Most years Mother Nature refuses to slip out of winter following the dictates of the calendar. This year was no exception here at Indian Creek Guest Ranch. Just when you decide to keep the skis out for one more week of late winter powder, the Salmon River thaws out and compels us to break out the spey rods and wake up a drowsy steelhead. You may think running a guest ranch is charming, but when your skis and fly rod compete for your time, well those decisions just aren’t that easy.

We finished hand hewing all the logs for the new tack shed. Terry moved the saddles, tack and the cats to the hay barn for a short stay while we fit the logs and get the roof on their new home. The horses are happy to nip at the emerging grass and are ranging with the cow elk that are also enjoying the green up. The first wildflowers to appear as the snow recedes are Sagebrush Buttercup and Glacier Lily. Mountain Bluebirds and Stellar Jays, both decked out in their own stunning shades of blue, are picking out nest sites and heckling the other feathered arrivals.

March also brings the spawning steelhead up Indian Creek to complete another cycle of their remarkable life that ranges from the far North Pacific Ocean to the steep streams of Idaho’s central mountain ranges. The spawning dance of a buck and hen steelhead in gin clear water is one of nature’s most amazing marvelous wonders to witness and it happens dozens of times along the ranch’s stretch of Indian Creek. A pair of golden eagles show up each morning along the steep ridge west of the lodge soaring and diving in their mating ritual. They nest near the top of the cliffs and hunt yellow bellied marmots and newborn mountain sheep lambs.

So it doesn’t matter much where you fix your gaze around here as there are limitless inspiring wildlife dramas and rapidly changing landscapes to enjoy. It will all be here this season if you can come for a visit. We open June 3rd this year and will stay open thru October to share this wonderful corner of Idaho with our guests. We hope to see you!