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.
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| 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
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| 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.
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| Quick dip in the creek post-run |
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| Group nap time while daddy was running |
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| Is there anything better than teaching your kids how to do walrus teeth with pretzel sticks? |
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. 
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!!!
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. 
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