Bellas Lake

FINALLY!  The weather has been so spotty all week that we kept postponing our hike to Bellas Lake, and finally the weather cleared!  It would not be a trip to Idaho without a trip to Bellas Lake. We all love this hike and this lake, so we were excited that things shaped up...and it turned out to be a PERFECT day!

Let's get started...

We hit the first water and of course Indy had to have a dip...you could just hear the "ahhhh" in the body as it submerged itself!  It is just such a nice hike, water, meadows, and mountains...what else could you ask for in a hike!

Jared and Kristina enjoying the first water area as well!  It is always fun to traverse the logs!

Doesn't this meadow just make you go, "ahhhh!".  The grass was higher than either of us had ever seen it, look down to the next picture...you can barely see Indy!

There she is...blazing the trail!

Of course she is never one to shy away from resting as needed...

We made her pose for this shot!

And the famous rock...she has been taking a picture on this rock with Jared since she was 4 months old!

Mommy and Indy posing by another rock!

One last dip before the final ascent!

"We're almost there!"

That is a significant amount of altitude in a short period of time!

Once we get through the rocks, we'll hit the meadow and we'll be there!

The meadow...

The backdrop of the lake in the distance...we're close!

Woohoo!  We made it!

And you know it is going to be a good day when Kristina makes her FIRST cast on HER rock and catches a fish!  She was even prepared to pull one in yet...but you can see she managed.  She caught 4 fish...in short order!  She loves her panther martins!

Indy patiently waiting to be let off so she could join the fishing with a swim!

Our favorite little lunch spot...

Kristina eats quick and heads back to her rock!  It was a perfect day...the weather was awesome and almost no one was at the lake.  There were a few people early on, but they left and we had the entire lake to ourselves!

Indy is ready to explore!

"What was that noise?"

Of course there was some fetching...and swimming!

Such a great lake...until next year!

By the way, Jared caught 4 fish too!  He was just too far away for a picture.  He darted ahead while Kristina hung back with Indy.  That way he could actually fish!  It was a good day!

Cottonwood Float

With the way the weather was shaping up, we decided to postpone our hike to a mountain lake one more day.  That being said, we had to do something!  So, let's go float the river again!  This time we decided to do the Cottonwood Float.  This is a good float, but since it is longer it takes Jared a while before he gets back on the bike.  That being said, Indy and Kristina kept themselves busy while waiting.

Indy waiting patiently.  She is tied up to the boat for safe keeping!  Otherwise, she is rover who is all over the campground!

Nice views of the river...

Realizing that she was the one taking all of the pictures, Kristina decided to include a selfie!

A look down river...things look good!

"Man, Dad is taking a long time..."

And here's another good reason to have Indy tied up...wild turkeys!  As we were waiting a Mom and her flock walked right by us.  They were all so cute!

Jared arrived shortly after we saw the turkeys and were soon on our way down river!

Jared fishing away at one of our many stops!

Kristina and Indy going at it!  This was a really nice spot, but the currents are pretty strong.  Let's just say Indy stuck close to Mom because she scared herself moments ago!  Crazy dog!  Kristina about had a heart attack as well!

The river is always changing.  It is interesting to see what it looks like from year to year!

As is obvious from the pictures, a thunderstorm rolled in quickly.  Literally it was blue skies one moment and the next moment it was dark and not looking good.  And unfortunately for us, we were stuck in a aluminum boat in the middle of a river.  That being said, we decided to park the boat on one of the islands in the middle of the river, get out the blue tarp, and wait out the storm.  Let's just say that was a good decision.  Kristina, Jared, and Indy were under a blue tarp for about 20 minutes while a thunderstorm and hail storm rolled through the area.  Indy was so good.  We just sandwiched her between us and she sat there with her eyes closed.

Eventually the stormed passed, but we were left to bail water out of the boat with a plastic water bottle and a soda can!  Other than that, we were good.  Let's just say, while it was a good day on the river, we were glad to get out of there!