What I learned on this camping trip:
1) My nose is a magnet for wispy spiderweb strands
2) The hippie movement for "natural" outdoorsyness is alive and well
3) Mushrooms will do in a pinch for a game of baseball
4) and Fly fishing and hail don't mix
Our yearly camping trip to the Lochsa with Chris and Jeannette went really well this year. It was a lot of fun, the weather was mostly great, and we were able to get in both hiking and fishing almost every day, which made everyone happy. We also camped in this:
It had a stove!
It had BEDS!
It's gonna be hard to go back to a tent after this. :)
On to the ADVENTURE!
The first trail we tried led to a hot spring, which should have been our first clue. It was also more like a road than a trail, which should have been our second clue.
We found a really neat little spot where a spring of hot water was actually draining into a pool beside the river.
Question: Does soaking naked in a hot spring that is situated directly beside a trail where anyone and his brother (and their little kids) could walk right up and say, "Hi," sound like a good idea to anyone here? No? No! It doesn't to me either!
For Pete's sake, hippies! Please go and be "natural" where no one else has to see you! Sheesh!
Okay, I'm better now.
Obviously we didn't want to run into any more "nature lovers," so we decided to do a little exploring in the direction away from the water.
Jeannette walks along a log.
Zen-like, isn't it?
The next day we drove a little further and found a trail that had no hot spring and was much less "road-ish." It was more of a trail on the side of a hill. I discovered that I have the stamina to hike from breakfast to lunch on one day--very proud of that fact--but I won't be able to move well the next. :)
The next day was the day of mushrooms.
We decided to do an easier hike.
See the gentle trail meandering through the woods.
There were a few obstacles to overcome.
Don't jump, Chris!
What is it about little mushrooms that makes them just so cute?
It had BEDS!
It's gonna be hard to go back to a tent after this. :)
On to the ADVENTURE!
The first trail we tried led to a hot spring, which should have been our first clue. It was also more like a road than a trail, which should have been our second clue.
We found a really neat little spot where a spring of hot water was actually draining into a pool beside the river.
It was beautiful.
Here's some crazy tree roots we found while climbing back to the trail. We had only been out for an hour but we had to turn back pretty soon after that.
Question: Does soaking naked in a hot spring that is situated directly beside a trail where anyone and his brother (and their little kids) could walk right up and say, "Hi," sound like a good idea to anyone here? No? No! It doesn't to me either!
For Pete's sake, hippies! Please go and be "natural" where no one else has to see you! Sheesh!
Okay, I'm better now.
Obviously we didn't want to run into any more "nature lovers," so we decided to do a little exploring in the direction away from the water.
Jeannette walks along a log.
Ryan and Chris have fun moving the bridge.
And that was about it for the hike on that day. The guys went fishing after that and we wives went along to take pictures. We found:
A dragonfly
And a little spider. Yes, I finally took a spider picture like all the rest of you weirdos! Joy. Moving on.
Here's Chris fishing from the comfort of his very own boulder.
I love taking pictures where more than one thing is going on.
And here's one of everyone.
Fascinating as fishing is, the wives do tend to get a tiny bit bored after hours of sitting on the same piece of rocky river-side, so Jeannette started making balancing thingies. I joined in because it looked like too much fun to keep out of.
And that was about it for the hike on that day. The guys went fishing after that and we wives went along to take pictures. We found:
A dragonfly
A bunny-shaped rock (I would have packed this thing home if it weren't the size of a basketball)
And a little spider. Yes, I finally took a spider picture like all the rest of you weirdos! Joy. Moving on.
I love taking pictures where more than one thing is going on.
And here's one of everyone.Fascinating as fishing is, the wives do tend to get a tiny bit bored after hours of sitting on the same piece of rocky river-side, so Jeannette started making balancing thingies. I joined in because it looked like too much fun to keep out of.
Zen-like, isn't it?
We got a little elaborate. Jeannette had a lot more patience than I did. She made the rocks balance; I just tried to keep from knocking them down. :)
Found some cute little mushrooms.
Ryan contemplates.
Don't ask me why the horse's skull is tied to a tree. We found it that way.
Hi there.
The view at the top was great, but it meant that 4 miles of downhill were between us and lunch!
We covered around 8 miles on this hike (Go, us!), and only saw two people at a distance. Their big dog came up to say hi, but then left with them. Ryan thought he'd be funny and scare the dog off, but the dog only took this as an invitation to play. I'm not sure which was funnier; Ryan waving his arms and yelling like a maniac or the dog's response. It started bouncing around in the brush so excitedly. Oh, boy; a new bestest friend! Oh, boy. Oh, boy! It was hilarious.
Ryan contemplates.
Don't ask me why the horse's skull is tied to a tree. We found it that way.
Hi there.
The view at the top was great, but it meant that 4 miles of downhill were between us and lunch!
The next day was the day of mushrooms.
We decided to do an easier hike.
See the gentle trail meandering through the woods.
There were a few obstacles to overcome.
Don't jump, Chris!
What is it about little mushrooms that makes them just so cute?
The mushroom battlefield. Evidence of Chris and Ryan's violent nature against the fungus of the field. See the following videos for true mushroom carnage!
And that's about it, except for the hail.
It kind of interrupted the guys last day of fishing, so we all played cribbage instead, and then we drove home the next day.
