IDAHO: Our 1st Rally in Cascade and some final thoughts on Idaho

Arrowhead RV Park, Cascade Idaho

July 28-31, 2016

We decided it would be a great opportunity to take a small tour of some sites in Idaho on our way to the Newmar Kountry Klub Region 2 Idaho State Rally in Cascade in July. Our plan was to work our way towards Cascade and stretch the trip over 10 days with 2-3 night stays along the way.

At this point, you probably want to ask: "What is this club?"

Our motorhome is made by a large RV manufacturer Newmar http://www.newmarcorp.com/ The "Newmar Kountry Klub" is a RV social club exclusive to owners of a Newmar coach. Their members are from the United States and Canada and travel all over North America to meet up in different
areas for rallies, special events and caravans. Through the Kountry Klub there is an open line of communication between Newmar and owners of Newmar RV's. We are now in Utah which is in Region 1 but as a club member you can go to any of the Region Rallies. The big rally called the International Rally is held once a year and this year it's in Colorado the last week in September. We will be going to the big event in September and thought this rally would give us a chance to meet other members ahead of the September Rally.

There were 14 coaches and 28 attendees at the rally. Many have been to multiple rallies, 4 of us were 1st time rally attendees. We had a great time, everyone seemed to know each other but everyone was friendly and made us feel part of their family. A lot of them we will see again at the International Rally in September.

The Rally was held at Arrowhead RV Park over 4 days. http://www.arrowheadpark.com/
Overall a very nice park but it's an older park used to having smaller sized RV's. We had difficulties getting all 50 amps, mostly in the later part of the day when temperatures would be in the 90's. Our group of 14 rigs were all big rigs 36-40 ft. plus and all using 50 amps at the same time. We had to monitor and adjust how many amps we used during those peak hours later in the day. Seems to be a common theme when traveling this time of year and staying in older parks.

Our site #120

RV park is right on the Payette River

They had an itinerary of activities and included breakfast and dinner each day. Friday after breakfast there was a wood carving informational clinic at the RV park.

Some examples of wood carvings

More wood carvings

totem poles

The RV park is known as a Woodcarving/craft retreat in the summer and they have people that come from all parts of the country that stay the entire summer carving totem poles. It's quite impressive to walk around the RV park and see as many as 30 plus totem poles with some that are dated back to 1994.

Friday evening after dinner we had musical entertainment from Ross Thomas. He has performed throughout the U.S. http://rossthomasmusic.com/bio/  and has toured, along with his brother, with Collin Raye and The Osmond Brothers.

Casual concert-Ross Thomas and family

One of our daily social gatherings before dinner

Saturday we took a group trip for lunch up to the FAA Radar Station on the top of Snowbank Mountain. It was a beautiful drive on a narrow, steep dirt road to the station at 8,200 feet. A great
way to take in the view and enjoy the cooler weather.



FAA Radar station Snowbank Mountain, ID

I hiked to these towers to get better photos. A nice little workout after lunch.

A remaining little patch of snow

View of Cascade Lake from the towers

Sunday morning, we said our goodbyes and hoped to see everyone at the Rally in September. We had a great time exchanging information on trips, RV maintenance and just about anything.

We drove the short distance to Boise for our final quick stop so that Mike could visit with a high school friend who lives in Eagle, ID which is just north of the Boise area. It was a stressful drive south on Highway 55, a scenic by-way that is challenging in a large motorhome because of
a lot of narrow sections and turns. Mike said it was the hardest driving he has done so far. It was a late decision to spend 1 night in Boise but I was lucky to grab a spot close by at the very popular Hi Valley RV Park. http://www.g7rvresorts.com/idaho/hi-valley/ Nice and clean park, but we didn't spend any time there or check out any of the facilities. A few things to note: Wi-Fi was slow and we again had power issues in the hot afternoon.

My final thoughts on our trip to Idaho and our 1st rally experience: we need to come back and spend more time in Idaho and we should include more rallies in our RV travels. However, I would choose a different time of year especially in the central part of Idaho. July was hot, especially in the later afternoon; I expect the more northern parts of Idaho are cooler.  We also didn't do any rafting or fishing on this trip and that is worth a return visit. This was a faster paced trip then we would normally plan and we could have easily spent a week in Sun Valley; so I expect we will make another trip through Idaho.

   What's Next: Our big trip to Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona
                         International Rally in Pueblo, CO, Albuquerque Balloon Festival......and more

IDAHO: Ketchum/Sun Valley and a chance to do some glam camping @Lowman

July 23-26, 2016: Ketchum/Sun Valley, ID

We've been to Sun Valley twice but only in the winter for ski trips. I always enjoy going to ski resort towns in the summer, it gives one a totally different perspective. We stayed at the one and only RV park in the area but it's also the closest to the towns of Ketchum, Hailey, and the Sun Valley Resort. A good base camp with hookups if you want to explore the Sawtooth recreational area.
The park was great for our short stay in the area, despite that the sites are very close together and you share a small green space with the RV next to you. We were there to be out and about so it didn't matter to us.

The Meadows RV Park Ketchum ID http://www.themeadowsinketchum.com/rv/

Small green area shared between 2 sites
 

The term "Sun Valley" is used more generally to speak of the region surrounding the city, including the neighboring city of Ketchum and the Wood River Valley area winding south to Hailey. The region has been a seasonal home to the rich and famous since first being brought to public attention by Ernest Hemingway in the late 1930s.

There's lots of hiking and mountain biking in the area. Close to our park is the Wood River trail which is an easy, paved path that runs all the way to Ketchum in one direction and Hailey in the other.

We only did one hike while we were here, Bald Mountain Trail. http://www.hikingproject.com/trail/7000004

Quite a hike, 5.0 miles and a 3,229 feet elevation gain. It took us 2 hours and 40 minutes. Beautiful views the entire way and there were still some wildflowers at the upper elevations. Base at the start was 5,764' and the top was at 8,993'. Average grade 12%. It was a slow and steady climb the entire way. The nice part of this hike is there is free lift service down. Christmas lift takes you to Roundhouse where we stopped and had lunch, then it was a gondola ride down to the bottom.

Another awesome view

A few wildflowers left



View of Ketchum

Skied those runs

Selfie on the lift ride down to Roundhouse

This is how the bikes get up

Lunch at Roundhouse- half way down.

Thank you Sun Valley for the ride down.

Ski Runs in the background

River Run Lodge, Base at Sun Valley Ski Resort

We went to a free concert to listen to the Sun Valley Symphony perform IN FOCUS SERIES
Baroque Beginnings: Bach at the Sun Valley Pavilion on Sunday evening. It was outside on the grass and dog friendly, we found a nice spot in the shade.

We also went to the Sawtooth Brewery tap room in Hailey, ID. They don't serve food here so it was very dog friendly.

We found only one indoor dog friendly establishment

July 26-28, 2016: Lowman, ID

On the day we left Sun Valley we heard there was a fire (Pioneer Fire) that started around Idaho City and had closed Highway 21 south of Lowman to Boise. Our route was going to take us to Cascade by way of the Banks-Lowman Highway(ID-17) which was open, so that was good news, but we were worried about smoke. On our arrival to the campground we checked at the forest ranger station and the winds were moving the fire NE of us and there was little chance the Banks-Lowman Highway would be closed. There was no smoke in the area and since we were only going to be there 2 nights we decided to stay and monitor the situation.

Finally a chance to get our feet wet and do a little glam camping. I chose a campground just outside of Lowman on the Payette River, Mountain View campground, Boise National Forest http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/boise/recreation/camping-cabins/recarea/?recid=5196&actid=29. A small campground of 14 sites, no electric or water hookups but there is drinking water, trash bins and 2 vault restrooms within the campground. The campground has a camp host on-site.  We had, by far, the best site in the campground, a pull-through right next to the Payette river. Walking around the campground I am not sure we could fit in any other site. Many of the sites are back-in and not level. We had no problems driving in and out of the campground but we did unhitch the tow vehicle first and went slow. I was able to reserve this site on-line; I booked it in early June and made sure we timed our visit midweek when it wouldn't be as busy. The campground was quiet the entire time we were there.



Site 9

Can't get any closer to perfect
 

We did have to deal with some smoke from the fire, mornings were clear then heavy smoke would move in from 11am to 1pm. We would move into the coach until the winds would pick up in the afternoon and push the smoke out. We would see the smoke plume in the late afternoon and build up over the ridge but then recede.

Smoke building

Smoke plume above ridge line

There was a lot of activity at our site, at around 6:30pm it was a daily pull-out area for this rafting company.

I took some photos of an angler from the campsite next to us fly fishing. He was catching something every 15-20 minutes. The trout must have been too small because he was releasing most of what he was catching. It looked relaxing and fun,  I am seriously thinking of taking up fly fishing as a hobby.

Fly fishing

UPDATE 8/4/16:  After we got home from our Idaho trip I saw this news report http://www.ktvb.com/news/local/pioneer-fire-continues-to-threaten-homes-in-lowman/287280379. It looks like the fire has moved a lot closer to Lowman, which is sad, the area is beautiful. The forces of nature can be relentless.

"Fire is never a gentle master" Proverb Quotes

Next: Cascade, ID

IDAHO: Craters of the Moon National Park, Arco, ID

We originally had not planned any trips this summer but when we saw  there was going to be a Newmar Kountry Klub rally in Cascade Lake, Idaho we decided to take a summer trip and sneak a getaway to Idaho. We are going to the big International Rally in Colorado in September and it sounded like a fun way to meet some other RV'ers that might also be going to the International Rally. Our tour of Idaho was 11 days and included stops to visit Craters of the Moon, Sun Valley, 2 days boondocking at a campground by the Payette River in Lowman, Idaho, and then on to Cascade Lake. Our last stop would be in Boise so that Mike could visit an old friend from high school and then back home.

First stop was Crater of the Moon National Park https://www.nps.gov/crmo/index.htm


"I grow very fond of this place, and it certainly has a desolate, grim beauty of its own, that has a curious fascination for me." Theodore Roosevelt

July 21-23, 2016

Craters of the Moon's visitor center is located 18 miles southwest of Arco, Idaho on Highway 20/26/93.

Craters of the Moon formed during eight major eruptive periods between 15,000 and 2000 years ago. Lava erupted from the Great Rift, a series of deep cracks that start near the visitor center and stretch 52 miles (84 km.) to the southeast. During this time the Craters of the Moon lava field grew to cover 618 square miles (1600 square km). This is an amazing area, when you drive the entire loop it seems you are in a totally different world. Barren but alive it was a surreal experience and I am glad we put this on our route.
Stop at the visitor center first and get a map and the permit, which is free, to hike through Indian Tunnel or any of the caves. The permit is necessary to screen you so as to not pass any diseases to the local bat population. https://www.nps.gov/crmo/planyourvisit/cave-permits.htm There is also a small museum that will give the full history of the volcanic activity and the lava flows in the area.
The seven-mile loop road begins after the visitor's center and you will pay your entrance fee at the gate or you can use the annual park pass. There are parking areas at all of the trails. Trail mileages are round-trip distances. Allow half an hour for the drive itself and more time for stopping at viewpoints and for hiking the trails.

 It's pretty barren out here and depending on the time of year it can be very cold or very hot. July can be hot so we got an early start in the morning. It was on the cooler side for July and there was a lot of wind which helped make our hikes comfortable. There is no water inside the park so bring water or fill up bottles at the visitor center and wear good shoes, the trails are paved but when you go into the Indian Tunnel there is more loose rock and will require some rock scrambling. We didn't visit the 4 other caves, which are smaller, very dark and would definitely require flashlights. I wasn't into the spelunking concept so we skipped them.

Well paved trail over the lava fields

Indian Tunnel, one-half mile from the parking lot, is the largest cave and the easiest to visit. Skylights permit enough daylight to enter so that you do not need a flashlight.

Indian Tunnel entrance: Ladder to climb into the cave



Hike through the Indian Tunnel

The exit: as much spelunking as I would do.

 There were lots of interesting trees in the park that looked like works of art.

 Inferno Cone Overlook trail is rated strenuous but the hike is short and you get some good views at the top. The hike is 0.5 mile and an elevation gain of 164ft.

Trail up Inferno Cone

Top of the Inferno- windy up there.

We were able to see all of the park at a leisurely pace in 4 hours, of course you could do longer hikes in the area but consider the heat and be prepared.

There are 3 RV parks in the area of Arco that are convenient to Craters of the Moon. The national park has one but it was closed due to renovations and improvements being made to the park. There is a KOA in Arco and the RV park we stayed at, which I would highly recommend, called Mountain View RV Park and Restaurant. http://www.mountainviewarco.com/
The RV park is approximately 20 miles from Craters of the Moon and has 50amp full hook ups and nice wide spaces with grass in between and there are lots of trees in the park. Surface roads and sites are gravel and the park was easy to get in and out of.

Mountain View RV Park Site D-6

View behind our site

Lots of room between sites

A big bonus, the park has its own restaurant that is open for lunch and dinner. Definitely
should eat here at least once and have their baby back ribs, they are phenomenal. They serve it with a smoked baked potato. That's right they smoke the potato, I never had a potato prepared that way, it was delicious. Not as dry and had more flavor than a regular baked potato. The desserts are all homemade, I had the huckleberry ice cream from a local creamery and it was extra special.

NPS website says the time between eruptions at the Craters of the Moon Lava Field averages 2,000 years and it has been more than 2,000 years since the last eruption.
The volume of past eruptive events suggests that slightly over one cubic mile (4.2 cubic km.) of lava will be erupted during the next event. Scary.......at least it didn't happen when we were there.

Next up: Sun Valley, Idaho