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!!