fishing – 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

Boondocking in the Uinta Mountains – AGAIN, Utah

On September 1, 2021, we did something we have never done before. We pulled our trailer to the same campsite we stayed at last month, set it up, and then left it there for our return the next day. It made me a bit nervous, but it worked out just fine and it was nice returning the next day with nothing to do but enjoy the place.

On Thursday we traveled to our site via I-15 north to I-84 and then I-80 south to Colesville, Utah, and then east on East Chalk Creek Road. Little did we know that the road was going to be gravel, dirt, and mud. Fortunately, we took a short wrong turn and ended up near 40.997804, -111.046955 which is the corner where Wyoming digs into Utah, kind of interesting. We arrived at our site just after dark, and fortunately, it was all set up, safe, and sound, and just needed us and a little heat to make it our home.

Since it was labor day weekend, we were excited about our four-night stay. The site is located at 40.805360, -110.874998. As mentioned in our last post, this site is a lovely spot right on the Hayden Fork of the Bear River. The view from our trailer was phenomenal, as pictured. The site was quite level and required nothing more than our new leveling wedges. The following picture illustrates how close we were to the river and how level and easy the site was to occupy.

Comparing the photos in this post and our previous post you can see that the river was much lower this week and fall is on its way at this 9000′ location. On Friday we traveled to nearby Lily Lake and fished from our tubes. The fishing was pretty good and the lake was beautiful. It’s a bit of a drive up a dirt road, but it also afforded us an opportunity to discover a new dump station that is clean and free. We also fished Butterfly Lake, the Hayden Fork, and took a Sunday drive to see Whitney Reservoir and Beaver Lake.

This was a great trip. We slept in each day, fished, played board games, watched movies, and ate great food. It was the last of summer in the Uintas. The highs were in the mid 60’s and the lows in the low 30’s and froze one or two nights. It was simply beautiful and relaxing.

Nights	Total Nights	Miles	Total Miles
4	195	164	18652

Boondocking in the Uinta Mountains, Utah

On August 19, 2021, we left for a three-night stay at a boondocking site we identified last year in this same area. The site is located at 40.805360, -110.874998. We had no reservations but were open to staying in the Washington Lake campground, returning to the last location where we camped, or trying something new in this area. We found the location available and moved right in. It is a lovely spot right on the Hayden Fork of the Bear River. The view from our trailer was phenomenal, as pictured. The site was quite level and required nothing more than our new leveling wedges. The following picture illustrates how close we were to the river and how level and easy the site was to occupy. We’ll certainly return to this site.

We fished the Hayden Fork for a few hours on Thursday with no luck at all. We used our float tubes and fished on the nearby Butterfly Lake for nearly 9 hours on Friday. On Saturday, the weather was not cooperative, and we spent most of the day in the trailer reading, playing games, watching movies, etc. We ventured out between 6 pm and 8 pm to fish the river and found some success. Shortly after returning, a huge black cloud approached, it got very dark, and the lightning, thunder, and hail began. We enjoyed listening to the hail on the trailer’s roof and hunkered down for a cozy and relaxing evening. Sunday morning was beautiful, sunny, and warmed quickly. Again, we spent a relaxing day before returning home to the events of another week.

This was a quick and relaxing trip. We slept in each day, fished, played board games, watched movies, and ate great food. It was the last of summer in the Uintas. The highs were in the mid 60’s and the lows in the high 30’s. While I don’t think it has yet frozen at this location, there were very few insects and virtually no mosquitos. It was simply beautiful and relaxing.

Nights	Total Nights	Miles	Total Miles
3	191	164	18488

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

Boondocking in the Uinta Mountains, Utah

On August 27, 2020, we left for a three-night stay somewhere in Utah’s Uinta Mountains. We had no reservations but were open to staying in a campground, returning to the last location where we camped, or trying something new. As we headed up the mountain, we realized we would arrive just before dark. We determined to try a new boondocking spot we had investigated during our last trip. We ended up staying right on the Hayden Fork of the Bear River at 40.806183, -110.874523. The view from our trailer was phenomenal, as pictured. The site was quite sloped towards the river, but some previous occupant had dug a hole for the left trailer wheels that brought us close to level. A few blocks under the right wheels, and we were all set.

We fished the Hayden Fork for a few hours on Friday and Saturday and caught some small trout. We also took our float tubes and kayaks to Butterfly Lake on Friday. At the lake, my son and I were completely schooled by our mother/wife. The fish were larger and more plentiful than on the little river. On Saturday we fished the Stillwater Fork of the Bear River where we had great luck last year. The three of us only caught one fish this time around. The Stillwater Fork was much lower, being a month later than last year’s visit.

While at this location, we checked out a few of the surrounding sites. Our favorites are at 40.805357, -110.875007, 40.804432, -110.875664, and 40.807726, -110.873388. All three are within walking distance of our campsite. Our favorite is the first of the three, and for a group of two or three trailers, we liked the last of the three.

This was a quick and relaxing trip. We slept in each day, fished, hiked, played board games, watched movies, and ate great food. It was the last of summer in the Uintas. The highs were in the mid 70’s and the lows in the high 30’s. While I don’t think it has yet frozen at this location, there were very few insects, and virtually no mosquitos. It was simply beautiful and relaxing.

Nights	Total Nights	Miles	Total Miles
3	171	161	17066

Indian Creek Campground, Utah

On August 30th, 2019, we gathered for a large family reunion at the Indian Creek Campground in Utah. This campground consists of seven large group sites. There is water, pit toilets, a tiny stream, quite a bit of shade from Aspen and other trees, a large fire pit, a couple of large tables, and a large dutch oven table. There are a lot of decent tent spots and ample parking for several RVs. The high altitude setting makes this campground reasonably comfortable even in the summer. During our stay, it was warm in the sun, nice in the shade and chilly in the evenings.

It is eleven miles of dirt road to get into this campground from either the north or the south. The road from the north is pretty good but so narrow in a few spots that one of our party had their trailer hit someone else’s trailer going on the road in the opposite direction. It took a lot of effort to get them by one another. Perhaps the road from the south is wider, but we don’t know.

During the weekend family members rode 4-wheelers, side-by-sides, and went fishing at nearby Potters Ponds. In addition, we participated in board games and outside tournaments. I spent a couple of late nights capturing starlight through my telescope that resulted in an image of the Western Veil Nebula.

Nights	Total Nights	Miles	Total Miles
3	152	182	15298

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

Washington Lake Campground, Utah

On July 31st, 2019, we traveled from Porcupine Campground in Idaho, through Evanston, Wyoming, where we acquired supplies and arrived at Washington Lake Campground in Utah. Our family has been camping, backpacking, fishing, and even snowmobiling in the Uinta Mountains for more than 30 years, making it a fitting place to end our journey. If this wasn’t enough to draw us to this picturesque lake, we had our oldest son and his family joining us in their RV a few days later.

We arrived at Washington Lake at about 6 pm and found site 40 available. It’s right near the entrance to the campground and away from the lake. While we first thought it wasn’t great, we learned to like being away from others and out of the pedestrian traffic to and from the lake.

After being in this site a few days, we decided that while I had to go back to work on August 5th, my wife and young son would remain for the remainder of the week. I would rejoin them on the weekend of August 9th. In my absence, our daughter and her three sons joined my wife and stayed in our trailer. When I returned on the 9th, Washington Lake Campground was host to my wife and me, two of our sons, one daughter, a daughter-in-law, five grandchildren, and a friend of my youngest son. It was a great 11 nights of camping. Washington Lake Campground has a 7-day limit, so we had to leave the camp and return. While gone, we dumped the trailer and acquired freshwater. We, fortunately, retained site 40.

On August 1st, we were outside looking at the stars about 10:30 pm when I noticed an unusually bright and new star in the Big Dipper. Then I realized this star wasn’t a star at all, but a satellite. Looking up likely candidates in an astronomy application on my phone indicated that it was the International Space Station. It was amazingly bright.

The Uinta Mountains contain many lakes and streams, and decent fishing in most of them. On August 2nd, my wife and I and our youngest son fished the stream that flows out of Christmas Meadows on the north side of the Uinta Mountains. It was the first time our 13-year-old put together his nymphing rod, tied the line, and chose a nymph to use. We walked down to the river together, and I asked him to pick a fishy spot. He identified a slow run of water near a fast-moving piece of water and indicated he would fish it. It looked like an excellent seem and a sweet hole. On his first cast, he pulled out a beautiful fish and the largest I had seen in this river. He walked downstream a few dozen feet and after just a few more casts caught a 23-inch brown trout, the catch of the century on this little stream. I think he’s hooked!

While at Washington Lake, we enjoyed walks with our children, grandchildren, and of course, our favorite dog, Leo. Leo loves the water and goes nuts when someone catches a fish. He loves to wade and swim and doesn’t mind looking like a wet rat.

The grandchildren inevitably find a way into the water. Whether it is intentional or unintentional is sometimes hard to tell. On at least one occasion, I witnessed a young grandchild playing blissfully near the water’s edge when an older sibling snuck up behind them and, while parents were distracted, gave them just enough of a push to plunge them into the lake. Grandpa doesn’t tell!

On August 11th, 2019, our 31-night journey through three states came to an end. We hauled the trailer home and began to adjust to home life. It was hot, there were lots of errands to run, and work was relentless. It took us no time at all to wish we were back in the mountains. We’ll have more camping trips in 2019, but the big one is over until next year.

Nights	Total Nights	Miles	Total Miles
11	145	137	14480