RED ROCK RV and CAMPING PARK

July 7, 2013

Last day at Red Rock RV.  This park has served us well for our week in Island Park.  There are many campers staying the season for fly fishing or ATV riding.  Most of these campers have been coming for years.

The park is off the highway about five miles and only one mile from Henry's Lake.  This was appealing to us.










The office is stocked with emergency supplies (ice, candy, fishing files) and DVD rentals.  Staff will assist in recommending must see attractions and have maps printed that are easy to use.

The restrooms and showers are great.  Brand new laundry machines that are double capacity.  Wifi works great.

Downside - no AT&T service - see the picture above?  That's where you go for service.  They call it the "Phone Booth"









Site 25 was assign to us.  As you can see, it was very narrow.  I have to duck under the tree to get to our front door.  Folks that return annually or make reservations early had large grassy areas by their RVs (whine - so I drank wine inside because there was no room outside)

The other worry is the narrow roads between the rows of RV's.  Some sites do not have enough space for extra cars, ATV's, etc so folks park on the road.  We are going to have to ask a couple of people to move their trucks so we can pull out.  Hope they are home when we are ready to go.  Adds a little stress to exit process.



Upside - There is a field with a walk around the parameter for dog lovers.  It was fabulous.  Every morning, my little alarm clock (Louie) wakes me up at 6:30 for the morning walk.










 There were bird houses on the fence and cheery birds greeted us along our walk.

The field is currently full of wild flowers and little critters that pop up their heads and tease Sydney and Louie.


The views make walking the dogs pleasurable - even at 6:30 a.m.






Next stop - West Yellowstone Montana - Evidently we hit a mile marker when the rock hit our windshield.  Truck is going to be repaired in West Yellowstone.  We have a spot at a beautiful RV park - but we made it late so just Electric and Cable - guess we're roughing it!

THERE ARE NO FISH IN IDAHO...at least I can't catch them

July 6, 2013

Today was going to be different.  We are going to the river that is the mecca of fly fishing.  I am going to catch a trout today.  I'm ready.

First,  make sure I have the correct flies -

Yesterday we made a quick stop at Henry's Fork Anglers to see what flies were "hot" and/or "everyone was catching fish with."  Grabbed my fly boxes out of the truck  (Yes, I have several fly boxes.)  and discovered that two of my boxes melted.  I had them stored in the truck door pocket for handy access - who would of guessed the car would get so hot to melt the foam thing in the box.

The guys in the fly shop thought it was interesting. Otherwise they ignored us - we must not look like big spenders or experienced fishers.  We bought more files and were optimistic that tomorrow was our day.

Early morning prep work -

There is a process to getting ready to fly fish.  You have to look like you know what your doing as you climb into your waders and then put on your clunky wading boots.  There was a small glitch to my process today, my lucky socks were left in the back of the truck last night and were soaking wet - darn.

Next is setting up your rod (not pole) with correct line and of course the perfect fly.  Then you need to put on your fly vest or lanyard, attach fishing net, hat, sunglasses, wading staff, license, camera, etc., etc.  Sooner or later your ready to fish.

I always feel like I'm in a snowsuit when I'm wearing my waders and boots.

Reading the river - 

Next comes reading the river - also know as deciding where to fish.  What we usually see what other people are doing and follow suit.  In this case it meant crossing the river because that "looked" like where the fish are hanging out.

We first tested the water closest to us and inched ourselves out to the center of the river.  I factored in that I was taller than most of the men I had seen cross and felt somewhat confident that I too can wade across this river.  After all I want to catch a fish -  I took out my wading staff that I got for Christmas and headed out.  It was swift but nothing like the Deschutes River (which I would never wade across).

The wade was so worth it.  The wildflower were beautiful along the trail to the hot fishing spot.  Along with flowers, we saw an Albatross that caught a fish and an otter.

Then its all about getting the fly where the fish is and hooking one.  I could see the fish jump all around me but none thought my fly was appealing.  I tried different flies and worked the river until my arm fell off.

The upside - it was a beautiful day and I loved the river.  

Tonight our strategy is to watch "A River Runs Through It."  After all, tomorrow is another day.

MESA FALLS

July 5, 2013 -

Time for road trip.  We packed a lunch and headed out to find the Upper and Lower Mesa Falls just outside of Island Park.  The falls are easy to find and very popular.  There are boardwalks and overviews for visitors to view the falls and take pictures.  Value added to the trip was all the wild flowers that were in bloom while we were there.  Upper Mesa Falls is 114 ft.

 There is a lodge at the Upper Falls that was built as a destination point during the same time as the great lodges were built in several national parks.

 The boardwalks have great views for taking pictures.

Yep, we were impressed by the rainbows.


Bear country.  We're really close to Yellowstone and first evidence is posted warnings about bears and garbage cans that are bear proof.  I was using one of the cans and it had a clever lever system that took me a second to figure it out.  I finished and a little boy exclaimed "She knew how to use the trash can."  I smiled and said "Would you help me if I couldn't figure it out?" and he said "No."  It was too cute.







Trip ended with a stop for rootbeer floats!  This was on Hwy 20 near Aston.   A perfect addition to our lunch.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY - Red Rock RV Park Style

July 4, 2013 - Island Park

Our first experience of a "Park Social" was today.  We checked out the schedule and joined in the fun.

We decorated the RV -

Watched the parade - (I have never seen so many ATV as I have seen in Idaho.)

Attended the Potluck and it rained - just like Fourth of July's in Oregon

It made me homesick for my neighbors and past Fourth of July potlucks and fireworks.

Happy Birthday America!  

COWBOYS AND BBQ - Island Park Idaho

July 3, 2013

We are parked just outside of West Yellowstone near Henry Lake Idaho.  Our plans are to do a little sight seeing, fishing and watch a rodeo whenever possible.  Score! Meadow Vue Ranch is located half mile down the road and they are having a rodeo tonight. We're going.

Meadow Vue Ranch is learning ranch for kids.  They have a BBQ and Rodeo every Wednesday and Sunday night.  I was not prepared for all the fun we were in store for - the kids did a great job of the grand entry and flag escort, barrel racing, and pole weave.  Then high school aged cowboys stepped up for bull and bronc riding.  It was great.  I was in heaven.

After an hour of rodeo, we were served a BBQ prepared on a huge grill and dutch ovens.  

The "ranch hands" served the dinner.  We had salad, steak, chicken, cheese potatoes, beans, and peach cobbler for dessert.

The ranch hands had to sing for their supper.  They were having such a good time, I wanted to sign up for a summer at the Meadow Vue Ranch.  

We sat around on picnic tables and enjoyed the beautiful weather and food. Did I mention, there was entertainment?  The announcer for the rodeo turn into Clint Black and we were entertained until the special event of fireworks for the Fourth of July.

Evening ended around 10:30 - a perfect ending to our 24th year of bliss.  Happy Anniversary to us!

PS Like my shirt? - it's bug repellant!  Don't know how or why, but I was so happy to have it to put on over my rodeo attire when the bugs showed up for the party.

LAST DAY IN SAWTOOTHS - STANLEY LAKE, STANLEY, TORREY'S RV

July 1, 2013 - 95 degrees

Stanley Idaho is at 6200 feet elevation.  We were expecting 60 to 75 degrees, not 95.  It is hot and our RV site has full sun all afternoon.  We decided to go sightseeing on our last day here and find somewhere to cool off.  Stanley Lake is just five miles west of Stanley and that's where we headed for the day.

STANLEY LAKE

Stanley Lake is as picturesque as advertised.  There are several camping sites and a boat launch.  We stopped at the overview site for lunch.  Everyone went in the water to cool off.

Yep, that's us trying for a photo opt with a wet dog.

STANLEY CREEK

Stanley Lake was getting busy as campers arrived for Fourth of July.  We decided to try to find another spot to cool off.  We spent the remainder of the afternoon in a day use area by Stanley Creek.  First fishing and then just sitting in the creek cooling off.  Another prefect day.










ONE LAST GLIMPSE OF STANLEY

 Favorite store in Stanley - McCoy's Tackle and Gift Store.  Jane and her staff are very knowledgeable about fishing.  Store is well stocked - a must stop even if you do not fish.

Downtown Stanley - don't blink!












For all the conveniences Stanley doesn't have, it scenery is priceless.










TORREY's BURNT CREEK INN AND RV - Milepost 210

Torrey's RV has been our home for the past 10 days.  We recommend it as RV park for folks who prefer full service.  (There are plenty of Forest Service Campgrounds without electricity, water, sewer.)


We liked Torrey's because we felt like we were roughing it without giving up modern conveniences.  There is no cable TV nor cell service.  However, our Dish TV worked great and we didn't miss an episode of Storage Wars...

The there are only 12 sites and there is plenty of space between sites.  All spaces have grass.  We were in site 8.  Sites 6 and 7 have views of the river.   We felt this was the best RV park in the Sawtooth Wilderness area.










The downside of site 8 is the full sun in the afternoon.  The upside, I had views like this from almost every window.












Torrey's has cabins for rent as well as the RV sites so it is perfect for all types of travelers.  It is on the Salmon River and you can watch rafters float down the river. We also had access to the river by the horse pasture which sits below the cabins and RV park.








TOMORROW IS A TRAVEL DAY
                           - ISLAND PARK, IDAHO AND YELLOWSTONE HERE WE COME!