A few months ago, Bryce and I started talking about camping up at Willow Flats in Idaho. We decided on some dates and Bryce took Friday off of work so we could camp an extra day. It turned out that Willow Flats was all booked and so we had Paul go up a day early and find a spot at Franklin Basin. It has been such a hot summer, with so many fires around Utah, so it was pretty dry.
We ended up getting a real nice spot by the river. The river was low so it was safe for the kids to play in...although it was freezing cold. Clayton wouldn't step foot in it until Saturday afternoon and then he wanted to stay in it for a long time. He would go back and forth between the big rocks.
On Friday morning, we got to the camp around 11 and got our trailers and things all set up. We ate lunch and then headed over to Tony Grove. Even though it's been a dry year, it was still so beautiful up there at the lake. Steph and Bryce hauled the tubes across the lake in their kayaks.
The water was a nice temperature. The kids had a great time kayaking, playing in the water, and walking on the ginormous dead tree that was floating out in the lake. Cooper really enjoyed the kayak and he did a great job on it. He stayed out on it for at least a half an hour. I think he found a new hobby!
Clayton played in the water a little bit, but the wind was blowing hard this day, so he was kind of cold. We spent a lot of time sitting in the tubes eating grapes and cherry tomatoes. Kylee, Brittney and Kell showed up in the afternoon and spent a couple of hours with us. We went back to camp around 4 and started preparing dinner.
We had tacos the first night. It was kind of sad because we were not allowed to have any fires, so we sat around the camper light and visited when it got dark. It would have been nice to have a fire because it really cooled down once the sun dropped.
On Saturday morning, we had "Kneaders" french toast, eggs, and bacon for breakfast. It was so good and a nice way to start the day off! We got packed up and ready to go on an ATV ride over to Bear Lake. We stopped at the "Mail Tree" about 5 miles into the ride and let everyone see the tree and climb the rocks!
As we continued on to Bear Lake, we came to a spot where there is a cute little stream that runs through the valley. We were all really dusty and dirty so we stopped to wash our faces and let the kids get out and run around for a while. Cooper and Addey had a great time being "thrown" over the stream by Bryce. The water was crisp and cool, but so refreshing.
It was 32 miles over to Fish Haven. We stopped there to eat a sandwich, get a Dr. Pepper, and relax before we headed back to camp. The sandwiches were kind of expensive, but they were huge and yummy! We enjoyed fresh raspberry shakes too!
The older girls were ready to get back to camp, so we didn't stop much on the way back. Kylee rode on the back of Bryce's machine and she held Clayton (who was sleeping) all the way back. I'm sure her arms were killing after 90 minutes. Paul and Steph stopped at a trading post and got the kids walking sticks. They were pretty excited about them. In fact, they talked Scott into carving their names into their sticks.
After the ride, we were caked with dust and sweat. It was warm outside, so Steph, Shaylee, and I decided to bathe in the river. We washed and conditioned our hair in that freezing cold water. It was almost numbing. Steph wanted to do a full dip in the water and it was refreshing but so cold. It felt so good to be clean again!!
Bryce made BBQ chicken and dutch oven potatoes for dinner. The chicken took a long time cooking, so we ended up throwing it on the grill. The food was yummy. Chelsey and Scott came up for dinner. It was nice to visit with them and get to know Scott a little better. Again, we had no fire that night, so we went to bed earlier than normal.
On Sunday morning, we made breakfast, sat around and visited for a while and then packed up for home. It was such a nice little camping trip. I always wish we had one more day to camp. It's so much fun and relaxing.
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