A hike to Hell's Half Acre

Not too far from where I live, is Hell's Half Acre. It is a lava field that is really remarkable, as it just starts abruptly and ends just as abruptly.

A little information about it from The Global Volcanism Program:

Hell's Half Acre lava field, the easternmost of the young basaltic lava fields of the Snake River Plain, covers an area of about 400 sq km SW of Idaho Falls and is the 2nd largest of the Snake River Plain. Basaltic lavas forming the broad, low shield volcano are dominantly pahoehoe flows that were erupted from a 3-km-long, NW-SE trending vent system at the NW part of the field during a brief eruptive episode about 5200 years ago.

I took a drive out to the trail, hoping to get some decent shots of it but the icy wind had kicked up that day, making it difficult to really enjoy the hike.

Here, you can see there are two trails, one short (blue) and one long (red):

Guess which one I ended up taking? ;)

Here, you can see that the sage LOVES to grow among the lava rocks:




The lava itself is an odd mix of black, brown and red, with lovely moss and lichens growing on it:


On the way back to the warm car, I took this shot, because I thought it was just lovely how the foothills in the distance were framed by the trees:



I will be returning for the long version of this hike when it is warm, and the wind isn't blowing so hard!!

I just really love the geology of this area, knowing that I live on top of the world's largest volcano is a bit exciting.

Do you have a volcano close by where you live?

Chelle B.

Way down upon the windy river...

The Snake River is aptly named, as it looks like a snake as it winds it's way around this part of Idaho.

We aren't far at all from its banks, in fact, it is where I plan to ride my horse quite often and of course it is where we fish for Rainbow, Brown and Cutthroat trout. Some of the best trout in the world live in it's waters.

Here are just a few facts rom the article about it on Wikipedia:

The river's length is 1,040 miles (1,674 km), its watershed drains 108,000 square miles (280,000 km²), and the average discharge at its mouth is 56,900 cubic feet per second (1,610 m³/s). The river flows from its source in Yellowstone National Park through a series of mountain ranges, canyons, and plains.

There are some great pictures and a lot more information there in that article, but my recommendation is to come see it in person, and if you do, bring your fly rod and give me a call!

I'll show you all the best spots to fish. ;)

Anyway, here are just a few pictures I took last night on my little walk, keep in mind that the wind was icy cold so my teeth were chattering and my hands were a bit shaky the entire time!!

The first two are just the scenery along the way:




For some reason, I just love the stone roadway they put in where the boats are launched:


As you can see, we are finally seeing all that snow melt!! A week or so ago, this roadway was completely covered. It gives me hope!

Oh, and just as I got to the river's edge, I noticed this lovely creature hovering high above me:


Unfortunately, he flew off as soon as I noticed him, so I couldn't get many good shots of him! :(

I did get a lovely shot of the sun, though:

So after all this, when I finally got over to the shoreline where I could begin taking pictures of the river itself, I was soooooo cold and my ears were beginning to ache from the wind, so I decided I'd save the good views of the water for another, warmer, day.

Sorry to tease, but hopefully this will leave you wanting more. :)

By the way, can you identify what the bird is in the photo that I took? Do they live near you?

Of course, I know what it is, and thankfully he qualified me for this week's Saturday Photo Hunt!! ;)

Chelle B.

A short drive, a lot of snow!

Don't tell him, but recently, while hubby was at work, the kids and I drove a few miles towards Jackson Hole, Wyoming and took a few pictures along the way just to get out of the house.

Our place isn't far at all from the border, on the Idaho side:

Being the nice guy that he is, my hubby worries about me driving the roads during winter or early spring. The last time we drove together, we saw 2 roll-over accidents that were less than 5 miles apart!

Luckily, the highway was clear from snow and ice for the most part and the weather was really nice, as you can see.

Here is a picture of Palisade's Reservoir, which is along the way:

It is very large and so very beautiful in the summertime!!

Just to give you an idea of how large this man made lake actually is, here is a description of it taken from Jacksonholenet.com :

Palisades Reservoir, on the upper Snake River, was developed by the Bureau of Reclamation in 1957. The Reservoir is formed by Palisades Dam, which is a major feature on the Palisades Project. Recreation on this 25 square mile (16,100 acre) reservoir, with 70 miles of limited access shoreline, is administered by the Caribou-Targhee National Forest.

Once the snow is gone, I'll be adventuring more at the dam and reservoir.

Just before we reached the reservoir, we spotted some elk that were standing so still at first they looked like archery targets. They were quite a ways out in a pasture, but as you can see, the snow was simply too high to attempt getting closer.

It made me realize that I need a camera with much better zoom capability, though:

On the way back, my son snapped this one of the moon peaking over a hill:

Too bad the phone lines are in the way, otherwise it is a nice photo, I think.

Next time, I'll share some pictures I took of the Snake River, right near my house. There is still a bit of snow left in places down here, but not nearly as much as there was up the road toward Jackson Hole!!

Do you have snow where you live?

Chelle B.

A room with a view...

Well my new blog is still a work in progress, I will be adding a new header soon and a few items to the side bar, but I think I like the simplicity of the design because I want the posts to be the main focus here.

I am sooo anxious to post some photos, so I thought to kick things off I would show you a couple of pictures that I took recently from my house.

This first one is the view of the sunrise out of the picture window upstairs:

It is hard to make out, but the tips of the Grand Tetons are back there just beyond those foothills. On a perfectly clear day they are a lot easier to see.

Here is a photo of the sunset from that same day, taken from off of my back deck:

The way my house is built, I can sit in my living room or dining room and see in both of these directions, because the windows upstairs face either due east or due west, which is quite nice.

I suppose having these views does make it a bit easier to endure the long winters and I am rather proud of these two photos, since I am very much a novice photographer.

Do you have a view of the sunrise or sunset from your place?

Chelle B.