How Could I Forget!

So here I was all happy thinking that I finally caught up and could post some of the new things that we did, but alas. I forgot one. So here is it, late and overdue, but here none the less.

I fell quite guilty forgetting to blog this adventure as it was one of my favorites. Once again to the thoughtfulness of My Mother-In-Law, who lent us two pair of snowshoes.

This time we decided to get out of the National Parks and see what else this large valley has to offer. We headed North once again, this time however we continued on past the Moran entrance. Heading towards Duboise, there is a nice little place called  Buffalo Valley/Turpin Meadows road. It is on the left hand side of the road as you head North. As you could guess there is a trusty old brown sign leading you to the prized destination. The Road leads through many ranches and eventually ends up at Turpin Meadow Ranch.As you near the end of the road there is a trail off to the left, it is marked as Critical Game Area, and has trail restrictions. If you head up the road another 0.3 miles there sits a parking area on the right.

Once we parked and bundled up the kids, Kevin and I strapped on our borrowed snowshoes and then we all headed back up the road. The trail started as a snowmobile path through an open snow field, quickly however the trees closed in. The trail had this sort of ebb and flow to it throughout. Eventually we saw a few signs designating the path we were on as a summer road for homes in the area. Obviously unoccupied this time of year, as convenient and regular access is a problem.

There was another snowshoer on the trail with his two very playful Rhodesian Ridgebacks. The dogs stopped a moment to sniff and lick all the kids and then went on playfully bounding through the snow.  After a small amount of time we stopped and had our lunch under a tree on the side of the path. (The signs said to stay on path) We had a lunch of Ham sandwiches, oranges and water. Since we hadn't been hiking too long Kevin and I decided to continue on for a bit; the snowshoes made it so unbelievably easy,  it was exhilarating to walk in the snow with minimal difficult. We just had to keep on. After another 20 minutes we made it to an open clearing in view of the ranch. Since there were no postings at the trail head we weren't sure if the path looped around or dead-ended at private property. Thus unsure we decided we best turn back and head the way we came. Kevin and I were feeling quite unencumbered, thanks to our lent snowshoes, we still had the kiddos to worry about.

All in all the hike was just over 2 miles (turns out the path does loop and we went back just over the half way point). The hike and lunch took just under two and a half hours. The snow shoes were a splendid treat, and the sunny clear sky day sure didn't hurt.

Until Next Week,
Be safe, Be well