Camping Big Lost River Valley - Part 2

We had stopped briefly at this campground on our whirlwind out and back trip to Salmon last September.

At that time we fell in love with this unpretentious little camp ground.  

It was right beside the river.  

It was not one of those huge and popular and bustling campgrounds with scores of RV sites, scores of tent sites, and niceties such as showers and convenience stores and video games.

Shoup Bridge campground has eight camp sites, two restrooms and a faucet.

In addition to small it also had endless views of the mountains, easy proximity to town, and a river that was only steps away from our camper.

As LC settled us into our spot and separated camper from truck, I wandered down to the water with Kory.

The Salmon River was very fast and very deep, and although I loved standing beside it after spending too much time looking at sage brush and looking for rattlesnakes, I knew instantly that I wouldn't be kayaking the Salmon.

I had kayaked plenty on rivers this fast in the past but not in a long time.  

And after talking with the campground caretaker and learning that rafting companies often put-in at this place I was comfortable with my decision.

I was out of practice.  I didn't know the river.  The river in this spot was only Class ll but I had to believe that if outfitters put-in here that the river got faster down river.

With that decision quickly made, I yanked gently on Korys' leash to encourage her out of the water, and we continued to wander around the small campground, casually wandering and trying to get the lay of the land...............

This picture was taken at the edge of the campground, next to the same Hwy 93 that we had driven all the way from Atomic City to this place located only four miles from the outskirts of Salmon.

Even though it was very warm there was still snow in the mountains.

At this point I have to believe that they are snow capped almost all year 'round...............

There are caretakers at this park through the summer - an elderly couple who have worked this campground continually for the last seven years.

They live at the campground all summer and spend the rest of the year down in Arizona.

At this time of year I was surprised to see that aside from us there was only one other camper at the campground.

I had expected it to be busy.  

It was an unexpected and welcome surprise to be wrong...............

It was late afternoon by the time we arrived, and within 10 minutes of getting the camper squared away LC was eagerly digging out his fishing pole and digging through his tackle box.

The river was very fast, there are rules re: barbless hooks and what bait you can and cannot use in Idaho.

I stood back and watched LC for a few minutes, pleased to see him finally fishing after only TALKING about fishing for so many months.

He could take his time and figure out what worked and what didn't work when it came to fishing the Salmon River.

I was just happy to see him with a pole in his hands................

Kory standing on one of the camper benches beside a box I had agreed to sell to someone in Salmon.

Still unpredictable at listening to us and running away from us, we kept our pup tied up throughout the trip.

I wish we didn't have to do that but we still do.

Our dog actually slept with us at night during our camping trip.

Something that surprised us, but also something which pleased us.

She went back to her crate when we got back to the house, but we found out two things about our dog during this trip that we didn't know:

1.  Kory is not only territorial when it comes to the house.  She was also territorial when it came to our camp site.  This is OUR place - stay back!  She barked warnings to friendly interlopers to keep their distance from the site.  It was good to know that.

It keeps the strangers at bay (human and otherwise).

2.  She loves the water (which we already knew) and loves camping (which we didn't know and which was good to learn)...............

Late in the day we drove to downtown Salmon.

Tired, and slowly running out of daylight, we didn't have a lot of ambition to walk and wander around town, but we did stop briefly so that I could snap pictures of this iconic and wonderful bear-salmon statue located in a park at the far end of town...................

In typical cop fashion, LC turned off the main road and began cruising some of the less traveled side roads of town.

We saw some nice neighborhoods.  We saw some pretty ratty looking neighborhoods.

And we saw one of the cutest play houses that I had ever seen..............

More pictures taken on the outskirts of town................

Our first day and night in Salmon was low key and quiet.

A little driving around seeing what we saw.  Some fishing, some walking, some picture taking, some setting up the camp site.

It had been a long day of packing and traveling, and while Kory and LC shared a sandwich I walked up the steep embankment behind our camper, and headed towards the bridge that spanned the Salmon River.

The river was completely and utterly compelling to me, and I was drawn to the water (as I always seem to be).

Wanting to see it, to watch it, to hear it, to take pictures of it..................

By the time I was standing in the middle of the bridge I could see LC standing on the shore down below, throwing his line into the river time and again.

As I watched him I realized that the last time I had really seen him fish was back in Tennessee.

Back in Tennessee.

Back in Tennessee.

How long ago was that?  

Very long ago.  

Not so long ago.

Back in Tennessee.

It's always there.  It never goes away...................

Beautiful scenes from the bridge................

After taking a few pictures from the bridge I finally looked to my right and realized that beyond the bridge was more of the same.

Suddenly all this beauty was overwhelming to me.

The green, the river, the trees - everywhere I looked was one astonishing scene after another.

After spending so much time in the desert where there is so much.........sameness..........I suddenly realized that I was absorbing everything around me at lightning speed and that I needed to slow down.

Take it all in slowly Karin.

Just before we had turned into the campground I noticed a sign pointing the way down this road.

There was a lake somewhere down this way.  That's all I knew.

Maybe we would check out the lake tomorrow...................

It had been a long day but a very good day, and I was very glad that we had gone through all the work we went through to get a camper.

We needed to do this.

We needed to be away from the house, embedded in all the trees and water that we had been missing.

Very glad to be in this place.................

Camping Big Lost River Valley - Part 1

We moved to Idaho late in July of last year, and in September we drove through part of the Big Lost River Valley for the very first time, on the way to a VA appointment at the tiny clinic in Salmon.

It was a very hectic and long up-and-back drive on winding and quiet two lane highway.

Hectic and long, but it was also the first time that LC and I had seen the valley and we knew on that trip that we had found.......beautiful.

The Lost River Range is filled with some of the highest peaks in the state:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_River_Range

It is only one mountain range in a sea of mountain ranges that dominate this region of the country.

They are rugged, majestic, stunningly beautiful mountains, and during that first trip both LC and I decided that he had made the right call by signing up for the VA in Salmon instead of the closer Idaho Falls or Pocatello.

The clinic was smaller.  The staff were caring.  LC walked out of the clinic feeling comfortable with the level of care and attention he received (as opposed to the care that our veterans have received in larger centers all over the country in unconscionable fiascos that are now screaming headlines in the news).

Good care, a beautiful drive on quiet two lane highway.

Yes.......the right decision.

The first of a four part blog post on our whirlwind first trip to Salmon in September of last year:

http://livingthejuneauadventure.blogspot.com/2013/09/salmon-idaho-part-1.html

It was during that first trip that LC and I hoped that next time we visited it would be in a camper.

After much looking and hand wringing and swapping around, we went camping this past week in our new-to-us 18 foot Nomad Camper.

First to Salmon and then back down the valley to Challis.............

We had only had the Nomad for a couple of weeks, and even though it needed some work we did very little to it in preparation for this trip.

NOAA claimed sunny and warm for the duration of the trip.

There had been water damage to the ceiling of the camper in the past, and even though doubtful claims of repairs had been made we decided to risk it anyway.

The structure felt sturdy.  

We fixed some minor issues before leaving AC, and called it a day.

We could work on the camper in between camping trips.

We needed to camp.

The VA appointment had been made, we had a camper, and after living in increasing heat and increasing dryness for umpteen weeks, both LC and I were eager for green.

We needed to see trees around us.  Water.  Mountains close instead of in the far distance.

LC needed to relearn his rusty fishing skills and learn how people fished in this part of the country.  

I needed to kayak and to see Kory playing in the lakes and rivers.

We needed to get away for a while and we both knew it.

So whatever shape the camper was in..........it was in.  

Whatever hidden problems that camper had would just have to..........be.  

It would only be for four or five days and however the untested camper held up would be more than good enough for the three of us.

We needed away...................

These pictures were all taken on the drive between Mackay and Salmon.

After leaving the muted and pale and barely-there greens of the Snake River Plain, I could feel myself relaxing more and more as we headed further and further into the valley.

The days before we left for our trip had been hectic and tiring, and so it continued the morning we were scheduled to leave.

One unexpected obstacle after another slowed our departure, until we could finally pick up enough speed to break free from the vortex in Atomic City that kept sucking us back in.

As we drove through the desert on our way to Arco at the base of the Big Lost River Valley, I breathed a sigh of relief.

Happy to be in this increasingly beautiful and mystical and isolated place.................

A long and deep canyon section of highway, located about 20 minutes north of Mackay............

The day before we left for our camping trip a new friend of ours (who lives in Arco) sent us a link to a Craigslist ad.

There was a small, very light, circa 1960 Shasta camper for sale in Idaho Falls.

It was being sold very cheaply because it was all but gutted out on the inside and all the windows were broken out of it.

We would never have considered an 11 foot camper just a few months ago, but the outgoing, gregarious, retired marine in Arco who told us about the Shasta, picks up these little tin boxes all the time on the cheap, and now has a side business renovating and reselling such things.

We have seen first hand what they can look like when complete.

With a yard full of Shastas and Kit Kampers and other tiny metal tents, he let us know about the one for sale in Idaho Falls.

A few hours and $130 later, we were the proud owners of a windowless tin box on wheels.

Will we keep both the Nomad and the Shasta?  

Will we do some renovating and sell one of them?  

Who knows.  But a deal was a deal and options are always better than no options.

A story and pictures for another day................

By the time we reached Challis we all three were ready to stretch our legs.

It had been a wonderful trip on quiet and isolated two lane.

With wiring set up for the Ford but not the Tahoe yet, and with LC uncertain exactly how the Nomad would do on its maiden voyage, we elected to drive the stronger truck on this trip.

Kory (as always) spent half of the trip curled up sleeping in the cab between us, and the other half standing on my lap with her head stuck out the window.

I had thought that by the first week in June we might pass many other travelers on our journey.

It was summer.  School was out.  Campgrounds were open and tourists should have been numerous but surprisingly they were not.

As LC filled the truck with gas I walked across the road with Kory, and explored a small park that was adjacent to the highway and which looked out over the mountains.............

While at the gas station LC asked the attendant where in Challis we could get a good burger.

In typical small town fashion he was informed that the bowling alley just down the road was the best place to go.

Also in small town fashion the burgers were fine but nothing better than what you would expect a bowling alley burger to taste like.

Kory had a chance to walk once more in and beside the fast moving creek adjacent to the facility.

We spent longer than planned simply walking up and down alongside the creek - partly because Kory loves the water and partly because LC and I were also enjoying the simple sight and sound of rushing water.

It seemed like a long time since we had experienced either of those things, and the sheer joy and novelty of it compelled us to stay in this place for a while.................

One more stop beside the Salmon River, mid way through the last 60 mile ride from Challis to Salmon.

I like the desert just fine, but I UNDERSTAND this terrain...............

And then suddenly and finally, we were there.

A campground located right off the highway, and a campground that we had happened upon accidentally during our last trip to Salmon 9 month before.

It was a tiny campground (only 8 camp sights), and aside from running water and restrooms there were no amenities, and that was all perfectly fine with us.

As we pulled into the campground I was surprised to see only one other camper parked at the far end of the small place.

LC pulled into a shady spot at the opposite end of the camp ground right next to the Salmon River.

As Kory and I eagerly climbed out of the truck and immediately headed down to the water, I looked down at the river, then up at the mountains, then behind me at the trees and sheer, overwhelming green of the camp site.

I knew that we were going to have a good trip.

I knew that I was very pleased to be in this beautiful place...............