Thorne Creek: Idaho City, ID

Thorne Creek

Idaho City, ID

This week we made it out again to Idaho City.  There are so many places to camp up there, I don't know that we could do the same place twice in a summer if we wanted to.  We went to Thorne Creek with my parents and friends a few years ago and had a great time, so we set out for there again.  We got lucky enough this time to have the creek running through our campsite, so the kids didn't have to go far to do their standard 'throw ALL the rocks in the water' routine.  

 

Parker saw a giant rock and had to try and move it.  It was bigger than he thought...

After our first trip to Given's Hot Springs, we started talking with other trailer-campers about how to get the most out of ours.  One of the things they suggested was to change out the light bulbs for LED bulbs.  They get use less power and are much brighter overall.  When you are off the grid and rely on battery power for everything, those are both great things.  We settled on the Antline Bulb Replacements.  They fit the same as the old filament bulbs, but with the reduced battery power needed, we don't have to stress about turning on the lights at night.  We can run them basically as long as we want and not worry.  And to top it all off, they are just plain brighter.  I'm a big fan of white light and I don't 

really like yellow light.  These brighten it up great inside, and are less than a dollar each.  Well worth the investment.

One of the great things about Thorne Creek is also one if its drawbacks - there isn't a lot to do there.  If you are looking for a quiet getaway camping trip with lots of time around the fire, this is the place for you.  If you are wanting to bring the dirt bikes, four wheelers, and side-by-sides, you won't find anywhere to go.  Because of this, we loaded up in the truck and drove down to the intersection of Highway 21 and the Grime's Creek turnoff.  There is a small day-use recreation area with a small beachfront.  We spent about 30 minutes (doing what else) throwing rocks and sticks in the water.  It was here I found out that Carrie throws right handed, and might benefit from visiting my PE class...

 One of the staples needed on any camping trip is something to cut firewood.  The Fiskars Hatchet and Fiskars Ax are probably the sharpest implements for cutting wood I have found on the market.  These things are razor sharp when you buy them (I shaved hair off my arm, so yes, they really are that sharp), and even four years later, they still break down a log with ease.  HIGHLY recommended for your next camping trip.  I keep the hatchet in the trailer (we take already split wood, so no need for the ax currently) and it makes short work of kindling for a nice fire.  

My other staple for camping is a fully stocked sweets cabinet.  And my go-to is always Trolli Sour Gummi Worms.  I'm not much of a chocolate guy.  I prefer more Willy Wonka-type candies.  The more sour and tart the better.  I'm sad to say that this bag is almost gone after a short 48-hour trip...guess I better buy another!!!

 c

My, Emmy.  What a large...stick...you have...

A while back, Parker got a hammock as part of selling popcorn through his Cub Scout pack.  He was dying to set it up at home somewhere, but we don't have any trees big enough to do so.  We finally found somewhere close enough to our campsite to hang it.  He was happy as a clam.  He spent quiet time out reading a book and didn't want to come back in.  You can find the link for his here.





I wanted to get out and go for a run while camping this weekend, so I left during nap time when everyone was asleep.  Thorne Creek is really just a five-mile long road that goes up to a little cabin community, so there weren't a lot of options for direction.  I headed out up the road, planning on going for around 32 minutes and having the descent take 28 for a full hour-long run.  A mile up the road, I saw a dirt-bike trail go off into the trees.  I LOVE running on single-track trails, so I turned off the road and started up it. And by up, I mean UP.  The entirety of the trail was uphill, and I'm not talking a gradual climb.  It was hands-on-knees-huffing-and-puffing-the-entire-time kind of climbing.  I kept waiting for it to level out, or to reach the top, but I never did.  After 15 minutes of that climbing, I gave up finding the top and turned around to come down.  It only ended up being a little over a 5k in 38 minutes, but boy was it hard.  I got back to camp, took my shoes off, and waded into the stream to try and kill the burn in my calves from the climb.  I didn't last long (it's still April snow run-off, after all), but it was still nice. 

Quick dip in the creek post-run

Group nap time while daddy was running

Is there anything better than teaching your kids how to do walrus teeth with pretzel sticks?

Shoshone Falls - Twin Falls, ID

Shoshone Falls

Twin Falls, ID

Shoshone Falls is known as the 'Niagara of the West'.  It is 212 high (45 feet higher than Niagara Falls) and flows over a 1000 foot rim.  The best time to go is in the spring when runoff is the highest.  In summer, a portion of the falls are diverted for irrigation, reducing the flow.

Today's adventure is brought to you by: Friends!!  We had some good friends of ours, Chase and Jordan Trejo, invite us on a day trip to Shoshone Falls.  They are from Texas and Virginia, respectively, and have only lived in Idaho since last fall.  They heard about these falls and wanted to take a trip.  They invited us along, and away we went!!

 It isn't a long drive to get from Kuna, but it isn't a short one either.  The GPS said 2 hours 17 minutes, but that's without unplanned bladder emergencies from toddler-age kids.  We still made good time.  It usually costs $3 per car to enter, but with COVID-19 running around, the toll booth was closed and it was free entry.  At the parking lot, there's a large grassy area with picnic tables.  We took advantage of that space for lunch later. 

Chase and Jordan pulled in a few minutes behind us.  We walked over to the lookout to see the water.  With the sunny day and all the mist, it made for some great rainbows.  The kids loved looking at it all.











 After looking at the falls from a few different vantage points, we sat down for lunch.  Carrie made some delicious chicken salad, but we didn't bring any bread or a fork to eat it with.  Luckily, we realized this and were able to stop at a gas station on the way for some forks.  Who needs bread anyways?









Once lunch was done, we decided to go for a hike around the place.  There's a paved path that follows the rim of the canyon, so off we went.  We made it 0.75 miles before the kids found a large puddle on the side of the path.  They sat and threw rocks in it for the next 15 minutes before we headed back to the cars.

We drove past the temple on the way in, so we decided to stop for a picture on the way out. 

All in all, it was a nice break to the week.  We got to see some good friends, see a cool natural waterfall, and enjoy some time outside the walls of our house.  To make it all better, it was Earth Day, and what a great way to spend it!!!

Granite Creek - Idaho City, ID

 Granite Creek - Idaho City, ID

After the first trip to Given's Hot Springs, we have been dying to get out in the trailer again.  At least one kid will ask daily "When can we go camping again?"  I have been wrestling with finishing my final grad school paper on 'Physical Activity in Classrooms and the Effect on Behavior and Academics' (click here for the presentation video).  We decided we couldn't go camping until the paper and presentation were finished, and I finally got them done.  To the mountains we go!!!   We decided on Granite Creek off of nothing more than a Google Maps search for places near us.  We knew Idaho City was a hot spot for campers, so we just looked on the map around there until we found something.  

Our initial plan was to drive up the road to find somewhere to go, but that didn't go as planned.  We passed a gentleman in his Jeep coming out that waved us down.  He told us it was about to get real snowy and muddy, and we would never make it pulling a trailer.  He told us about an open field that we could set up or turn around in, and waved us goodbye.  I'm glad we saw him, or it wouldn't have turned out well.  We nearly got stuck in some snow 1/2 mile later.  We flipped around and came back down by the highway.  We found a place to park and set up for the weekend.  

Carrie and I have always enjoyed getting our kids outdoors.  We were blessed with the chance to work at a Scout Camp in Wyoming for four years when our kids were very young (we took Colby our second year when he was only 3 months old).  Our kids were raised running around outdoors, playing with every stick they find, and getting dirty.  We love the lessons they can learn from being hot, tired, and bored.  I think that's the main reason we wanted a camp trailer in the first place.  Anyways, item #1 on our list of things to do was go hiking.  Because we got there around 2:00, we had lots of time to explore before dinner. We found a motorcycle trail and stared hiking.  Carrie joked that she has been walking on the treadmill at home at incline 10 for this very reason.  We almost made it a mile before turning around and coming back down.  We had dinner, played in the fire, and ate some candy before putting the kids to bed. 

The next day went a little different than we expected.  Turns out, Idaho City isn't just a hot spot for campers, it's also a hot spot for dirt bikers, and we somehow parked in the unofficial unloading and refueling zone.  At one point in time, I counted 24 trucks that were not there the night before.  We had dirt bikers coming past us all day.  One group would come back to refuel and eat, and when the left, another group would pull in to do the same.  It wasn't a bad thing by any means, just unexpected.  The kids loved watching them come and go.  We got two more hikes in on Saturday.  One mile in the morning, and 1.5 miles in the afternoon.  We would have gone farther in the morning, but one of our kids needed a bathroom, and a tree wouldn't suffice for his needs :)  

Our original plan was to go for Friday night, see how it went, and then decide if we wanted to stay Saturday night as well.  We were doing fine, so we left it up to the kids.  They unanimously and excitedly voted to stay a second night.  Who are we to squelch their joy?  We all got a bit chilly the first night, so we turned up the heater for night two.  The previous owners left some 'staples' in the trailer when we bought it, stuff like plates, cups, plastic silverware, and the like.  They also left a small bucket of games.  We found Phase 10 Dice and gave it a try.  If you've never played before, it's pretty easy to learn.  It's based on the card game of the same name where you try to get sets or runs of cards based on what phase you are on.  Playing with dice was a fun twist on a family favorite game.  We got the kids involved and played the whole 10 phases.  Parker and Colby had fun rolling the dice, and Emmy had fun stacking the playing cards we gave her.  

As we were getting ready to leave on Sunday morning, we started to see more dirt bike trailers pulling in.  It's not a bad thing; they were all quite nice.  It was just something we weren't prepared to see.  All in all, I'd give it a 7.5/10.  I think the next time we go up to Idaho City to camp, we will find a different place to go with more tree cover and less company.  BUT - it would be a great day-trip destination.  Lots of hiking to do, lots of rocks to throw into the water (just ask Emmy...), and plenty of fresh air to go around.  It was the best version of social distancing we could come up with :)

Our First Trip - Given's Hot Springs

Our First Trip - Given's Hot Springs

Melba, ID

Before I get into the trip, I feel like you need a little backstory.  

In June of 2019, we borrowed my parent's truck and trailer and took a 5-day road trip to Silverwood Theme Park just north of Coeur d'Alene, ID.  We. Absolutely. LOVED it!!!  We stayed at a KOA in Pasco, WA the first night, Silverwood RV Park for two nights, and Swiftwater RV Park the fourth night.  We loved the idea of taking our hotel with us and being able to come back for lunch and a nap.

Fast forward to December 2019.  We have been perusing Facebook Marketplace daily to try and find a camp trailer in our budget.  Carrie messaged me one day with a post for one that was well below the market norm.  I called the guy up right away and set up an appointmentto meet.  He and his wife were retired and trying to downsize to move to Utah to be closer to family.  They hadn't used the trailer themselves for years, and had only used it as housing for when family came to town and they ran out of room in the house.  We made a deal, and on January 2, 2020, the camper was ours.  

Ok, back to going to Given's Hot Springs.  We had the trailer, but hey, it was still winter!  We had big plans about our future adventures, but wanted to do a 'soft trial run' of using it before anything big.  I remembered having gone to Given's on numerous Scout camp outs and we thought that would be a good trial.  On February 14, 2020, we loaded up and headed out.  Given's Hot Springs is a natural hot spring northwest of Melba, ID.  They have room for RV's, tent camping, and have twocabins and a camp trailer available to rent.  Included in the overnight cost is swimming in the hot springs.  They built an indoor pool that is filled with the hot spring water.  It's nice because the water is right about bath water temperature, so even the kids can get in and not have to worry.  We booked an RV spot for the night.  It cost $35 for the first two people, with each additional costing $8.  They gave us a pass on Emmy since she is only 2.  It's a bit spendy, but we thought it would be a good trial run anyways.  I think we were just too excited to use the trailer to care, honestly. 

We could only leave after I got home from work at 4:30, but since it's only a 35 minute drive for us, that didn't really matter.  We pulled in, got set up, and got some dinner down us.  The kids could hardly wait to go swimming, so we suited them up and headed for the pool.  In full disclosure, the pool needs some updates.  They have 'private tubs' for rent, but they are really just giant horse troughs filled with water.  Not worth it to me.  The pool goes from 18" to 8' deep, so there is room for everyone in the family to play.  Parker had a blast throwing any of the 23 floating balls around with other people that were there. After about an an hour and 15 minutes, we were all ready to go, so we headed back out to the trailer.  It was too cold to have a campfire (February in Idaho, hello!!), so we roasted marshmallows over the propane stove and had s'mores that way.  We didn't want to run propane all night to keep us warm with the heater, so we brought a plug-in radiator heater that we ran all night.  It kept it a cozy 65°.  

We weren't going to let the morning chill keep us inside, so we all bundled up and walked around the property.  There was this little dirt road we followed for maybe a 1/4 mile before turning around.  The kids played on the swings, and Parker and I kicked the soccer ball around a bit before deciding to pack up and head home.  All in all, it was a great first run, and we can't wait to go again!!

Welcome!!

 Welcome to Rustic Reed and Camper Carrie!!

Well hello, there!  

My name is Reed, and that is my beautiful wife Carrie, 

and we like to travel.  

We recently purchased a travel trailer, 

and this is the blog of our adventures!!!