Sunday, June 28, 2015

Camping Adventure

I was nervous for this camping trip because we had a tip that there were a million people already up in the mountains by mid last week. I figured there wasn't a chance in hell that we would find a decent spot, but we lucked upon a great spot, right on the river. There is no better night of sleep than falling asleep next to the river.
 
On the way up, we took HWY 21 through Idaho City. Just before Idaho City, we rounded a turn just as a big sewer truck lost control and skidded off the highway. Fortunately for him, it was a spot that wasn't right on the river, or he would have ended up in the water. He was a little banged up and several cars stopped to make sure he was okay and that the sheriff was called. Once the sheriff arrived and we knew the guy was going to be okay, we continued on our way. We stopped in Idaho City to take a look at the damage from the recent fire.
 
 
We headed up on of our favorite drives - Rabbit Creek. We always find a great spot - though one of our favorites is so overgrown now, you can't really camp there. So we kept going, and encountered a TON of people. We were getting nervous that we'd have to settle for a spot out in the open, but lucked upon a side road with a great spot. We set up camp in record time and the fun began.
 
 
 
I think Kendall managed to eat the ENTIRE time we were there.
 
 
 
Not long after lunch, Eric and Carter set off for a fishing adventure.
 
 
 
 
 
Kendall and I opted to stay at camp because she desperately needed a nap - which didn't happen. She was too wired.
 
We ended up seeking shelter in the tent for a little while because the horseflies were SO BAD. I literally couldn't go 15 seconds without being swarmed. I actually thought for a little bit that we would have to pack up camp and find a different spot. We had some silly moments in the tent though!
 
 
 
 
Once the boys got back (check out Carter's catch!) we set out to find some firewood. This is always an adventure as we typically just head up some random back roads to see what we find.
 
 
The road we found ended up climbing some serious elevation, and was even paved for quite a bit, with some curbing. We figured there must be something important at the top, but after consulting the map, there is nothing. So strange!
 
 
 
 
Neither pushed the other off the side of the mountain......success?  ;-)
 
 
 
Once we got back to camp, we all climbed into the river to cool off. Someone had already started a little bit of a pool, so we added more big rocks to dam it up.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Once we got a fire going, the majority of the bugs disappeared and it became quite tolerable.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Post-s'mores messy face.
 
 
More fishing adventures!
 
 
 
Watching the boys fish.
 
The water was quite calm at this fishing hole, so Carter got a little brave walking out to the middle.
 
 
 
 
Another catch!
 
 
 
 
Carter thinking about swimming across the river. It took some convincing, and the river was really calm here. We assured him that all of his swimming lessons gave him enough ability to get it done.
 
 
 
Right before she got dunked!
 
 
Carter finally dove in and attempted to swim across the river. It wasn't the best swimming I have ever seen, but he survived. ;)