Right Fork Canyon Hike

Right Fork Canyon....Ugh
This was one of our first hikes in the Rubies. The hike was gorgeous. We did it in late June, so there were lots of water and flowers. However, the we couldn't find the trail at several points, making it frustrating and tiring. This hike we thought would be relatively easy, so we only brought a liter of water. After the 4 or 5 hours it took us, we were feeling shaky and in need of some recuperation. Next time we go, we plan to bring some garden snippers and perhaps some old rags to better mark the trail.
There is a huge population of mice in the Rubies, which I got used to quite quickly. However, I wasn't so relaxed after I stepped directly on top of one at the top of the canyon!
The trail goes up through the canyon to a nice large cirque containing lots of water and vegetation.



Distance: 4 Miles, but highly debatable.

Thomas Canyon

Fall colors in Thomas Canyon

We took a nice hike up Thomas Canyon. Very nice trail with a stream, beaver dams, and a flat, hanging valley at the top.

Unnamed Falls

This hike is very short and very steep. We assumed there would be a trail, but we were only able to follow it about 300 feet. From there it is basically straight up for a quarter to a half mile, then a short ways along the cayon wall to a high waterfall. You hike to the base of the falls, were there is also a memorial for two people who I believe fell off a cliff near this waterfall.

Lamoille Falls

Lamoille Falls was our first hike in the Ruby Mountians. Short, pretty, and covered with Arrowleaf Balsamroot. The 'hike' is only about a quarter of a mile, and goes up Lamoille Creek to the roaring falls.

Lamoille Lake Hike

Lamoille Lake is probably the most popular trail in the Ruby Mountains. You start at the parking lot at the end of the scenic road up Lamoille Canyon. Our first hike to the lake was on July 3rd and there was still lots of snow to hike through. Our second hike was July 31st, and we had a gorgeous day with lots of wildflowers along the trail. Wayne went swimming in the frigid lake, while Wayne's sister, Joanna and I sunned ourselves and took some photos. On both trips, we returned to the parking lot on the 'stock trail,' the trail on the opposite side of the canyon.

Distance (round trip): 4 Miles
Elevation: 900 ft

Angel Lake

We spent the afternoon at Angel Lake on August 8 with Wayne's sister Joanna. It was an hour drive to Wells, where you get off the interstate and take the scenic drive up to Angel Lake. You can drive all the way to the parking lot, where you do pay a small fee. Angel Lake is quite large, and after a picnic lunch Wayne and I walked around the lake for a small hike. There is a trail you can follow around most of the lake. On the back side of the lake, Wayne hiked back into the canyon a ways. There is a small waterfall and it appears that no one ever goes back there, so it is quite solitary. The day we went there were plenty of visitors fishing, swimming, and jumping off the rocks into the water. The area is very well kept, and on our next trip we plan to camp at the small campground next to the lake.

Griswold Lake

Along the way, you hike through Aspen thickets that have names and sayings carved into the tree trunks. Most are by the Basques, who have inhabited this area for years. One of the trees says, "Biva los Baskos," or, "Long live the Basques."

Our first hike to Griswold Lake was on September 17, 2010. We had a beautiful day to climb the 3200 vertical feet to the lake. It was a tough hike, but very worthwhile. I spotted a coyote. We plan to camp at the lake on our next trip.

Distance (round trip): 6 or 7 miles
Elevation gain: 3200 ft

Island Lake

We loved the hike to Island lake. We thought it was 2 miles of fairly easy switchbacks up the south canyon wall to a nice small lake. Along most of the trail you can easily look down upon the road and natural terraces made from Lamoille Creek. We've been twice this summer, the pictures are from the most recent time, when we had beautiful fall colors.



And Wayne insisted I include a picture of his baby:



Distance (round trip): 4 miles
Elevation gain: 900 ft

Newest Adventure: Home Ownership

Our house, a little neglected when we bought it.

On June 19, 2010, we began our newest adventure. We moved from Rapid City to Elko, Nevada, as Wayne started his job with Barrick Goldstrike, a gold mine as a metallurgist. Elko is a town of 16,000, and the biggest attraction for us to the area is the Ruby Mountain Range 20 miles to the south. We ended up finding a great home about five miles from the mountains, and have magnificent views. We have been enjoying the hiking all summer, and I plan to post about our adventures here in the Ruby Mountains.


Wayne enjoying our new home.

The view of the Ruby Mountains from our home!

Virgin Islands 2010

We just got back from our trip to the Virgin Islands. We had a great time. We enjoyed our day trip to the British Virgin Islands, where we toured the well-known 'Baths' and did some snorkeling. We rented a scooter for a couple days, which was quite fun. The last day and a half we were there it rained constantly, so we were stuck in our cottage. Here are some pics.

Caneel Bay, St. John


Our Cottage

The Baths, Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands

British Virgin Islands

The scooter

Getting deals/paying for a vacation

The most common questions Wayne and I get about our travels are: 1. "How can you afford to travel so much?" 2. "Aren't you still in school?" 3. "Where do you get such good deals?"

1. "How can you afford to travel so much?" I think a large number of people are under the impression that you have to be financially well-off to travel. I can see where they're coming from. You can easily spend $1000 on a plane ticket, $200 per night in a hotel, $50 per day for food, $100 per day for spending, and $50 per day for taxis and transportation. A two week vacation at this price would be $6600. Double that price for two people. So if it cost 13,000 for Wayne and I to go to Europe for 2 weeks, we could never have afforded to travel. However, an average budget for one of our trips would include: Airfare - 500, Hotels - $100 per night, Food - $20 per day, Spending - $25 per day, $10 per day for transportation. For two people this is $2670. Our trips have ranged in price from $600 to $4000. Yes we have to save, scrounge, and starve, but it was worth it!

2. Yes Wayne is still in school. But traveling while you are in college can have huge advantages. How many jobs give you a month off in December, spring break, and summer vacation? Since we don't have kids and rent an apartment we feel very flexible to travel whenever we want or whenever there's cheap airfare. Also, there are lots of travel discounts for those under 25 in Europe (think hostels).

3. For our next trip we booked tickets to St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. We were excited to get the tickets from Denver to St. Thomas for a bargain $261 per person. I heard about this deal through travelzoo.com. Travelzoo e-mails a weekly report of travel deals around the world every Wednesday. Just sign up on their website. So I saw the deal on the weekly email, and went to orbitz.com to book the tickets.
Wayne is the king of researching on the internet. So he also finds good deals for us. Just looking around and reading reviews of other travelers can help you get more bang for you bucks. One of my favorite review sites is Travel Advisor.
Using budget guidebooks can also help you to be well informed and save more. I've used Let's Go and Rick Steves. Rick Steves is the best. He'll not only gives advice on how to save money, but also time, which is valuable, especially during a vacation. We have saved hours of standing in line for tickets by learning how to get tickets in minutes from his books.

4. Final Thoughts - Save, Scrounge, and Starve
We have also made travel possible by saving, scrounging, and starving. We have spent many a night sleeping in a car. We have skipped more than one meal. During our first trip to Europe we eat out three times. We bought fast food, groceries, and simply didn't eat. Wayne lost 15 pounds, I lost 5 pounds during that trip. No joke. We have also taken advantage of airline mileage programs. We enjoy camping, so several of our trips were centered around camping. This has always saved a huge amount. We have camped in the US, Canada, Europe, and the Carribean. We have paid $5 to $30 per night for campsites. That has saved us hundreds of dollars. More than anything, I think the secret to being able to travel is to just get out there and do it. If you dream of going to the Amazon you may never do it. But if you go buy tickets to Brazil, it will be real and you can save and plan and make your dream come true!

So get out there and plan a trip!