Rock and Roll

“City of Rocks," a national reserve in southern Idaho, was our latest expedition.  Jim and I went there a few years ago almost by accident. We’d done some hiking in Idaho, were looking for another nearby place and found it on the Internet ... most people I talked to hadn’t even heard of it.  It's a wonderful small park near a small town called Almo.  It has great granite rock formations, almost like Arches (if you can imagine Arches in shades of gray and without arches). It’s a rock climber’s paradise; a park volunteer told us it’s better known in foreign countries than in the U.S.

We aren’t climbers, but we love lesser-known parks with few crowds and wanted to go back.  So we made the trip with guests in the RV -- Ashley, Shad, and baby Mia.  We girls were in the back, which is a little crack-the-whip-like. But it was great to get everyone in one vehicle.

Shad’s sister, Serene, his mom and step dad, and grandmother met us at the campground and got sites close to us. A good campsite for next time: #22, high at the end of a road with a great view.

A couple of thoughts:

--Jim and I try to eat very healthy when we're in the RV; I hope we continue.  Sample meals:  Grapenuts, fruit, yogurt, and coffee for breakfast.  Cheese and granola bars or sandwiches while on a hike for lunch.  Light dinner with salad and more fruit for dinner.  We really strayed from that this weekend with hotdogs, dutch oven desserts, roasted marshmallows.  Yummy at the time, but I feel lousy when I eat that way.

--City of Rocks may be a climbers' paradise, but it's a great place to hike.  We'd like to go again and stay longer.

--Once you have kids, even well-loved doggies can take a back seat.  We almost lost poor Adrian, Ash and Shad's Shitzu, while walking from Pauline and Shorties (Shad's mom and step dad) campsite to ours.  It was dark, we were in a hurry, and that poor dog is lucky she didn't get picked off by a coyote.

That's kind of a bummer note to end on --- but we do love City of Rocks.

Jim on the start of a 4-mile hike.  He did most of this one by himself.

A view of our campsite. 

Shad and his twin sister, Serene enjoying the view.

Mia on her first RV trip.

Shad's mom, Pauline, and stepdad Shorty.

We love the big back windows in our rig and I try to take a photo of our view.  Here is our City of Rocks view.

Ash, baby, and Shad's grandmother, Rhea.

Shad and Serene, up a little closer.

Another view of our campsite.