Week 2 started with a LONG, HOT drive from Wyoming to Boise Idaho. One thing to remember for any rookies like us out there, letting GPS estimate your time of arrival can be very deceiving. If your top speed is 70, but GPS calculates on a speed limit of 80, you get a bit of a discrepancy…
Regardless, we made it in to Boise just in time to drop off Gipzee, clean up a little and head over to the Boise Rescue Mission.
Memory #1 – Serving at the Rescue Mission
Downtown Boise was very clean, at least in the parts where we were, which made our first act of serving with the kids much more comfortable than it could have been. The staff at the rescue mission were very nice. The kitchen manager was a great guy. He had moved to Boise from Florida 3 years ago to join the program that the Boise Rescue Mission provided in hopes of cleaning his life up. In his words, he has been clean for 3 years and is now doing what he can to pass his success on to others by running the kitchen. He was great to us, to our kids and to all the people he served.
All told, we served around 120 meals to folks who were very appreciative. That was a great feeling and we would recommend serving to anyone and everyone who is able. It will change you life.
We served from around 7-8 p.m., jumped in the truck and got some shopping done. After what seemed like hours, we were finally back at the RV park, Ambassador RV. Got some sleep, woke up early and made our way to our next stop somewhere between Stanley and Clayton Idaho.
Memory #2 – Torrey’s Burnt Creek Inn
Torrey’s was a great RV park for us. There were only 10 or so RV sites, all of them on grass. No thrills or frills, just clean peace and quite. Just what we were looking for. We didn’t know what to expect when we arrived, so when we got there and saw what it was, we were pretty excited. As an added bonus, the weather was phenomenal, the washing machines were free and the showers and restrooms we well taken care of. The Salmon River ran right along the back of the park. The days were toasty and the nights cooled off rapidly. We really loved the experience at Torrey’s!
Memory #3 – The People
At the center of the RV park was a grassy area where we were able to throw around the baseball. Which we did. Often. Scout noticed a boy about his age watching us from what we found out was his Grandparent’s RV. Eventually, Scout and Kelton met and instantly became inseparable. Riding bikes. Throwing baseballs. Playing corn hole. And along with Bella, recovering Elk remains. Yes. We have a complete elk skeleton in our RV. Yes. That is weird…
As great as Kelton was, his grandparents we equally great. They have come up to the same RV park since Mike, the grandpa, retired. The move up from Boise in June and stay until August. They were some of the nicest people we have ever met and gave us a grand send off when we left on Monday. Meeting them was truly a blessing.
Memory #4 – GhostTowns
We spent two days in two different ghost towns in the area. The first was the town of Bayhorse. There wasn’t much left of this old mining town, but what was left was fun to see. We decided to keep going up the road passed the town of Bayhorse to Bayhorse Lake to do some fishing. The owners of Torrey’s suggested we give it a shot since it was a beautiful lake that was kept well stocked. They were absolutely right. As soon as Bella got here line in the water we were reeling in trout. The lake was truly a gem as we fished off of a pier over looking a small mountain lake and an lush green meadow.
The next day we went to Custer City, which was also an old mining town. This town had many more building restored along with many plaques describing what each structure was. These places were the kind of places Kari loves. Tons of old rusty things. Stoves, tools, engines. You name it, she loved it!
Memory #5 – Relax
This was a carry over from our first week in Wyoming. But even more so as we didn’t have cell service and the wireless was spotty at the park. This, as it almost always does, turned out to be a bonus. It really allowed us to focus in on the “right now”. To play games with the kids. To explore the area. To sit in our camping chairs and watch the sun rise and set. There is no doubt that relax is going to be a thing we push into over the next year. And this week really helped us do just that.
The Wrap
Idaho was definitely a surprise winner for us. The Sawtooth Mountains were majestic. The Salmon River was beautiful. Torrey’s was peaceful. The weather was amazing. The people were the best. I don’t know that any of us expected much from our second week, but we got so much from it. Memories were made. Stories were created. What more could we ask for?!?!