Camping on the Payette River

We have finally gone camping for the first time since moving.  Our last camping trip was to Rainbow Basin, and it's amazing how much less baby paraphernalia we need anymore...camping is soooo much less complicated!

We had a very enjoyable long weekend camping on the Payette River.  Here are a few of our memories.

We gave the kids the ice cream maker to work on while Tom and I set up camp.  Camp is set up and Tom is finishing the ice cream!

Lukas' favorite thing is dragging the magnet to find old pieces of metal.

A big Konrad smile!  Look at those bottom teeth growing in!

It must be Dominik's turn to shake the ice cream maker!

And now it's his turn to taste it...yum!  We need to get a second ice cream maker because this one only makes a pint, which doesn't go far with 6 people.  BTW, look at those grimy fingers...he was one big dustball the whole trip!

Lukas helping me with dinner the first night.

Sweet Natalie giving us smiles!

And the obligatory s'mores after dinner...

 

 

 

Breakfast time!  We decided to try keeping it more simple this trip, and just had hot muesli every morning...delicious!

The kids played in the boys tent, and Natalie's hair stuck up a lot!

We played a "listening" game twice on this trip...very fun!  Everyone sits quietly for 10 minutes and writes down every sound they hear...if you make a sound, other people can write it down, but you can't.

We hiked down the hill to the river, then decided to have Tom go back to get the stroller for Natalie.  I told her to hold out her thumb like a hitchhiker (what's that? my kids ask).

We played in this little sandy area...some of the coldest river water I've dipped my feet in!  I always enjoyed cold water on my feet after hiking in the Sierras, but this was even colder (and my feet weren't hot from hiking).

Tom and Natalie are standing in the 6 inches of water we played in...the green part of the river is so dangerous because it would whisk anyone right away, but the shallow area was good.

"Watch me jump!"

Natalie reading her princess book with a syringa (Idaho state flower).

The last morning, I hiked with the boys again to the hot springs.  Tom had been there the previous day with Konrad and made the little pool the boys are standing in, but didn't bring the camera.  Such a neat hot springs, right next to the cold cold river.

 

We stopped at Idaho City on the way home and saw some old gold mining equipment.

Tom and I marveled at how close wilderness camping is (and I'm ecstatic to be mountain camping instead of desert camping all the time).  We saved so much time and gas compared to previous camping trips...must.go.again.soon!