Mother Nature has figured out how to get me to swim. It rained all night. We woke up to a rain/snow mix with snow sticking to the grass. Pretty but not exactly what I was expecting. Neither Puck nor I had any desire to go for a run on the paved path, so I left the kids at home with the heat on and headed to the pool and CrossFit. In hopes the weather would improve while I was hiding inside.

Just your average June snow

The sun was taking its own sweet time – it was still gloomy but had at least stopped precipitating – so Puck and I decided to go for a drive. Katie in CrossFit had told me I should go over Galena Pass to Stanley and eat breakfast at the Stanley Baking Company. Sounded like the perfect thing for today!

We did stop on the way up the pass to go for a nice hike. Harriman Trail is a long gravel trail that parallels the Wood River all the way up the pass. The gravel was perfect; all the other trails would have been way too muddy. Definitely a score for us.

The river is much too scary for Puck to wade in. Apparently this is a record snow/run off year. But there were plenty of feeder creeks to keep him going, and it was still very chilly. Just how he likes it: Cold weather + cold water + a few patches of snow. The problem with Puck is that he feels there should be some accessible body of water every 20 feet. I had to talk him off the ledge of the river a couple times.

Teaser view

The drive up and over Galena Pass is beautiful, although we couldn’t really enjoy the full view because of the weather. I imagine it is really spectacular on a blue-sky day. If I get up there tomorrow on my road bike I will make sure to take another photo!

Stanley Baking Company in the podunk town of Stanley didn’t look like much, but the food was great. I can’t remember the last time I had breakfast or lunch out, so having breakfast at 1 in the afternoon felt doubly decadent. An omelet with avocado, cheese AND bacon!! Yee haw. With sweet potatoes. Mmmmmm… I savored it and read my book for a bit.

It was STILL gloomy out and the lyric “The sun will come out… tomorrow…” was stuck on replay in my head. We stopped by Redfish Lake on our way back so Puck could dip his toes in. He’s not a swimmer, unless forced by his mother. We had to do a lot of swimming when he was in rehab after his knee surgeries. He has both a wetsuit (it’s pretty cute, don’t tell him I shared the photo) and a life jacket! So a lake is not as exciting for him as a good creek. He is probably worried I’m going to drag him in. But it WAS water.

I really want to bite you right now

Not what I had originally planned for the day, but it was great to do something different. And see some more of the beautiful scenery around here.

I have discovered steam in the bag vegetables. I know this is not new and I know it is not environmentally friendly but it sure is convenient when you are in an RV!! That was random. Sorry.

The sun will come out… tomorrow!