"Wanna" see YOUR magnificent trails...

[happyflowerlady]

@campforums, moose have actually been domesticated and used for pulling, plowing, and even some have been trained for riding. I think the main reason this does not happen often, is because moose are wild animals, which means you would have to find one as a baby moose, and domesticate it before being able to train the moose to harness. Even starting a horse to harness can be a challenging experience; and they are used to being around people.

However, partially due to the wolf overpopulation, wild creatures like deer, elk, and even moose are coming into towns to live. In Sandpoint, Idaho, the little town where I grew up, moose now roam through the streets of town during the fall and winter when there is snow in the mountains. They have always come down to the lower elevations when the snow was deep, but now the wolves are so thick up in the mountains,, that the animals are coming into town to keep from being eaten alive by the predators.

 

[Northern Dancer]

Caribou are used for pack animals, as well as food sources in some societies. They are a magnificent creature. With all the talk of moose I think I'll get away in May and bring my moose photos up to date.

Sorry...I couldn't resist.

 

[2sweed]

There is plenty of hiking trails in the Kinzua Bridge State park area. Thought I would share some photo's of this beautiful park. This is a must see if you ever visit Pennsylvania.

This is a link to the history of the bridge. http://www.smethporthistory.org/kinzuaviaduct/

 

[campforums]

The canopy boardwalk is the ultimate highlight with over a half a kilometer long - and as such the longest of its kind in the world. Platforms suspended from the treetops above, become the gathering place where you can enjoy a leisurely snack while your guide elaborates on the forest environment surrounding you. A spectacular view across the lakes and forests becomes a fitting closure to your tree top tour.

• Adult: $95 (plus taxes of course)
• Youth between ages 10 and 17: $70
• This price includes a visit to the * Wolf Centre. [* I'll talk about this later.]

There are group rates. Pre-registration is required. The minimum age to participate in the tour is 10.
To get to the start of the tour you take a short trip to the site via a war canoe.

Don't ya just love this stuff? I'm back again...

Woah, that is pretty expensive in my opinion just for a short tour across a suspension bridge. I could almost do an entire camping trip for that much!

 

[Northern Dancer]

There is plenty of hiking trails in the Kinzua Bridge State park area. Thought I would share some photo's of this beautiful park. This is a must see if you ever visit Pennsylvania.

This is a link to the history of the bridge. http://www.smethporthistory.org/kinzuaviaduct/

This is great to see online - hope others will share their trails with us.

 

[Northern Dancer]

Woah, that is pretty expensive in my opinion just for a short tour across a suspension bridge. I could almost do an entire camping trip for that much!

Agreed. You do it once, if you do it all, and that's all folks. I get the impression that it's a once in a life time sort of thing. You can tell people you did it. The Forest tends to be expensive - that's why my plans for 2015 will focus a lot more on Algonquin.

 

[campforums]

Agreed. You do it once, if you do it all, and that's all folks. I get the impression that it's a once in a life time sort of thing. You can tell people you did it. The Forest tends to be expensive - that's why my plans for 2015 will focus a lot more on Algonquin.

Blew your budget last year, did you?

 

[Northern Dancer]

Blew your budget last year, did you?

I did actually - and I realized that I can get more for the buck else where and with better planning.

 

[ExplorePathfinder]

OMG!!! I want to see a moose so bad. I heard stories on how big those things can get. Bigger than a horse.

Every time I see one I think "there's' a horse" and have to look again. They may or may not be friendly - they are unpredictable. One day I bicycled 'close enough' to one just north of Libby, Montana. The moose was between the road and a standard 3-wire fence. In the blink of an eye that moose hopped from standing on one site of the fence to standing on the other side. An amazing thing to see. They like to eat weeds from the bottom of ponds. I canoed around one day. He kept a close eye on me and I kept a decent distance away.

Oh, yeah, that's not the topic. Here's a photo from the Mt. Scott trail in Crater Lake National Park.

 

[Northern Dancer]

Excellent!

 

[happyflowerlady]

Explorer, that is an awesome picture !
It has been years and years since I have been in Oregon; but I kind of remember seeing Crater Lake when we went through the area. I had an aunt that lived in Klamath Falls, and we visited her a time or two.

Now , the town of Libby, is much closer to my old stomping grounds !
I grew up in Sandpoint, but lived a long time in Bonners Ferry, Idaho, as well. Libby had a large Bluegrass Festival in the summer,and we sometimes went there to watch the Festival.
Were you trail-riding when you took that picture of Crater Lake ?

 

[BMWPOWER]

...how bout this?

View attachment 90 View attachment 91

Walk in the Clouds Canopy is suspended 20-meters above the forest floor in the treetops on a catwalk structure, surrounded by massive, 200-year-old White Pine trees. The catwalk is made of 25 cm-wide Hemlock planks suspended between steel cables in a sling of nylon cords. At 500 meters in length, the walk in the tree tops is the only one of its kind in North America.

Check it out - Haliburton Forest is a "multi-use forest", with attractions such as the Haliburton Forest Wolf Centre, a canopy walk as well as the world's only freshwater tour submarine. Haliburton Forest operates recreation, tourism and education programs year-round. Its forestry operations were the first to be certified by the international Forest Stewardship Council in Canada. Haliburton Forest supports ecosystem based research projects, primarily conducted by the University of Toronto's Faculty of Forestry.

yea....no way I would walk on that.

 

[Northern Dancer]

Really? I thought a guy like you would be running down to the lake, jumping into the war canoe and would be pumped for the challenge.

 

[ExplorePathfinder]

Hi Happy Flower Lady,

I was on foot. Crater lake has no stock trails with a view of the lake. They do have some stock trails away from the lake itself:

• Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), not including the PCT alternate
• Bald Crater Loop Trail
• West Boundary (Bert Creek) Trail
• Stuart Falls Spur Trail (from park boundary to PCT)
• Lightning Springs Trail (to hitching post 1/4 mile below Rim Drive)
• Bybee Creek Stock Camp and access trail

We were probably at the festival in Libby at the same time. We used to enjoy the steak restaurant on the hill above Bonners - 25 years ago - probably gone by now.

 

[BMWPOWER]

Really? I thought a guy like you would be running down to the lake, jumping into the war canoe and would be pumped for the challenge.

I'm afraid of heights, but still force myself and not chicken out. But that bridge does not look very sturdy at all

 

[happyflowerlady]

We were probably at the festival in Libby at the same time. We used to enjoy the steak restaurant on the hill above Bonners - 25 years ago - probably gone by now.

There are several good restaurants around Bonners Ferry; but I am assuming that you mean up on the north side of town, either going towards Canada or Montana. I think the most well-known one is off of the highway to Canada. I can't think of the name of it right now; but it has a small pond with fresh fish that they will cook for you at the restaurant, and are also known for their steaks.

My husband is a chef, and we had a small cafe that was right on highway #2, about halfway between Bonners and Troy. You might recognize the picture of it. We had a Cajun Buffet; but did a lot of business with rib eye steaks. It might have been called "Three G's" when you were in Montana. It had been closed for a while when we got it; but I think that was the name on the old sign; before we renamed it the "Cajun Kitchen".

 

[campforums]

There are several good restaurants around Bonners Ferry; but I am assuming that you mean up on the north side of town, either going towards Canada or Montana. I think the most well-known one is off of the highway to Canada. I can't think of the name of it right now; but it has a small pond with fresh fish that they will cook for you at the restaurant, and are also known for their steaks.

My husband is a chef, and we had a small cafe that was right on highway #2, about halfway between Bonners and Troy. You might recognize the picture of it. We had a Cajun Buffet; but did a lot of business with rib eye steaks. It might have been called "Three G's" when you were in Montana. It had been closed for a while when we got it; but I think that was the name on the old sign; before we renamed it the "Cajun Kitchen".

View attachment 569

Neat stuff, my brother is a chef also and he loves that sort of food. Buffets are also his favorite way of eating, mostly because it is fast and you can help yourself haha.

Do you and your husband still operate that restaurant?

 

[happyflowerlady]

We had the restaurant when we lived in Idaho, @campforums, but that was around 12 years ago now. We moved from Idaho to Alabama where my daughter lives, so that I can be closer to her. We not only had one of the few buffets in the area; but we also had about the only place in North Idaho that served Cajun food. People loved to come in for the fresh crawfish, frog legs, oysters, soft-shelled crabs, and even once we had alligator steaks. Kids went to schools bragging that they had tasted a real alligator!! Probably, some of the parents did that, too.

It was fun; but a lot of work for the two of us, and really long days. Bobby cooked the food, I made the salads for the salad bar, and desserts, and served customers. We had fresh loaves of home-made bread and a little bowl of butter and jar of home-made jam; so there was lots for people to eat. Many of them ate from the buffet, and took most of the steak home for the next day. The main problem we had was that we were out of town, and people didn't come out that far for dinner in the long, cold Idaho winters. If we had been closer to town, or only stayed open on weekends during the winter, it would have done better.

 

[Northern Dancer]

I'm afraid of heights, but still force myself and not chicken out. But that bridge does not look very sturdy at all

Chicken out? We need a different kind of expression because I'm with you on that one and I ain't no chicken.

 

[Northern Dancer]

We had the restaurant when we lived in Idaho, @campforums, but that was around 12 years ago now. We moved from Idaho to Alabama where my daughter lives, so that I can be closer to her. We not only had one of the few buffets in the area; but we also had about the only place in North Idaho that served Cajun food. People loved to come in for the fresh crawfish, frog legs, oysters, soft-shelled crabs, and even once we had alligator steaks. Kids went to schools bragging that they had tasted a real alligator!! Probably, some of the parents did that, too.

It was fun; but a lot of work for the two of us, and really long days. Bobby cooked the food, I made the salads for the salad bar, and desserts, and served customers. We had fresh loaves of home-made bread and a little bowl of butter and jar of home-made jam; so there was lots for people to eat. Many of them ate from the buffet, and took most of the steak home for the next day. The main problem we had was that we were out of town, and people didn't come out that far for dinner in the long, cold Idaho winters. If we had been closer to town, or only stayed open on weekends during the winter, it would have done better.

Somehow I had a hunch that you are a people person involved in some kind of business. And I was absolutely right on when I figured out you cooked and baked beyond the beans and wiener menu.

Your situation reminded me of the story of Colonial Saunders of the Kentucky chicken fame. Do you know the story?