Meadow Lake

Aside from the idiot who set off his car alarm at 7:43 Saturday morning, we found our time at central Idaho's Meadow Lake to be pretty pleasant this weekend.

The lake is a beautiful sight, a glacial puddle squeezed between a rocky slope dotted with pines and the bare bones of the Limhi Mountains. We found the lake several years ago when our camping gear consisted of a battered canoe, an even more battered Toyota pickup and a tent. This time, we came up with a Honda Pilot, a 14" camper and forgot the canoe. We had a wonderful time.

The ground there is rocky, peppered with the quartzite the glacier sheared from the mountain and what other rock frost action could heave down. The lake is in a cirque, or a hollow left behind by the retreating glacier, and is icy cold. The kids went wading -- figuring they could do so without hurt, since they do the same at Wyoming's Jenny Lake. But at just over 9,100 feet in elevation, you know the water in the lake is going to be not too far above freezing. Indeed, on the other side of the 31-acre lake, snow still lies in the mountains' shadows.

The mountains. Topographical mountains tell me that Mount Portland is the tallest in the area, coming in at just over 10,800 feet. That's nice. But much more picturesque is the folded, tilted peak at the lake's southern shore. I can't find a name for it. Unofficially, I hear it's called Meadow Mountain, though it doesn't look like a meadow to me.

(I think I'll call this photo "Where's the Mountain." I kinda like the sound of that.) This is the mystery mountain, by the way. More photos here. Again, these are fairly low-res photos coming from our video camera. Michelle used the Canon, as you can see in this picture, and will have better photos up later. I'm the impatient one. More of my low-res photos here.

I realize now that I made only one mistake in getting that Canon Rebel for Michelle for Christmas two years ago. I should have gotten two, because we both like to drive.