The Quest for a Comfy Spot!

It's not quite fair to say that Dixie didn't work this weekend. She worked pretty hard actually.... trying desperately to find the softest, most comfortable spot to rest her weary head! After I downloaded our camping pictures (see the next post) I realized how many shots I had of Dixie trying to make a bed in various spots. It seemed only fair to give her her very own post. So, in no particular order, here is proof of how hard Dixie worked these last few days!

In the flower bed outside our back door seems to be her favorite spot.

So soft.

More flowers. Watching all the hubbub of setting up camp.

I hate the paparazzi.

That's "Queen Dixie" to you, lowly peasant!

One branch on the ground...guess who claims it.

A diamond in the rough.

We swept up a pile of pine needles to help out the fire. She laid on them.

Oh the torture she endures for pictures.

Nice and cozy pine needles.

The morning after... camping is hard work!

Camping at McCroskey S.P.

Saturday afternoon, Greg, Dixie and I headed back out to St. Joe National Forest to camp at McCroskey State Park with our friend Brian. We just stayed one night, but it was nice to get out for awhile...and the weather was fantastic. Greg and I slept in the back of the truck (Dixie had her own suite in the extended cab) and we even had to open up the back glass because it was so warm. Once again, there were no wildlife sightings. We did play some frisbee golf, roasted marshmallows (for breakfast even), and ate well! Greg always claims the only reason to go camping is for the food. We had plenty of it. Our brunch on Sunday morning consisted of fried eggs, fried potatoes, bacon, and a fruit medley. That's fancier than we eat at home! Unfortunately, I had planned to run the 6 miles back to the main road after we packed up. The big, greasy breakfast didn't set too well, but I made it and it was so nice to run through all the trees instead of through town or at the gym.

Our sleeping set-up.

First things first...food!

Doing her part to set up camp.

Showin' off the muscles. We all had a go at cutting firewood.

If he can laugh, he must not be working hard enough!

A Glacial Lily

Sweeping up pine needles to help out the fire. This was Greg's brilliant idea.

Dixie takes her turn using the "broom." Watching us work wears her out.

Sleepy head. Full fledged daylight arrives around 5am out here!

Apparently she wasn't well-rested after sleeping in her private quarters.

Marshmallows for breakfast. This is the life!

Chef Gray-go-ree!

The impressive spread for breakfast!

The Search for Big Game in St. Joe National Forest

Despite the crazy weather on Tuesday (rain, snow and multiple bouts of hail) Greg, Dixie and I piled in the truck and drove about an hour northeast to visit St. Joe National Forest on the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation. No hiking today, just a drive along a 17 mile forest service road that ran along the ridge of three mountains and an Idaho state park. We enjoyed views from Mineral Mountain (4128ft), Mission Mountain (4324ft), and Iron Mountain. We found a few good places to camp in Mary Minerva McCroskey Memorial State Park that stretched across all three mountains. We did not, however, spot any big game. :( A few different groups of turkeys was the extent of our wildlife viewing. It was good to be among trees again though! This is another spot that is worth a drive to for anyone who comes to visit us. Check out the pictures.

We had almost made it to the end of the park - just 1 1/2 miles left - when we had to turn around and go all the way back out the way we came because of leftover snow drifts that blocked the narrow road. Although you can't tell in this picture, the hillside dropped straight down just to the right of the snow drifts. One slip and we would've been in some big trouble. You can see where another vehicle started to drive through the drift and then changed their minds and backed out as well.

Also, we could only see two of the three camping areas because of snow. We made a valiant effort to get to this campsite (which looked like it would be the best one) but had to back out of it as well because of the deep leftover snow. Stay tuned for more pictures later this week or the beginning of next week. Saturday's weather is supposed to be great, so we're hoping to get a night of camping in somewhere!

And finally, it was Christmas yet again for Greg. His fancy new motorcycle jacket arrived today. He was so excited when it was delivered that he gave the UPS guy some hot out of the oven brownies! Here are pictures of the new jacket and helmet.

Hike at Kamiak Butte

Finally...the time and the weather to get out and do some exploring! Greg has a weeklong break before his research position starts, so we've taken the opportunity to see some more local sites. Monday, we took a 10 mile drive to check out Kamiak Butte, one of the highest buttes in the area. A little background about what a butte is (in layman's terms!)... this area used to be covered by ocean. When the water left, there were all these mountains of deposits left behind. Later, lava bubbled up through the earth's crust and covered all but the highest mountains of deposits. The lava was later covered by a layer of loess, but again, the highest areas of deposits were still exposed. Those areas are called buttes or steptoes. The layer of loess is what makes the Palouse such a fertile area. Hopefully there aren't any geology experts reading, because I probably just butchered that explanation!!

Anyway... at 3641 feet, Kamiak Butte is a national natural landmark. We got some great views of the Palouse. In one of the pictures, way out in the distance on the right hand side you can see a town, which is Pullman. It is literally plopped down in the middle of wheat fields. Here are some pictures.

This is one of the best inventions we've come across. The park has a dispenser at the trailhead that holds these convenient little pooper scoopers. There is a stiff wire in the opening that allows you to "scoop". The wire then pushes into the cardboard to seal the bag and there is a convenient handle so you can carry the poop out like a purse. Amazing! By the way Hannah, if you get a small brown package in the next few days from Greg...I wouldn't open it if I were you!! :)

This is a view of Kamiak Butte as we were driving away. It really doesn't look too big in this picture, but don't be fooled. Everything is big out here!

An Addict Gets His Fix

After parting with two four-wheelers and a Camaro before leaving WV, I knew it was only a matter of time before Greg filled that empty spot in his heart with some other wheeled, motorized "toy". Today was that day.

Greg is now the proud owner of a 2005 Suzuki DR 650. No license. No tags. No helmet. No super-cool gear.... but he has the bike. And, it is parked in our "dining" room. That seat should make for a great table when company visits! Below are some pictures.

Besides motorcycle shopping, there has not been much happening in the Estep household. Greg is in the midst of finals week (you can tell his mind is really in the right place). Dixie has been enjoying the sunshine. I'm still job-hunting and school shopping.

Last week, we did take in one local attraction that is relatively famous here in Pullman. WSU is home to a well-known Grizzly bear research facility where quite a few bears can be viewed by the public. We went during the morning, so the bears were not yet out in their play area. We were able to see them in their "kennels" though. There were probably a dozen bears, including a mother with 3 young cubs. Interestingly enough, a neighbor that we recently met used to work for the park service in Montana. She and a fellow worker had an encounter with this particular mother just last year while she was still wild! Although we were looking through about 4 layers of fencing, I would not want to meet any of these bears in the wild. I posted a picture below. I only had the small camera with me, and it couldn't seem to focus beyond the fence, so the picture is not great. This is definitely a place worth seeing for anybody that comes out to visit.


That's all the excitement we've had here. I did bake a gluten-free pie crust last week for a friend's birthday pie. It actually tasted good, had a good texture, and looked good. That doesn't happen with many of my gluten-free experiments, so it was pretty exciting too.


We're looking forward to the end of May and our trip back to WV!