For our first camping adventure of the season we chose one of our favorite sites at Warm River Campground, outside of Ashton, Idaho. We headed up early Friday afternoon and luckily our favorite tent site was open. The last time we camped here, Leah who was 2 at the time, took an unexpected swim in the river. This time was not so exciting. After setting up our campsite and roasting our hot dogs we set out on a little hike to pass the time until marshmallow roasting.
Near the campground an old railroad track has been converted into an easy trail that follows along the river. We spotted a curious tepee shaped structure a couple of miles up the trail and made that our goal. Along the trail we discovered many large black beetles crawling along. Kris picked up one of the beetles and the kids each enjoyed letting it crawl over their hand and arms. Mom opted out.
Eva started out being carried in the back pack but soon wanted to hike along with the rest of us. She has recently become quite the runner and I love the sheer joy with which her little legs pump and her arms swing as she runs with her little circling gait.
As we approached our curious tepee destination we discovered it was just a couple of fallen trees leaning against each other with the evening light spotlighting them from the trail, interesting but not too magical. Having arrived at our destination we took our snapshot to mark our arrival.
Back at camp we stoked our fire up and roasted our marshmallows. Oh how I love a campfire roasted marshmallows. My children have all inherited that love as well. As the sky darkened we all climbed into our PJ's and prepared for bed. Abi, Tal and Leah went to sleep pretty quickly, but this was a drastic change to Eva's routine. Kris walked and rocked and sang her to sleep but it didn't last long. Just as I was drifting off to sleep Eva having scooted up and out of her sleeping bag woke up crying and disoriented. I scooped her up and into our sleeping bag where we spent the rest of a fitful night getting whacked in the face by flying arms and legs.
The next morning we woke bright and early if not fully refreshed. Our blueberry waffles toasted in our new camp cookers delighted our taste buds. This was a recipes we will repeat again for sure. Saturday was also free fishing day so we packed camp quickly and set off for the Ashton Fish Hatchery. The kids were delighted to pull a fish out of the pond.
Tal even kissed his, reminiscent of a fishing trip we took with neighbor Charlie back when Tal was about 4 or 5. Then as we were driving back towards home we took a serendipitous detour. We spotted a sign for a Mountain Man Rendezvous and on a whim, voted for adventure. We wound back around the rolling hills finally ending up at a large field alongside a stream. People in period dress mingled among the parked cars and 5th Wheels. But once we crossed the stream, we were transported to another century.
The people were so kind and friendly, happily sharing their wares, trades and stories with us. There were tepees and tents, buckskins and prairie dresses. We enjoyed seeing the black powder guns, the beadwork, and replicas of life from frontier times. One of our favorites was the cannon shoot. Several teams blasted period cannons up and over the hill. The booms were so loud we had to cover our ears, but they shook our chests. We especially loved the one that shot a cannon ball over a mile.
Another favorite character was Coyote Capote. He gave the kids a jaw harp and taught us all to play it. Our kids were amazed at Kris's talent on the mouth harp. Mom had a much harder time getting the hang of it, but in the end I did get it to sing. Our adventure with the Mountain Men and Women was a wonderful start to what will hopefully be a great camping and adventurous summer.
June 7-8, 2013
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