Day 81 - Island Park ID - Friday, Sept. 17, 2010

Today we gather all our courage and travel about nine miles from the cabin to Sawtell Peak, which can be seen as the highest peak in the picture above.  Barely visible is the structure atop.

The foliage we see with the Aspen colors is worth the trip!

We climb 9,869 feet, and someone is heard saying, "Slow down!"  "Watch the road!" "There's no guardrail!"  (I won't tell who the scaredy cat is --oh, well -- it could be me.)

The road becomes more narrow as we go higher, and we hope we don't meet anyone who is coming down.


There appears a truck behind us; he can't pass, and we are glad we are not getting his dust on the gravel road.


The colors in the leaves and shrubs are just so beautiful, and we stop many times to photograph the scenery and look over the edge of the road. 

 I am fascinated with the hairpin curves that seem pretty scary, and the dead wood that could tell a story.

At the top of Sawtell Mountain there are communi-cations facilities -- radar, cell phone antennae, satellite dishes, etc.  

 I feel a gust of wind as I get near the edge and step back very quickly as it tries to knock me down the hill; then I see Herb holding his hat.

The workmen are dressed warm and I hope they are well compensated for their outside working conditions.

I can see my house from here!

We don't dare let Jake and Annie out of the car, for fear that they would want to investigate the area and come to great harm.

The snow sticks are pretty tall here.

It is just as scary going down the mountain, as it was coming up.  But the closer we get to the bottom of the hill, the better we feel.  

Herb has a good eye, and spots some deer feeding in the brush about 15 feet from the side of the road.  We stop to watch them for a time, and hope the one with the big rack will come into better view for a photo op.  We also see a doe and a fawn in the group.

We decide not to get out of the car for a closer shot, as we will probably frighten them away.

I'll give you a hint where the rack is -- where the grass stops and the trees begin, left of center, just to the left of the tree with no limbs.  The doe can be seen in the clearing in the trees.

Willie of Walldog, Willie and Jake