Idaho vacation, Friday-Sunday

FRIDAY: So, our Hawaiian family vacation scheduled for June was cancelled due to Covid 19.  😔 That  vacation was a combination of our family vacation and bonus, a celebration of our twin grandsons high school culmination. Naturally EVERYONE was 😞 disappointed, so, I came up with Plan B. IDAHO.

My good friend Carle (of 30 years) has access to his extended family’s “vacation home” in Driggs, ID.  My brother, youngest daughter and I had vacationed there once before, years ago, with he and his family.  He has said for years that “if I ever wanted to use it, I was welcome.” So, I took him up on his offer.  Idaho, here come the Green’s!

We attempt to take a family vacation every couple of years with our three grown daughters and grandkids; naturally, we’re all excited about going to explore Idaho.  Carle provided us with a nice long list of things to do and we all began talking about what we’d like to do.  ATV riding, horseback riding, hiking, fishing and maybe white water rafting or a river float.  Our last vacation together was in Costa Rica about 6 years ago.  Before that it was Las Vegas, NV some 8 years ago. We were all looking forward to our family vacation; unfortunately, as life would have it, it turns out that three family members can’t make the trip due to work schedules, 😑other responsibilities and 🤢sickness. They will have to catch us on the next trip! 

We loaded “Shorty” up this (Friday) morning while it was still a tad bit dark and cool.  Clothes, check. Food supplies, check. Coffee pot and coffee, check. Passengers, check.  We finally left at 5:30 a.m. Santa Clarita bound to pick up the keys. After a short visit with Carle and Joyce we were given the magical keys that promised lots of quality family time and fun.  Well, off we go on the backroads of Santa Clarita to get to Interstate 15.   The drive is always nice.  I enjoy the long stretches of highway, waiting for the landscape to change, looking for other RVers and wondering where they are headed. We encountered some really hot weather on the road throughout CA, Nevada and Utah, it ranged from 98 to 113 degrees with very hazy brown air,  Whew!   We learned that the brown haze was from the Northern CA fires.  At one point Shorty’s dash displayed 137 degrees! It was only for a short time and then it went down to 130, 122, 116 and stopped at 113 degrees. Yea it was a 🔥 HOT drive.

Some sights along the way.

The drive from Los Angeles, CA to Driggs, Idaho is a little under 15 hours.  We drove about 8 hours before we stopped for the night at Camperland RV park in Beaver, Idaho, which is the half way point.  The park is located about 5 minutes off the highway, which was great for us!  There were deer grazing  in the grass areas all over the facility. We could hear horses and donkeys, but didn’t see them.  It was a decent park with shade trees and grass, and full hook ups.  The pool was drained, (darn it, because we were all ready to take a swim).  The showers were clean and large. We snacked, settled in, watched a movie and went to bed.  There were five us us.  I realized in a pinch we could sleep six in our 2016 Winnebago View; three in the king bed in the rear, two on the pull out couch, (on an air mattress) and one in the overhead bed.  It’s tight, but in a pinch will work.  Ideally, our rig is perfect for two adults. 

SATURDAY: We left Beaver and hit the road about 8 a.m., drove another 7 or so hours before we got to our destination; Driggs Idaho.   

After several more hours we finally arrived at our destination!

We were so excited.  Everyone piled out of “Shorty”  and went to tour the BEAUTIFUL home that would be ours for the next week.   Everyone chose their bedroom and staked their claim by bringing their clothes in and putting them in their respective closets.  By this time we were all so hungry!    Besides the house, we were provided with keys to the Suburban parked in the garage and access to two ATV’s 🏍and a rifle all of which were safely locked away.

Once Shorty was partially unloaded we went into town to grab a bite to eat. Roof top dining at Tatanka Tavern provided ‘al fresco’ dining with a great view. The 🍕 pizza was good too.👍🏽👍🏽

After dining we stopped at Broulims grocery store for some provisions. Once we stocked the fridge and pantry, we were tired. TV, showers and bed called us all.🥱

SUNDAY:  Today is the first full day at our “home away from home.”  I got up about 8:30 a.m. feeling well rested and brewed a cup of Joe. ☕  UMMM, coffee first thing in the morning just starts the day off right.  After my coffee and watching  church on line, I prepared breakfast of pancakes, bacon and eggs for everyone.  My twin grandsons, our high school graduates, were ready to hit the trails with the ATV’s. After breakfast and kitchen duty they got the helmets and goggles and went outside,  Muneca, my middle daughter joined them. 

It was a pretty low key day hanging around the house.  I blogged a little bit and Craig listened to a podcast.  Toward the evening we took a ride to the neighboring town of Victor to try the much recommended  Huckleberry shake from the Victor Emporium. (A shake, last time I had one was…..gee, I don’t even remember, it has been at least a year or so?? ) Anyway, why not? That shake was as delicious as I was told it would be.  (Thanks Carle! 👍🏽👍🏽) Sipping on that cold creamy berry sweetness was a treat! An occasional berry coming up through the straw was a  little sweet burst of berry deliciousness.  I have to admit, that there was a little berry💃 dance 🎶 party on my tongue.🎵

We returned home and I started pulling dinner together, everyone else went rifle shooting.  So they grabbed the rifle, drove down the road to the designated area and took turns shooting some rounds. While they were shooting, I cranked up my music, danced to a couple of tunes and then proceeded to prepare dinner.  Tonight we had hot wings, grilled lemon pepper chicken, baked potatoes and salad.  While the potatoes and chicken wings were in the oven I grabbed my laptop and continued to make some notes for this blog while sitting on the porch.  I turned my music off so I could take in the sounds of the stream, crickets, birds and an occasional horse. It is SO PEACEFUL. This place is truly a little piece of heaven on earth.  🌎

These are some of their shooting pix

When they got back from shooting, dinner was ready. We sat, ate and talked about our day and watched TV for a bit before retiring for the night.

Tomorrow, Monday we pick up Jessica from Jackson airport.✈