Having had our fill of the water, we wanted to explore Joseph a little more. The area around the State Park at the South end of the lake has a lot of family activities. I’m kind of glad we didn’t stay there because it’s crowded. Our B & B in Enterprise was quiet and spacious, not teeming with other tourists.

Since Joseph is not far from Enterprise, it was easy to get to the activities when we wanted to. This day, we planned to do some window shopping in town. We also found a laundromat so we could do a wash while we shopped. Janie got a book at the local museum, so she could read in the car while we did some of the things she couldn’t handle.

The girls and Cool Aunt Leslie started with the go kart track. Janie and I watched from the car. I was kind of surprised that they went fast enough to drift around some of the turns. Fearless Emma came in first.

Next, we decided to take a tram up to the top of Mt. Howard, which was pretty spectacular. The ride made some of us nervous although it didn’t bother me. (All those years of ballooning?)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a view from the tram as we ascended.

 

 

 

 

 

We were greeted by many Columbian ground squirrels, begging for food, when we arrived at the top. They weren’t shy and were happy to pose for photos.

 

 

 

We decided to take a “short” hike to one of several viewpoints on the mountain. The one we chose was supposedly 1/8-mile-long, but it turned out we took the wrong trail and went on the 1/2 mile hike. That’s not a very long hike, but Leslie had worn sandals, so it was a little more difficult. Still, it was a fun hike to an amazing viewpoint.

 

The top of the mountain is about 4,000 feet higher than the lake and the lake is higher than the valley that you can see beyond.

 

This area was populated by very bold chipmunks, which would run right up your arm if you were holding food!

 

 

 

After returning to the tram base, I took the actual short hike to the summit. I’m not very good at selfie’s, especially with a DSLR, but I tried to get a view of myself with the mountains in the background.

 

By the time we got back to earth, Janie had waited 2 hours for us. Given the hot weather, it wasn’t particularly pleasant, but she was patient. She was even willing to wait in the car again as we played miniature golf at a different course–this turned out to be the best maintained and most fun course I’ve ever played at. At least this time, we were able to park so that Janie could watch us. Finally, we headed back to Joseph for a little shopping, and headed back to the B & B for another afternoon and evening of naps and games.

These are pastoral some shots I took that evening.