After TJ had his upper endoscopy, we left after lunch with Bailey and Kenzie in tow. Mom and Julie were going to share babysitting duties with Sydney, as camping with a 15 1/2-month-old would not be fun for either party. We were loaded up with the kayak and the tent trailer behind the truck. The girls watched Tangled on the way to the cabin. TJ and Bob left with the trailer to scout out Horsethief Reservoir and then possibly Warm Lake camping, as it was the last weekend before school started. Due to the proximity of the reservoir for fishing and swimming, they decided to just go straight to Warm Lake. They found a decent spot that had been reserved, but cancelled that very day. They parked the trailer and paid for 4 days and came back to the cabin, as TJ had his Cascade Clinic Friday morning. While the guys were out, the girls stayed around and played. We went exploring outside and looked out in the back field. We saw a wreath with flowers on it, a barbed-wire fence, sap oozing out of a tree, an owl statue to keep the woodpeckers away, and a water pump that was enveloped by a wooden "wishing well." The girls put the flowered wreath on top of the water pump and made a wish: Kenzie's wish: money for a party. Bailey's wish: flowers! We walked across the lane down an overgrown grass road and Kenz sliced open her fingers - it was sharp! We decided to head indoors and the girls played upstairs with toys they brought while I read a book on Hot Springs in the Pacific Northwest. Bailey and Kenz discovered banana chairs and TJ's holographic pig saucer toy. We all played Sorry! while listening to a record of the Grease Soundtrack. We headed back outside to check out the garage and all the toys in there. The girls sat on a 4-wheeler and were excited about a ride with TJ later that night. The girls were getting hungry and we tried to stay busy. TJ and Bob returned home a little after 6 and we had a pork roast with carrots and potatoes from the crockpot. It was delicious! After dinner, TJ took the girls on the 4-wheeler to check out the boys' old tree house. The wood was rotted out, so (thankfully) someone had removed the boards on the tree trunk that made a ladder so nobody could get up there. They putted over to the creek and threw some rocks in while the sun was setting. TJ came back to get me and take me to the creek. We took some cool pictures as the sun was setting. We then headed back to make a fire for S'mores and the girls crashed by 9:30pm.
Friday 9-24-12:
Kenzie woke up at 7:30am missing her mama. She got in bed with me and cuddled while TJ got up to get ready for Clinic. The girls cuddled in Grandpa's heated recliner while breakfast was made. Turkey bacon, scrambled eggs, tomatoes and toast. It was excellent! TJ left for Clinic and I packed up our bags. The girls had a shower and played with the pig magnifier, couch pillows, and the banana chairs. TJ returned and we ate lunch and headed to Shoreline Campground at Warm Lake. About a 45-minute drive. TJ dropped the 3 of us off at the trailer and went to check with the Camp Post to see if we still had our spot. Whew! We did! We set up camp and changed into our swim suits to go find Molly's Tubs Hot Springs, on the road to Stolle Meadows. About a 15 minute drive. The pull-out on the side of the road was small, maybe enough room for 3 cars. The trail was pretty steep and rocky with dry dirt. TJ took each of us girls down one-by-one. We didn't see any tubs, however. The water was HOT! Too hot for the girls. TJ braved the South Fork of the Salmon River and moved some logs and rocks to divert some colder water into the man-made rock-lined pools. Kenzie and Bailey loved picking up the silt and rocks at the bottom and letting it float away through their fingers. We were there for about an hour. Just before we left 2 volunteer forest service workers came for a soak. They had been building the first new trail in over 40 years in the area. They informed us that the tubs were gone from this location as the forest service kept taking them out after people brought them in. When we left, we drove further up the road and saw probably 5-6 more hot springs coming out of the huge granite rocks. We turned around and headed back to camp as the girls were hungry! They explored a bit while TJ got the campfire going to roast some hot dogs. We saw a lot of chipmunks running around...although Bailey says, "chickmunk." The girls loved, loved loved playing in the camper. They wanted to be in there all the time. After dinner the girls had a warm rinse-off shower in a bucket. We made S'Mores again. Kenzie didn't want a true S'More. She wanted to eat all the ingredients cold. Roasting that marshmallow was just too messy for Fancy Nancy to eat! I stayed at camp and attended the fire while TJ took the girls on a walk through the campground and to the lake. Before they left, Bailey said, "We're not going over in those mountains because there's 'anmals' out there! Wolfs and bears and tigers and wolfs..." Bailey found a "wood lollipop." They came back and we all watched the stars come out (first was Vega) before retiring to the camper. Kenzie was so tired though. She asked if we could go to bed earlier on Saturday night.
Saturday 9-25-12:
Bailey awoke at about 2:45 AM with a bloody nose. Of course. Luckily we had a roll of toilet paper in the camper because we had the portable toilet inside. TJ helped her get it stopped. When we woke up at about 8 it was so cold we could see our breaths from breathing! And there was frost outside. TJ got the food from the truck (stored there due to the bear sighting on Thursday) and started boiling some water on the portable Coleman stove for some oatmeal.
(We didn't have heat in the camper because there was something wrong with the line or regulator. This was discovered earlier in the week but we couldn't get it fixed in time. It turned out to be the pressure was set/fell to low so when the gas was on, there wasn't enough pressure to get it to the indoor stove/heater.) We ate oatmeal or cereal and toast from a frying pan. It was our fishing day, but it was too cold to get on the lake just yet. We bundled up for a walk to the North Shore lodge and dock. We hiked on a trail and played on a huge rock that had a 2 foot crack in it. Kenzie wanted to go back, so I went with her while Bailey wanted to go a little further. Not much further! She and TJ turned around about 5 minutes later. We all headed back to camp to meet Bob, as he was the fisher-supply man. When we got back to camp, TJ noticed there was bear poop and pee about 15 yards from our fire pit! It was not there the previous day! The girls were a little freaked out. But then Bob arrived and it was time to prepare to fish. The girls were interested at first, in getting the poles ready, but then got bored. They pretended to be witches on a broomstick and "flew" all around camp. We ate lunch and packed up our fishing/swimming/kayaking gear and headed to the Billy Rice beach. A great little beach and swimming area - only about a 5 minute drive, but with all our gear we needed the cars there. We drove up and got the last 2 parking spots. TJ asked the girls if they wanted to swim or kayak or fish and they wanted to FISH!!! Grandpa and TJ found a fishing rock next to the swimming area but weren't getting any bites. The girls were playing right on the shore and probably scaring the fish away! TJ noticed about 100 yards further down the shore some fisherman were catching fish every few minutes. They decided to move closer to that fishing hole. I was paddling around in the kayak and looked on from the lake. I made a supply run of drinks/snacks and sunscreen, as they were on that rock for most of the afternoon. Bailey was so excited for Kenzie to hold a fish. She kept saying all weekend, "Kenzie you're gonna hold that fish!" To which Kenzie would reply, "Nooooo!" Bailey was the Bait girl (Power Bait) and Kenz was the Pole Holder girl while TJ got the line ready to cast again. It was a successful day! Each girl caught 3 fish and reeled them in. The first one was a double - both Bob and TJ's pole got bites at the same time! Then another one separately, then another double. Kenzie did hold on to that fish she caught and Bailey kept saying over and over, "Kenz, I'm so proud of you for holding your fish. It's your fist time holding a fish with a head!" (Last weekend in McCall they fished off Boyd's dock and she held the beheaded fish.)
Finally we were all ready to swim - except Bailey. She sat on the beach and watched TJ and Kenzie swim to the rope. Then I got in (Bob was with B) and was slow about getting all the way wet. TJ swept my feet out from under me and down and under I went! That made Bailey want to get in! TJ carried her out into the water and stopped when it was to Bailey's waist, just letting her get accustomed to the water. What do you know....Bailey tooted on TJ's arm! Which she said slyly with a smile....TJ's reply: "I just peed on your leg!" We were all laughing about that one for a while! Finally Bailey rode on TJ's back and we all made it back out to the rope. She let go of TJ and was cold and shivering and paddling like a doggy but she was smiling the whole time and giggling. We all swam back to shore and got dried off. TJ gutted the 2 fish that we kept and I started loading the car. We went back to camp and Bob joined us for a hobo dinner (ground turkey, potatoes, baby carrots, and onions) and fish and hot dogs. While dinner was cooking the girls played in "sandbox" that was the tent pad. Bailey was showing some crack from behind, which we mentioned to her, and what does she do? Yep! She mooned us all! Needless to say the girls were dirty. This time we put up our utility room/shower and the water was very very warm--borderline hot--as it was warming up in the black solar bag all day. The girls went first, then TJ and I each had a shower. It felt great! It truly was a hot shower! We got dressed in our jeans and sweatshirts and made S'Mores again. After some reassuring that she would be okay in the camper alone, Kenzie was ready for bed and asleep at 9:40pm. Bailey wanted to stay up and see ALL the stars come out. Ten o'clock hit and she was done. She crashed without a fight.
Sunday 9-26-12:
It was much much warmer upon awakening today. No breaths visible in the air. The girls slept side-by-side (instead of head-to-feet) and were warmer with hoodies on and a blanket over their sleeping bags. They were much more comfortable during breakfast. Nobody was shivering! After oatmeal/cereal/toast breakfast it was time to pack up camp. The girls stayed out of the way while TJ and I put things away. Between packing up the bags and such inside the camper and taking everything down around it, it was a good 2 hours. We drove to the cabin to pick up some item we left there, ate some lunch, then headed down Highway 55 back to Boise. TJ jerry-rigged the iPad holder in the middle so that both girls could watch a movie with the headphone splitter. That will probably be the last time we use that camper, at least until our girls are older. Three times up and down for each trip. First to get ready, second to camp, third to clean. It certainly takes a lot of time and work. However, we all had a wonderful time and made many great memories.
