair of her creative and artistic potato anklets.

Here is Téa being cheesy,

and cracking herself up.

We like to work in a bit of log jumping each trip and down below you can see actual footage of the complete sport.

The kids who put up with us - Cooper, Téa, Danny, Alexa, and Lexi.

EW Adventures at Deadwood Reservoir, July 2008

As we rode back to the bottom on our bikes, Ted showed me where he, Rob, and Jim had been whooped by a serious hillclimb. The photo does not give it justice.

We also got a memorial shot at the end of Nellie's Basin.

I love running water - it makes me very happy inside.

I think bruises are pretty cool too. I got this one when I ran into a log. It didn't stop me though, I just kept riding. Ends up, this one has left a scar so far.

Stanley Lake, August 10-15, 2008

Camping below the Sawtooth Mountains was breathtaking! The lake was pretty frigid, but it provided an exhilarating bath each night. Animals from frogs to fish to exotic dogs from Europe were amongst the campers. Téa made friends with little girls in the campground and we enjoyed many miles of trail.

Watch out for the fierce Alexa! The Edgar's found entertainment in the ancient art of slingshot.

Our first ride of the trip we drove down the road to a spot on the other side of Stanley. It was a great trail that we all enjoyed even though it proved to be too challenging for the lot of us. Jim, Danny and I ended up visiting it a second time a couple of days later, exploring a different leg.

A glance back at the Sawtooths.

A look at the trail ahead. Looks fun!

Téa attacks the trail on her trusty Honda 50.

Another look back from atop another hilltop.

Téa leading Cindy to the top.

Téa followed by Jim Edgar. She was such a trooper and really did great!

Creek Crossing

The rendevous. We stopped for a snack and only waited a bit for the dads and Téa to catch up. Téa did great though it was big trail for her little bike. We stashed her bike and she rode with daddy the rest of the way towards the lookout.

Cooper giving his best shot at "tough".

A gnarly part of the trail. Jim and Alexa ahead, Cindy and Rebecca waiting to see them through the sizable stones. We made it through with a bit of effort although the sun beating down on us was a little draining.

Daddy and Tates. She loves to ride with him because he goes fast and does "hop-a-wheelies"! He loves having her aboard as she sings to him, stands up with no hands, and picks flowers to decorate the bike with.

Cooper exercising his skills on a thin strip of hillside trail.

Jim and Ted made it to the lookout though he rest of were left behind to rest. The lookout was just about 40 feet shy of 10,ooo ft. elevation. The air was thin and the trail was about the hardest the guys had faced, but they made it!

Ted's victory cheer atop the lookout. He said he wished he had thought to throw the GPS up into the sky so it could have registered the 10,000 ft. mark.

This was some of what they faced during the climb to the top.

Where exactly is that trail?

Jim and Rebecca posing by a HUGE tree.

Lexi and Alexa taking in the lake while fishing.

Téa and one of her new friends constructing the frog sanctuary. She had a blast on the lake; she is a true tomboy princess.

This is a look back at part of day two's trail. These rocks were brutal on everyone, but especially poor little T! Her little 50 was scraping bottom and getting stopped in it's tracks, not to mention she was risking shaken baby syndrome! Just before we stopped to regroup, we had given up on her forging forward and had let her climb on with Ted only to find out that there was only about 1/4 mile more of the rugged terrain to go. Lexi volunteered to ride back up and bring her bike down to her so that we could all continue on together. Thanks Mo!