Gary's Birthday Gift ~ Trip for Two to Stanley, Idaho

Rather than clothes or some new technical gadget, I decided to give Gary a weekend away (with little ol' me) for his birthday this year. It really ended up being a present to myself as well, a much- appreciated mini-vacation together. We had the ultimate babysitters for Gordon and Grayson - Grammy, Papa, Auntie Lassa, Uncle Joey, and Uncle Dave - so having that peace of mind made for a very nice, relaxing weekend away together.
Stanley, Idaho is a place we love to go, and even spent part of our honeymoon in the area nearly seven years ago now, whitewater kayaking, hiking, and enjoying Redfish Lake.
During this recent trip, we enjoyed more great adventures, so this is the first of several posts about our weekend away. This first post basically covers just getting there.....

We left from the family cabins, which made for a drive that was only about one hour and forty minutes. Oh, the sights we see on this route ~ Breathtaking!
Below is the first glance of the Sawtooth Mountains; the distant back view of them, compared to where we'll see them from our destination, near Stanley.

As many times as I've traveled this highway, this view as we round the curve into the Stanley Basin never fails to take my breath away.

The rugged Sawtooth Mountains - absolutely beautiful!

If only these photos could do it justice - the view is spectacular!

By the time we reached Stanley, we were ready for some lunch. We stopped at one of our favorite restaurants in town, Sawtooth Luce's, and split a BLT sandwich and this lovely, delicious concoction: an avocado with shrimp scampi and shredded cheese, roasted to perfection.

Served with the BLT was a delicious cole slaw that had a scrumptious horseradish flavor to it.

At last we arrived at Smiley Creek Lodge, where I'd reserved an authentic tepee for our first night's lodging. Very cool! It would be unfair to say that we would be "roughing it." This tepee has wooden flooring, a queen-size bed with an electrically heated, very comfortable mattress, a space heater, bedside lamps and fresh towels and toiletries to be used in the nearby shower/bath facilities.

We were quite impressed.

Behind our tepee, a little babbling brook and a horse ranch, nestled beneath these gorgeous mountains.

Ours was one of three rentals.

After checking in, dropping off our packs, and browsing through the lodge, we set off for an evening of entertainment and relaxation at Redfish Lake Lodge, which will be featured in my next post....

Our weekend getaway was off to an incredible start!
How I love Idaho....