Idaho – Trailer Travels

4 States, 10 Nights, and 1,714 Miles

On June 22, 2023, my wife and I departed with our truck and trailer on a ten-day outing that would end up spanning four states and just over 1,700 miles. Our route is depicted in the figure to the right.

We spent the first three nights at Indian Trees Campground in Montana. The following five nights were spent in the Luby Bay Campground near Priest Lake in Idaho. The last two nights were spent at Cronwell Dixon Campground in Montana, and Riverside Campground in Idaho, respectively.

Indian Trees Campground, Montana

We spent the first few days at Indian Trees Campground. We occupied site 3, one of five first-come, first-served sites. Site 3 is lovely in that the small creek flows adjacent to the site, so you can enjoy the sound of rushing water as you lounge around camp. After several walks around the campground, we selected a few sites worth considering the next time we’re up this way. Site 8 is away from others, but the walk from the parking area to the table and fire pit is quite long. Site 13 is likely the best reservable site. Site 6 is excellent and reservable but it is their designated disability site. Sites 7 and 9 together would be fantastic for families occupying both.

On Friday, June 23, we traveled north to Sula and bought one-day fishing licenses. We then fished on the Bitterroot River just north of Sula. We both caught several fish. The river was much fuller than the last time we were in this area; it was July, the last time we were here, and we had a very wet winter. After fishing, lunch, and an ice cream snack from the Sula store, we returned to the campground and enjoyed a nice soak in the nearby hot springs.

We left Indian Trees Campground on Sunday, June 25, and headed to Luby Bay Campground on Priest Lake in Idaho. From the above map, you can see that we traveled through Missoula, Montana, west on I-90 and north to Priest Lake.

Luby Bap Campground, Priest Lake, Idaho

We arrived at site 52 on Sunday evening, had dinner, and walked all the campground loops. There are several individual sites we liked. Sites 18, 20, 40, 48, and 49 are reasonably private from both sides, and the table and firepit are on the door side of the trailer. Site 52, which we stayed in, is only private from one side. Sites 11, 32, 39, and 42 are great, but the table and firepit are behind the trailer. Site 11 is by the lake and our first choice. There are several combinations of sites that are great when traveling with others. For example, excellent double sites include sites 10 and 11 near the lake, site 16, which is a 125′ pull-through, sites 41 and 43, and sites 50 and 52. For three groups traveling together, sites 13 and 24 would work well.

On Monday, we totally relaxed for the day. We blew up our tubes and headed to the beach at the Luby Bay Campground. We floated for a while and then enjoyed lying on the beach. The water is remarkably warm, given the time of year and the northern latitude of Priest Lake. We were so lazy and relaxed that we went to Hills Resort for dinner: no activities, food preparation, or even dishes to do.

On Tuesday, we drove from our campground to Roosevelt Grove Of Ancient Cedars And Granite Falls. You may notice that the linked site talks about visiting Idaho and things to do there, but this grove and waterfall are both in northeast Washington. I’m not sure you can get there without going through Idaho, but the grove and waterfall are definitely over the border. It is a very short hike from the parking area to Granite Falls. It is quite a bit longer hike to the cedar grove. The hike to the grove is easy and well worth the time. The cedar trees are enormous, and the undergrowth and surroundings are beautiful and peaceful. On our way back from our hike, we stopped at Elkins Resort for some great hamburgers.

On Wednesday, June 28, we took our kayaks around the east side of Priest Lake to Lionhead Campground. This is one of the Idaho state parks around the lake. It cost us $14 for a non-resident day-use pass, allowing us to park our truck and launch our kayaks. From that launch site, it was a quick trip across the open lake to the beginning of the thoroughfare that leads to upper priest lake. The thoroughfare is open to boats of all kinds, but no wakes are allowed, making it a great paddle.

After a 2.5-hour paddle, we reached Upper Priest Lake. This lake is only accessible to hikers and boaters. The return paddle only took about 2 hours, and we stopped several times to feed ducks and appreciate the scenery. I probably said this last time I went, but I will fish along the way the next time I go.

On Thursday, we took another lazy day and enjoyed lying around camp, playing board games, walking the campground, and enjoying the beach for a late afternoon swim. After our swim, we went to Elkins Resort for dinner; the food and service were excellent. After dinner, we drove by a property for sale and dreamed about living near Priest Lake. We love the area but dislike how far it is from the rest of our family. We’re not ready to settle down away from others.

On Friday, we packed up and headed to Seeley Lake, Montana. What were we thinking when we decided to move without reservations on the Friday of the 4th of July holiday weekend? We weren’t thinking, so we didn’t get to stay near where we wanted to be.

Cronwell Dixon and Riverside Campgrounds

After driving for the entire day, we pulled over in Avon, Montana, to eat at the Avon Diner and regroup over food. The food was actually pretty good! While eating, we decided to head toward Helena, Montana and hoped to find something along the way. We ended up at the Cronwell Dixon Campground. We arrived just before sunset and struggled to get our big rig in their little back-in spot. I think it was a combination of being tired and a difficult parking spot, but it took us forever. However, we finally got in, streamed a bit of entertainment, and went to bed. We didn’t set up much and so our exit was quick.

On Saturday, July 1, we pulled into site C-19 at Riverside Campground near Island Park, Idaho. We have often been to this campground and know our way around pretty well. There wasn’t a single site available on loops A and B that are reservable, but we had a few to choose from on loop C. C-19 was a great site. We loved the trees, shade, and the separation between neighbors. From Riverside Campground, it was a straight shot home.

Summary

Our trip was wonderful and relaxing. This is the latest in the year we have begun camping, and I hope we get some more in before the cold weather once again haunts our lives. I hope we get some more later in July and potentially for Thanksgiving. The more, the better!

Our power system continues to function well. We regularly used our microwave oven, toaster, hair dryer, and curling iron. We even used the air conditioner a few times to cool the trailer after we’d been gone all day and yet never had to use the generator to recharge our batteries. We have hit our sweet spot with 800 Watts of solar and 360 Ah of Lithium-ion batteries. While at Priest Lake, we would use about 10% more battery than we were able to recharge, but over five days, this only amounted to half of our reserve. When driving between stops, our batteries fully charged.

Nights	Total Nights	Miles	Total Miles
10	225	1714	22072

Riverside Campground, Idaho

On July 9, 2022, my wife and I left for Riverside Campground on the Henry’s Fork River. We’ve stayed in this campground but never before in site A16. This site is deep and wide enough to put the trailer at a significant angle blocking views from the campground road to our table and tent area. The only downside to this site is that the tall trees between the trailer and the river blocked enough sunlight to make solar useless. However, with our new batteries and inverter/charger, we have several days of energy and can charge the batteries quickly when depleted. We ran the air conditioning several times on this trip and then simply charged the batteries for a couple of hours at a convenient time. So despite the shade, the place was lovely, and we enjoyed our eight-night stay.

Some friends joined us for most of this trip. Together, we floated the Henry’s Fork River from the boat launch below Big Springs, at 44.497066, -111.271497, down to the highway 20 bridge. The float is simple and very slow. Relaxed paddling results in a two-hour float, while just floating might take three hours. We pulled our kayaks out at the bridge and had a nice lunch at Cafe Sabor, an excellent Mexican restaurant. While on the river, we saw a mother and baby moose standing on the bank. As we carefully approached, the two launched into the water just downstream. We quietly slipped by, hoping to avoid angering the mother. Unfortunately, we came within 20′ of the mother, and she became slightly irritated but remained where she was as we slipped downstream.

On two occasions, we traveled north from our campsite to Cliff and Wade Lakes in Montana. On the first trip, we launched our kayaks from the north shore of Cliff Lake, 44.793543, -111.557453, and paddled for a couple of hours down into a small cove near the southeast corner of the lake, 44.764693, -111.539338. This area has a small boat launch, a small dock, and several small motor boats. We had lunch on the shore and then paddled back to the north beach. The lake is quite clear and has a beautiful turquoise color where it is shallow over the white sand bottom.

On our second trip to Cliff Lake, we went to the Wilderness Edge Resort to see about renting one of those motor boats we saw the previous day. The owner, Mark, was very kind, showed us to the boats, gave us some brief instructions, and sent us on our way. We fished for four or five hours, had our lunch, swam a bit, and returned to settle our bill. Our five-hour jaunt cost us about $65. We didn’t catch any fish, but we had fun. We escaped the lake just in time to miss a significant thunderstorm – good timing.

We decided to fish the Madison River, near the Three Dollar Bridge, on the third trip to Montana. We got a late start and found ourselves at the river about noon. Others were leaving, claiming the fishing had slowed. We went down into the water and immediately caught two fish each. Then we spent several more hours not having any luck at all. We should arrive earlier and give up about noon. The river was much larger than I expected, but it was beautiful and fun to fish.

We spent eight nights at Riverside and never fished in Idaho; that’s funny. We had a great trip playing with friends, eating good food, enjoying lake and river fishing, and just being away. We look forward to fishing the Madison River again and floating a faster portion of the Henry’s Fork River.

Nights	Total Nights	Miles	Total Miles
8	210	634	19804

Riverside Campground, Idaho

On June 14, 2021, we traveled to one of our favorite campgrounds, Riverside in Idaho. This was our first outing of 2021 and is one of the latest starts to a camping season we have had. We’ve been to Riverside Campground many times. We had reservations for site A1 for 14 days and looked forward to a very relaxing stay. It isn’t our favorite site, but we wanted our family members and friends to have the nicer spots. It is such a lovely place, but the weather in July is a bit warm for not using the AC. It was a bit smoky at times due to the Oregon and California wildfires, but that didn’t hinder us from floating the river, fishing, etc.

Site A1 is across the campground road from the Henry’s Fork River, and site A2, a lovely site, is right across the road. The site has plenty of room. Loops A and B are paved in this campground, while loop C has gravel roads and parking spots. Loop C is a bit more primitive, and that’s intriguing, but the forest is a bit thinner, resulting in less privacy between sites. Just writing about the place makes me want to return.

While at Riverside, we spent a little time each day fishing. The fishing wasn’t great, but we had fun and enjoyed passing the time doing something we love to do together. Unfortunately, we were told the fishing at Henry’s Lake wasn’t any good this year, so yet again, we didn’t go. We’ll get there another day. During the first week of our stay, we had friends join us. During the second week, we had family join us. Both were so much fun to interact with; we look forward to doing it again.

On June 28th, we had to pack up and leave. We ate at Maddox Ranch House for dinner and headed home. Unfortunately, along our route, our right rear tire on the trailer had a blowout. We successfully pulled to the right on the freeway, a highway patrol officer helped us out, but the blowout caused significant cosmetic damage to the trailer. The damage will have to be fixed, but it won’t keep us from camping until it is.

Nights	Total Nights	Miles	Total Miles
14	188	634	18324

Riverside Campground, Idaho

On June 10, 2020, we traveled to one of our favorite campgrounds, Riverside in Idaho. This was our first outing of 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we haven’t dared to leave the house and go camping. In addition, my new job has taken a lot of my attention and time. We’ve been to Riverside Campground many times. On this trip, we had reservations for site A3. It isn’t our favorite site, but at the time of our reservation, it was about the only site left. It was perfectly adequate, and we would stay in it again. It is such a lovely place and the weather was great. It was a bit windy at times, but while that impeded the fly fishing it also swept away the mosquitos.

Site A3 is across the campground road from the Henry’s Fork River, but there isn’t a campsite across or near A3 to block the beautiful views. The site has plenty of room and is very private. In this campground, loop A, and B are paved while loop C has gravel roads and parking spots. Loop C is a bit more primitive and that’s intriguing, but the forest is a bit thinner resulting in less privacy between sites. Just writing about the place makes me want to return.

On the first night of our stay, we got in quite late, having dealt with a flat tire on our trailer, and were invited to dinner at the cabin of our dear friends. We leveled the trailer in record time and joined them for dinner. That was a beautiful gesture and made our evening very nice. Having been isolated since mid-March, due to COVID-19, we ate, laughed, and talked until after midnight. On Saturday night we had dinner with the same couple at the Trout Hunter Lodge. The Trout Hunter entrees weren’t great, but the appetizers and desserts were very good.

While at Riverside we spent a little time each day fishing. The fishing wasn’t great, but we had fun and enjoyed passing time doing something we love to do together. All of us caught at least one fish. Due to the wind each day we didn’t make it to Henry’s Lake, but we’ll get that another day.

On June 14th the forecast was for 20 mph winds on our drive home. To get out before the wind we arose at 5 am and pulled out at 6:15. The wind was already blowing at 15 mph, but we were just ahead of the stronger winds. We dumped the trailer and arrived home at about noon. I can’t wait for our next journey.

Nights	Total Nights	Miles	Total Miles
4	161	634	16694

Riverside Campground, Idaho

On August 14th, immediately after work, we traveled to one of our favorite campgrounds, Riverside in Idaho. We’ve been here several times, but this time was unusual. First, for the first time, we didn’t have work at Brigham Young University – Idaho. Second, we stayed in site number two that we’ve wanted to try for some time. Finally, we camped with three couples we consider to be great friends.

On one of the days, my wife and I escaped upstream to do a little fishing. The Henry’s Fork River always produces some fish and captures you with the hope for the occasional big one. On this particular day, we caught a few, and while no huge fish were landed, I caught a decent one early on. These early catches sustain you on the river for quite some time, but eventually, we gave it up and returned to our friends.

On Thursday, August 15th, we planned a potluck sort of dinner. I had volunteered to acquire and cook ribs for everyone, so I brought our Traeger smoker along. The ribs cooked for roughly six hours and I thought they turned out fantastic. Regardless of the quality of the ribs, the cooking location couldn’t be beaten, outdoors with a great view of the Henry’s Fork River. I want to acquire a more portable smoker and do this more often. During the cook, I used up my 33 Ah battery, then my 20 Ah battery, and finally connected the inverter to our trailer. Our solar panels kept the trailer batteries fully charged while smoking.

On Friday, many of us floated down the river downstream from Big Springs to the bridge over the highway. After arriving at the bridge, several of us stayed to eat Mexican food. The next day several of us floated down the Henry’s Fork River from the Osborne Bridge to Riverside Campground. Both floats were rather slow, but fortunately, we were in kayaks and paddling sped us along. The very last stretch of the second float was faster and a lot of fun.

On August 18th, most of us returned home. The weekend with friends was terrific. I hope we’re able to go camping together again soon. I love camping, and it is even better with friends and family!

Nights	Total Nights	Miles	Total Miles
4	149	636	15116

Porcupine Campground, Idaho

On July 29, 2019, we headed to Porcupine Campground west of Bear Lake in Idaho. We left Smith’s Trout Haven late in the afternoon and headed east and then south a mere 78 miles. Porcupine Campground will be our last stop in Idaho on this journey, and the last two nights we’ll spend with our son and his family. Idaho campgrounds have been exceptional, and I wish Utah would step it up. However, the one thing I won’t miss about Idaho is the boat checks every time and place you enter the state.

We arrived before dark and took site 15 that we reserved earlier in the week. It was an excellent back-in site and quite private as long as you didn’t need to use the tent site that seemed to be adjacent to the neighboring campsite. Our son and family occupied a site a few places west of site 15. We spent most of our campground time at their site, where the children had their stuff, could be in the trailer, and didn’t have to walk down to our place.

On July 30, 2019, we went to the Minnetonka Cave ticket booth and reserved a spot on the morning tour for all nine of us. We then drove to the cave entrance and waited for our tour time. The cave tour was enjoyable, particularly the relief from the outside temperature. While this isn’t a Carlsbad Cavern or Lehman Cave, it is interesting. While there are a lot of stairs, the level of exertion did not exhaust the small children in our group.

After our cave tour, we went to the northeast corner of Bear Lake and swam and played at the beach. The water was relatively warm, and the beach was very gradual. I had to walk about 500′ out into the water to get waist-deep. This feature makes it great for small children and fun for the rest of us.

After swimming, we ate dinner out and headed back to Porcupine Campground, had a fire with the grandchildren and their parents, and ate smores. An enjoyable and exhausting day!

On July 31, 2019, we bid farewell to Idaho for the last time on this journey. We headed south to Evanston, Wyoming, to shop for food and propane, and then headed south to the Uinta Mountains of Utah. We were hoping to find a campsite in the Washington Lake Campground, but without reservations, we left with trepidations.

Nights	Total Nights	Miles	Total Miles
2	134	78	14343

Smith’s Trout Haven, Idaho

On July 28, 2019, we traveled for about five hours and arrived at Smith’s Trout Haven. Seems like kind of a funny name given that the stream that flows through it is tiny and the “fishing” pond is grown over, mossy, and uninviting. However, aside from the name, this place has a lot to offer, and the owners/operators are amazingly accommodating. Truth be told, the pond is likely filled with large trout, I just wasn’t willing to try.

Smith’s Trout Haven has many sites with 30 Amp hookups, and every site is covered in grass, unlike the typical campground fare of dirt or gravel. We had reserved a spot a day or two earlier, but upon arrival, we were invited to take any spot, so we chose site 58. Our site had a fire pit, a picnic table, and a small Pavillion. We paid $30 for the spot and use of electricity, and an additional $10 fee for a late checkout. The late departure enabled us to leave our trailer in place until 7 pm the following day instead of trying to find a parking spot while we enjoyed Lava Hot Springs. While we began the evening alone, a couple of other campers arrived late, but we were all well separated.

The RV park is quite large, and the views are pleasant. It is essentially a large parcel in farming country. The neighboring farms and ranches are a good distance away. There are few trees, but overall this is an excellent place to stay while enjoying Lava Hot Springs.

On July 29, 2019, we began our day at Lava Hot Springs Mineral Pools. There are four or five small pools with water that varies in temperature from pool to pool from about 102 degrees Ferenheight to about 112. I enjoyed the coldest of the batch, while others were far more adventurous. After an hour or so, we walked downstream along the river to the Olympic Swimming Complex. There we met our son, daughter-in-law, and some of our grandchildren. We played for several hours and ate some mediocre snack bar food.

On our walk down the river, we noticed that many people were riding tubes down the river. At the bottom, they paid a small fee to have a truck take them and their tube back to the top to repeat the float. We’ll have to return and give that a try.

In the late afternoon, we returned to fetch the trailer and head to the next destination of our adventure. Smith’s Trout Haven was a great place to stay near Lava Hot Springs. Town and activities were only about a mile away. That is just far enough to be out of the hustle and bustle and traffic, but close enough to zip in and play. Next up is Porcupine Campground west of Bear Lake in Idaho.

Nights	Total Nights	Miles	Total Miles
1	132	301	14265

Luby Bay Campground, Idaho

On July 23rd, 2019, we traveled from Lindbergh Lake in Montana to Luby Bay Campground near Priest Lake in the Idaho panhandle. We only stayed at Luby Bay for three nights, but we would have loved to stay at least a week. It was a beautiful place with a lot of fun things to do. Unfortunately, our site was reserved by others for the weekend, and we had to move on. We will return to Luby Bay Campground and Priest Lake.

Rather than taking the direct route to Priest Lake, we traveled west on Highway 2 between Kila, Montana and the junction of Highway 2 and Highway 56. Along this path, we stopped at Kootenai Falls. The falls were spectacular, and the two short hikes are worth taking. One hike takes you across a swinging bridge, those are always fun, while the other takes you to the upper falls. The water is a spectacular glacier sort of color. The entire drive down Highway 2 and then south on Highway 56 were well worth the additional time it took.

We reserved our site at Luby Bay when we planned the remainder of our trip during our stay at West Mountain Campground. With such short notice, the only reservable sites were way in the back of the upper loop of Luby Bay Campground. We were disappointed not being right on the lake, but after arriving, we were thrilled.

Our site, campsite number 40, was terrific. It was well away from other campers, densely wooded, lots of flat terrain around our campsite, and the most beautiful light that trickled through the trees. In contrast, the sites in the lower loop are placed close together and not nearly as private. When we return, we will definitely choose a site in the upper loop.

That first night began routinely, we ate dinner, hung out at the campsite, and simply enjoyed soaking up the place. At about 11 pm we were sitting out under our trailer awning, probably the only people awake in the entire campground, watching another lightning storm blow in.

This one literally blew in. The wind whistled through the trees, the lightning flashed, and the thunder boomed. While watching, we heard a loud crack and a deep thud as a massive 30” diameter tree came crashing to earth just one campsite away from where we were sitting. Well, it didn’t quite make it to the ground because someone’s car attempted to stop its descent. The vehicle lost the brief battle. The trunk of the tree smashed through the car to the floorboards.

We ran over to their campsite to ensure that no one was injured. It’s a weird feeling being a first responder. You’re not sure what to expect. We yelled into the tent and received no response. Being afraid that they took refuge in their car, we peered through what was left of the vehicle in the hope that no one was there. Fortunately, the tent owner had temporarily returned to Spokane, and the car owner was camped across the road at another site. While no one was hurt, a few people were traumatized enough to leave camp. This experience certainly made for more sincere family and individual prayers that night.

The next morning, we inspected the damage and found that the wind had blown the top 40 feet off of a 90-foot tall tree, blew the top portion over a tent and canopy, and deposited it on top of that poor little car. Two other trees toppled during the night, and fortunately, no one was hurt.

After looking around the area and taking in the devastation, we left for Hill’s Marina to meet Rich Lindsey who we booked to take us fishing on Priest Lake. We had hoped to have our son catch some big lake trout or other large fish. However, the storm the night before messed up more than the trees. The lake was rough, the weather was unsettled, and Rich gave us little hope of catching fish. We tried for two hours and gave up. The lake is beautiful, and we’ll come back and give it another try. That evening, we licked our wounds from the fishing experience and ate dinner at Elkins Lodge. The food was fine, but frankly, I prefer the meals my wife and I make while camping.

On July 25th, 2019, we arose late and had brunch at Hill’s Lodge. Afterward, we rented a third kayak from Hill’s Lodge and headed north to Beaver Creek Campground where my wife, son, Leo, and I launched our kayaks and headed towards what is known as the Thoroughfare. We paddled across the northern shore of Priest Lake and then turned north up the Thoroughfare to Upper Priest Lake.

It was about 2.5 miles up the Thoroughfare to Upper Priest Lake. The two main ways to get to Upper Priest Lake are by boat or hiking. There are numerous campsites scattered around the upper lake for those willing to haul in their gear. The scenery is breathtaking. The color and clarity of the water in places is impressive.

Along the way, we saw many birds, some fish, and plenty of beautiful sights. The roundtrip was about 5 miles and took us about 4 hours with plenty of stops and easy paddling.

After our paddling experience, we chose to have dinner at Hill’s Lodge, yes we were getting lazy and finished the evening streaming a little TV. What a fantastic day!

The next day was a moving day. While pulling out of Luby Bay Campground, we dumped the trailer for an additional $8 and headed to Indian Tree Campground in Montana.

Nights	Total Nights	Miles	Total Miles
3	129	312	13638

O’Hara Bar Campground, Idaho

On July 16th, 2019, we arrived at O’Hara Bar Campground in Idaho. The campground has three loops. The first loop is closer to the river and more open than the other two, the second loop is heavily forested, and the third loop is heavily forested and better suited for smaller trailers and tent camping. The campground is immediately south of the Selway River and is an amazing spot to camp; I’d love to go back!

The last turn to the campground is at the confluence of the Lochsa River and the Selway River where you turn east off of Highway 12 onto Selway Road. Both rivers are quite large, and the confluence area is gorgeous. There is an RV park right at this intersection where toys can be rented, lodging can be found, and snacks can be purchased.

When we arrived, there were only a few available non-reservable sites, and we chose site number 9. The main campground road is quite narrow with lots of brush and trees on both sides. What appeared to be an easy site to back into turned out to be a little tricky due to the lack of space to maneuver the truck. However, with a bit of effort, my amazing wife put our trailer in the right spot, leaving room for the truck in front of it. While we weren’t on the river, this was one of my favorite places we visited. While we were here, I had to run the generator to charge the batteries due to the dense foliage overhead that reduced the effectiveness of our solar panels. Our favorite site at this campground is site number 32. Site 32 is the first in the campground from the entrance and is a back-in site right on the river.

The campground reminded me of Oregon, with the thick underbrush, large ferns, and fresh berries growing everywhere. It was a pleasant place to relax in, walk around in, and fish the nearby Selway River. On one of our walks, I heard what sounded like a rolling dutch oven chasing us. When we turned to investigate, we saw a boxer puppy, about a year old, tied to a trailer sway bar chasing us down. That little sway bar didn’t stand a chance of holding back a sizeable playful puppy that wanted to see us and our dog, Leo. Glad it was friendly!

There is one unique and sort of annoying thing at this campground. The water system is fed by a large water tank that is filled from a well with an associated propane-powered pump. On the weekends when the campground is busy, the pump runs every day for several hours to fill the water tank. The shed housing the pump is south and east across the road and up a hill from site number 9 and is quite loud like an open framed RV generator. It is certainly tolerable, but if it gets to you, there are plenty of beautiful places to go for a couple of hours a day.

The Selway is a gorgeous river that I couldn’t pass up for fishing. I put on my waders and boots, and tolerated the pain they caused to my ankle injury for a few hours and caught five fish. I brought my son out to the place where I was fishing, and he caught what I think was his first fish using Euro Nymphing techniques. It was fun watching him find success. The river rocks in the Selway were very slippery. Wading was more like controlled slipping.

During our last full day, we traveled down the Canyon to Kooskia, Idaho to acquire groceries, so we didn’t have to shop on Sunday when we were moving to the next campsite. Kooskia is a small place, but the grocery store was quite sufficient for our needs.

On July 21st, 2019, we left O’Hara Bar Campground with the expectation of moving four and a half hours to Tin Can Flats Campground. We thought we would read from the Come Follow Me guide as we drove. However, the best-laid plans change. Our son informed us that he was out of clean clothes, so we had to figure out a laundry stop. We found a laundry mat in Lolo, Montana and spent a few hours there cleaning our clothes.

While we were at the laundry, our son got all excited about the nearby Subway sandwich shop. We decided to have lunch there. Earlier in the day, when we left camp, my wife told me there was one light on our black tank indicator, indicating that the tank was near empty and not needing to be dumped. However, there was really three light on, indicating the tank was two thirds full. We found a local dump station and spent another 45 minutes there.

While in Lolo, we came up with two possible destinations. The first was Holland Lake Campground that was only 1.5 hours away, and the other was our previous planned destination of Tin Can Flats Campground. We opted for Holland Lake. On our way, we passed through Missoula, Montana, and bought Montana fishing licenses. After arriving at Holland Lake, we found both loops full. We tried a local boondocking site, but it was full as well. We finally found a spot at Lindbergh Lake. We made every effort to keep the Sabbath day holy but ended up doing all sorts of things we didn’t have planned. The best-laid plans …

Nights	Total Nights	Miles	Total Miles
5	124	162	13111

West Mountain Campground, Idaho

On July 14th, 2019 we departed from Pine Flats Campground and headed north towards White Byrd, Idaho. However, the combination of leaving late, being injured, and feeling exhausted, limited us to 88 miles of progress. We made it as far as Lake Cascade State Park before giving up and staying a couple of nights in the West Mountain Campground on the western shore of Lake Cascade. This campground wasn’t our dream location, but it served us well. I began recovering from my ankle injury, and my wife and son enjoyed kayaking and fishing on the lake.

While at West Mountain Campground, we stayed in site 147. The site was covered in grass, had several large shade trees, a moveable picnic table, a fire pit, nearby water, and a beautiful view of the lake.

While there, my wife and son went fishing on their kayaks on Lake Cascade. When they returned, I asked how the fishing went. I was so hopeful that our son would have a good experience that I was primed for a fish story. My son sensed my gullible nature and laid it on thick. He told me a fine tale of him catching a 20″ largemouth bass and I gulped the story down hook, line, and sinker. He left me thus inspired for a few minutes and then fessed up. I couldn’t believe I was so had, but I must admit he played me well.

Later that evening, my wife and I stayed up until 2:30 am planning the remainder of our trip and making a few reservations where we thought they were necessary. Having a little more organization set us at ease and made the rest of the journey much more enjoyable.

Before retiring to bed, I prayed that I might be guided to seek appropriate care for my ankle injury. I felt impressed to see how it felt in the morning and as needed stop in McCall, Idaho to seek medical assistance. When I awoke in the morning, I recalled how much it hurts to stand and resisted having to get out of bed. I struggled to my feet and slid into the shower. After showering, we bandaged my wound, and miraculously, it felt much much better. I was able to walk almost normally and prepared the trailer for travel. We stopped in McCall for groceries but chose not to seek medical attention. While I was waiting for my wife to complete the shopping, I enjoyed a bright sundog that filled my soul with joy and truly began my restful vacation.

After acquiring groceries, we stopped at New Meadows, Idaho, for lunch. After lunch, we headed up Highway 12 towards O’Hara Bar Campground. We arrived at 5 pm, found three vacant non-reservable sites, and occupied one of them.

Nights	Total Nights	Miles	Total Miles
2	119	88	12949