That's right, roughly the middle of July and this is our first camping trip. Several factors have contributed to this...mainly it was a long winter and VERY rainy spring.
Thursday, July 9th
We headed out of Idaho Falls at about 3.30pm. This was our first trip with both Kaya (Linda's dog) and Xena. They got along fine in the back of the cab but Xena took up a good three quarters of the seat giving Kaya little room to lay down. Fortunately for Xena, Kaya was being tolerant. We headed up Highway 28, through Birch Creek Valley, towards Salmon. Just before we got into Salmon, we ran into highway construction. This normally wouldn't be a big deal but there was a big black storm cloud headed our way. After about 20 minutes, we were able to continue on - and the big black storm cloud is getting closer. Once in Salmon we stopped to fuel up and grab a bite at the BK. I ordered a cheeseburger and Linda ordered a fish sandwich. Now...I have to say that after living in Idaho Falls for over 10 years, I have lowered my expectation of customer service a bit BUT DANG!! As I stood at the counter watching the grill people moving about as slow as humanly possible, I heard one of them say "ummm...there is no fish up". I got the manager's attention and verified that there was 'no fish up'. Linda told the manager she would have a burger instead and I let her know how I felt about the incompetency. By the time we got back on the road, the big black storm cloud was overhead and it was raining...hard.
We headed up highway 93 to North Fork and the rain stayed behind us - very happy about that!! At North Fork we took a left and headed towards Panther Creek following...well...the North Fork of the Salmon River. Just before we got to Shoup, the pavement ends...what a wonderful feeling...driving on a dirt roads. At about 8.30p we headed up FR 055 or Panther Creek Road and headed to 'our spot'. As we approached 'our spot' we saw a truck and horse trailer parked in 'our spot'. Not camping, just parked - they had taken the horses up a trail. Fuming, we headed back down the road to check out a couple of camp sites we had passed. It was starting to get dark and we needed to setup camp. We settled on a site with plenty of trees for shelter but a little close to the road. We got the tent set up then sat back with a cold one and watched the dogs run around the camp.
Friday, July 10th
We packed up and headed up towards Cobalt to find a better, more dog friendly camping spot. Kaya stuck her head out Linda's window while Xena (AKA Truck Hog) made every attempt to take up all of the back seat. After Linda (AKA The Navigator) consulted the topo, we decided to head towards Blackbird Creek Road...looked like there were lots more dirt roads to explore. Right before Blackbird Creek Road, we passed a bar/restaurant called, oddly enough, Panther Creek Inn. Just as we pulled onto Blackbird Creek Road, we passed a run down Road Closed Ahead sign. I decided to back down the road to the Panther Creek Inn to see if the road was, indeed, closed. The lady who owned the place said the road was closed 2 miles up at the mine and there really wasn't much in the way of creeks or water. She suggested heading towards Yellowjacket/Big Horn Crags Road...so we did. On the way we saw 2 buck with velvet antlers. How cool is that?
Found a great camp spot right on a creek and off the road. Got the camp setup while the dogs ran all over the place. Afterwards we decided to keep heading up the road to gather firewood. The road narrowed a bit and began to gain elevation. The view was incredible. We gathered a truck load of wood and headed back to camp for a cold one.
Once back at camp, we decided to catch some rays and play some cribbage. As the afternoon wore on, we had to move the chairs to get back into the sun. While Linda move the chairs I grabbed the camp box (AKA the cribbage table), took two steps and BAM!! It felt like someone jammed a knife in my left knee. After a bit the pain did not dissipate so I hobbled to my chair to sit. No use wasting good sunning time. After about an hour Linda started building a fire - I am still incapacitated.
For dinner we had baby back ribs with some of Jens BBQ sauce, sweet potatoes and a little sourdough bread...we eat well when we camp. The ribs were dang awesome!
Saturday, July 11th
With me still incapacitated, we decided to head home (original plan was to leave on Sunday). Poor Linda had to break down camp and load the truck all by herself. We decided to continue on Panther Creek Road. According to the topo Panther Creek Road turns into Morgan Creek Road - and it did. We have been up Morgan Creek Road a couple of times during spring but had been stopped by deep mud. Morgan Creek Road comes out on highway 28 about 12 miles outside of Challis. Once on the highway, we head into Challis to gas up and head back to Idaho Falls.
Thursday, July 9th
We headed out of Idaho Falls at about 3.30pm. This was our first trip with both Kaya (Linda's dog) and Xena. They got along fine in the back of the cab but Xena took up a good three quarters of the seat giving Kaya little room to lay down. Fortunately for Xena, Kaya was being tolerant. We headed up Highway 28, through Birch Creek Valley, towards Salmon. Just before we got into Salmon, we ran into highway construction. This normally wouldn't be a big deal but there was a big black storm cloud headed our way. After about 20 minutes, we were able to continue on - and the big black storm cloud is getting closer. Once in Salmon we stopped to fuel up and grab a bite at the BK. I ordered a cheeseburger and Linda ordered a fish sandwich. Now...I have to say that after living in Idaho Falls for over 10 years, I have lowered my expectation of customer service a bit BUT DANG!! As I stood at the counter watching the grill people moving about as slow as humanly possible, I heard one of them say "ummm...there is no fish up". I got the manager's attention and verified that there was 'no fish up'. Linda told the manager she would have a burger instead and I let her know how I felt about the incompetency. By the time we got back on the road, the big black storm cloud was overhead and it was raining...hard.
We headed up highway 93 to North Fork and the rain stayed behind us - very happy about that!! At North Fork we took a left and headed towards Panther Creek following...well...the North Fork of the Salmon River. Just before we got to Shoup, the pavement ends...what a wonderful feeling...driving on a dirt roads. At about 8.30p we headed up FR 055 or Panther Creek Road and headed to 'our spot'. As we approached 'our spot' we saw a truck and horse trailer parked in 'our spot'. Not camping, just parked - they had taken the horses up a trail. Fuming, we headed back down the road to check out a couple of camp sites we had passed. It was starting to get dark and we needed to setup camp. We settled on a site with plenty of trees for shelter but a little close to the road. We got the tent set up then sat back with a cold one and watched the dogs run around the camp.
Friday, July 10th
We packed up and headed up towards Cobalt to find a better, more dog friendly camping spot. Kaya stuck her head out Linda's window while Xena (AKA Truck Hog) made every attempt to take up all of the back seat. After Linda (AKA The Navigator) consulted the topo, we decided to head towards Blackbird Creek Road...looked like there were lots more dirt roads to explore. Right before Blackbird Creek Road, we passed a bar/restaurant called, oddly enough, Panther Creek Inn. Just as we pulled onto Blackbird Creek Road, we passed a run down Road Closed Ahead sign. I decided to back down the road to the Panther Creek Inn to see if the road was, indeed, closed. The lady who owned the place said the road was closed 2 miles up at the mine and there really wasn't much in the way of creeks or water. She suggested heading towards Yellowjacket/Big Horn Crags Road...so we did. On the way we saw 2 buck with velvet antlers. How cool is that?
Found a great camp spot right on a creek and off the road. Got the camp setup while the dogs ran all over the place. Afterwards we decided to keep heading up the road to gather firewood. The road narrowed a bit and began to gain elevation. The view was incredible. We gathered a truck load of wood and headed back to camp for a cold one.
Once back at camp, we decided to catch some rays and play some cribbage. As the afternoon wore on, we had to move the chairs to get back into the sun. While Linda move the chairs I grabbed the camp box (AKA the cribbage table), took two steps and BAM!! It felt like someone jammed a knife in my left knee. After a bit the pain did not dissipate so I hobbled to my chair to sit. No use wasting good sunning time. After about an hour Linda started building a fire - I am still incapacitated.
For dinner we had baby back ribs with some of Jens BBQ sauce, sweet potatoes and a little sourdough bread...we eat well when we camp. The ribs were dang awesome!
Saturday, July 11th
With me still incapacitated, we decided to head home (original plan was to leave on Sunday). Poor Linda had to break down camp and load the truck all by herself. We decided to continue on Panther Creek Road. According to the topo Panther Creek Road turns into Morgan Creek Road - and it did. We have been up Morgan Creek Road a couple of times during spring but had been stopped by deep mud. Morgan Creek Road comes out on highway 28 about 12 miles outside of Challis. Once on the highway, we head into Challis to gas up and head back to Idaho Falls.
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