City of Rocks

We planned a camping trip with Greg's cousin Brian and their family, and met in the middle of nowhere Idaho, and it ended up being so much fun! Brian mentioned going to a place called City of Rocks, and after Googling it, we decided it was something that could be really cool, and it was!

We loaded up and headed north, and opted to take a highway that ran parallel to the freeway that saved on miles. We didn't pass another car for literally 60 miles on that highway, and we really hoped we didn't break down because no one would find us for days. It was so remote, that the birds flying across the roads didn't know to look for cars. How do we know? Greg hit one! Our car is now known as the "birdslayer."

Can you tell Sofi's excited?

Our water lover found the spigot. Please notice the pink unicorn is still on her wrist 🤣

She was soaked! You just can't tell

Greg's hands were full and he REALLY wanted that chocolate cinnamon bear. I was dying!

Right when we got done with dinner, the wind really started to pick up so we all high-tailed it into our tent to wait for Brian and Clarisa to show up. They made it around 8:30, but by then it was really dark. We left the girls in the tent to help them back their trailer into the spot, and their trailer is absolutely humongous, so it was no small feat.

I didn't sleep very well Friday night because I was absolutely freezing! It was about 37 degrees, so Greg and the girls slept very soundly, but not I. It's not a picnic tent camping in weather that cold. What's worse, was I heard every time the heat clicked on in Brian and Clarisa's trailer, and it was often.

Saturday we planned on spending the day in City of Rocks, which was so cool! I'm used to sandstone rock, but this granite rock was absolutely amazing! I'm trying to figure out how these giant stones got placed in this remote area, but it was so fun to climb around on and explore. The girls loved it, and I can see us going back in a few years when they are a bit older. The granite was really easy to climb on.

Sofia Lu, when you are 16 and asking me why I never got pictures of  you looking, it's because you refused to look!! 

Claire and the horse she hijacked from Abby. Abby was a good sport.

Brian found this little lizard. He was tiny and his tail so pretty!

Oh Claire. I love you, but by now we were ready to ship you to Arkansas. Someone was in major need of a nap, and it may have been both of us ...

City of Rocks: 1. Our brand new tires: 0.

Claire hanging out, literally, while Greg and Brian changed the tire.

Saturday night we hit up the local hot springs, and it felt so nice being in the water while it was literally freezing outside! Claire was still throwing fits, so we lasted as long as we could before she completely shut down. Girlfriend was ready for bed!

Brian brought along his portable smoker, so we smoked a cobbler that night while the kids were in bed. It was amazing!!

Sunday we made it to the local ward and were ecstatic to see that we were the only ones wearing masks. I don't think COVID had made it to that corner of Idaho yet, so we were happy to comply with the local customs and whip our masks off. They were even singing. It was amazing and so nice to be somewhere where it felt completely normal. 

The area of Idaho was still very much farmland. You could tell that families had lived here for generations in their ancestral homes, and were content to make it work. They weren't very materialistic, but were so down to earth. Greg made the comment how we were in the room of some of the hardest working people in America. I completely agreed with him.

We packed up and said our goodbyes, then pulled away. The girls had so much fun with their cousins and it was fun watching them interact with each other. We may need to make this camping trip an annual event.

And, because we were on a donut tire, our 2 hour trip turned into 3.5 hours thanks to us being able to go 55 MPH maximum. Some cars were very unhappy with us. Oh well, we eventually made it home and found all was well.

We made it to this gas station and saw these gigantic sticks, and I thought they were hilarious! My favorite comment was Greg: "Hey Heid, can you get that spot? Nevermind, I got it 🤣." After 3.5 hours going 55 MPH, I'd say I was a little slap happy.

Until next time, City of Rocks! ✌