Tour of Idaho

We'll lighten things up a bit with a fun recap of our tour of Idaho. We planned this trip nearly a year ago when I told Justin that I wouldn't choose my next home based off a google search. So with his week vacation we did a big tour of Idaho to explore our state and see some of the places we've never been. We drove to Boise Sunday night and stayed at my parents house. Our car was packed to the gills, and we even had the luggage rack on top.

Then Monday morning we were off to Fruitland/Ontario. The hospital there has contacted Justin quite a few times so we thought it would be worth touring and looking into while we were making a trip. First we stopped and visited with Jim and Grandma Gerdau which was a lot of fun getting to know them better since we don't see them a lot. Grandma was so nice and let each of the boys pick two porcelain bears from her collection to take home. The clinic we toured was really nice-but big. The boys were getting a little antsy so I sat outside with them while Justin toured the hospital. Then we had lunch with some of the administration and staff. It was crazy trying to keep the boys wrangled and behaved. Lincoln was way over tired and so was Landon. But we made it through without any major meltdowns and started off on the fun part of our trip.

Our next stop was Goose Lake near McCall. It was a quaint little lake with only a couple of other campers there. We pretty much had the lake to ourselves. The boys fished and kayaked and explored and it felt so good to be outdoors and relaxing. There were cows that kept walking through camp because the fence was broken. On Tuesday we crossed over to a little island to play on and then walked through the swampy shallow part over to the other shore and followed a little stream up into the mountain a ways. The stream was full of little minnows and tadpoles which the boys had fun catching and chasing. There were wildflowers growing everywhere and I'm pretty sure the boys cleared the forest picking me bouquets all day long! Then we packed up camp and drove into McCall to sight see and check out the town.

The Chipmunks were everywhere and they LOVED our cheetos!

Matthew got hit in the mouth by a rock

Our little sandy island

After that it was off to Lewiston. I had such high hopes for Lewiston despite what people told me. Unfortunately it was a total fail. The factory smelled SO BAD. I seriously don't know how people live there. As we drove into town we were all plugging our noses and trying not to breathe or gag and wanted to roll down the windows to get fresh air but knew that would only make it worse. There was no escaping the awful smell. It got a little better as we crossed the river away from the factory into the city, but it still smelled so gross. Even in the hotel you could smell it. It permeated through the walls and into everything. Wednesday morning dawned and I was ready to make the best of it and go find the treasure spots in Lewiston. But by the time we showered and loaded up we had all reached our limit of stink. We didn't even drive through the town-just hit the road and left Lewiston in the dust. This was the only picture I took because I thought it was fitting:

The smoke was so bad throughout the entire state from all the wildfires. That was the only downer about the trip-some of our beautiful views were obstructed by the smoke. But we did get some awesome sunsets.

From Lewiston we drove up through Moscow where we drove around a bit and then kept going until we got to Coeur d' Alene. The lake at Couer d'Alene and the awesome beach they have right in the center of town was pretty neat. Definitely a sweet tourist spot that would be really fun to go back and visit. We found a cute ice cream parlor to have lunch at and then played at the park and splashed our feet in the water as we walked along the beach. It was busy here with lots of people but a fun place for sure. After a couple hours we got back in the car and headed to our next camping destination.

Sandpoint and Lake Pend Oreille were definitely the highlight of the trip. We actually camped 30 minutes outside of Sandpoint near Hope. But we drove through Sandpoint and it was a lovely looking town. Right on the lake and the river. You have to take this huge bridge to get into the city. As we drove out of Sandpoint it was beautiful! Small farm/country plots with the mountains right there. Just really picturesque Idaho. Land Pend Oreille was AMAZING. It wins my favorite lake hands down. The water was so warm. By the time we got to camp and set up and walked down to the lake it was 7 o'clock. The water was so warm we went back for the kids swim suits because we couldn't keep them out of it. Even I had no qualms getting in and out of the water multiple times to play with the kids the next day-and it was overcast and not super hot outside either. So that was a huge bonus in my book. Our campsite was at the back so it opened up to the wild forest behind us : ) We spent all of Thursday down on the beach playing in the water. After a delicious dutch oven dinner we drove to find a good fishing spot on the lake for the boys. We ended up catching quite a few little fish. We didn't let the kids keep any and Koyle was so sad he had to throw his fish back.

This little boy learned to walk on the trip!

You could tell that normally the views would be fantastic, but the smoke was this thick the whole time.

Our next stop was Salmon. So Friday morning we packed up camp after a little more fishing and headed off. It was the longest drive of the whole trip-6 hours, so we stopped in Missoula for lunch. And to buy Landon a new fishing pole because his got pulled into the water by a big fish! Every little small town we drove through in northern Idaho was having a huckleberry festival and there were huckleberry advertisements everywhere. I so badly wanted to stop and get something but the kids were sleeping and you can't ruin a good thing like that. We got to Salmon late in the evening to stay with my cousin Camille and her family. They were at a ward campout dinner and didn't get home until late. So we were able to shower and wash the boys and get them all settled to sleep and then we had a really nice visit with them. Their kids are great and I just love my Koyle family. In the morning they took the boys for a ride on the horse which they LOVED. Koyle was the most excited and eager to ride; yet another way he has surprised us as he's blossomed this summer.

They suggested stopping at Mackay Reservoir to fish. We didn't find a super great spot and it was the middle of the day so we didn't catch anything. But it was a good lunch break and another check on the list of things we did on this trip.

One of these peaks is the tallest peak in Idaho or something...I can't remember the name or the exact details at the moment. But you know-it's cool. And pretty too.

To finish out the trip we stopped at Craters of the Moon on our way home. We were a little hesitant about keeping this on the agenda since by this point we were ready to be home, but decided to do it anyways and were so glad that we did. It was actually really neat and the boys really enjoyed it. We went through a cave and Justin and the three boys got to climb all the way through the tunnel part and pop out in another place. They loved all the neat things we saw and learned about. Koyle was enthralled the whole time until it was time to leave. When he realized it was over he was pretty disappointed because he thought we were going to see real lava while we were there! Silly kid.

Do you see the snow? Everything on the surface was so hot from all the black lava rock but down in this little lava tube there was still snow!

Of course the last hour and a half drive was the worst and the kids cried the whole time, but we made it! Idaho is such a beautiful state and full of so many neat places to explore. It has desert, farm lands, mountains, lakes, streams, rivers, lava flows, and stinky factories to boot. Sure love this state. We counted and I think we went through 24 counties (out of 44). I can't believe I haven't explored north sooner than this because northern Idaho was pretty great. We will definitely be going back.
Everyone wondered if we found our future home on this trip. The short answer is no, and we weren't really looking. But now as we go forward with job hunting this year we can have a better idea of the different places as opportunities present themselves. Although I will say that Justin was very drawn to the mountains and really liked McCall as a good option. I loved Sandpoint and only wish it was closer to family. I guess we'll see what happens.