Off to a New Campground

There is nothing like the anticipation as you hit the road to move to a new site.
 

And  if the site happens to be in your childhood stomping grounds, chocked full of memories, all the better.  I am, however pushing myself to go beyond the familiar to new campgrounds that I have never been to before though as my journey is also about adding new experiences to my life book.

Peek a Boo View for the New Site

Watch for a future blog post that highlights the best places to stay with the fabulous 4 G internet service at Priest Lake!!

Today's tour, for me is a step back in time to Indian Creek Campground on Priest Lake.

I spent much of my growing up years camping at this campground with my Grandparents and parents.  So of course it has lots of memories that are thrown into my visit.   As is often the case, it is frequently difficult for reality to live up to you memories of a place.

Getting to the campground is immensely easier than the trips I experienced growing up.  Then it was a dirt, 23 miles of a washboard, hole infested, and dusty dirt road with, around each bend the possibility of a logging truck barreling at you at high rates of speed.  Today it is a paved, 2 lane road that is blissfully smooth with peek a boo views of the lake.  

The sandy beach at Indian Creek never fails to impress and is exactly as I remembered it.  It is probably the best beach on the lake and as such, beach and water sport lovers are gathered to take full advantage of the amenities.  I learned to swim and water ski right here at Indian Creek.  Lots of fun memories!  Lots of opportunities for families to make memories and recreate!

The creek has walking trails and trails that wind up the creek that still stir childhood memories.  

Some of the wildness has been removed in favor of safety and informational signage. 

            
 

Gone are the fallen logs to cross the creek and crawl on and also missing is the historic log flume.



 

In their place are logs that have been cut through and demonstration displays of how logs traveled down the mountain to the lake to be transported to saw mills.

Some of my best and worst days (like the day I was stung by 11 wild honey bee's after sitting on a log that housed their nest)  have been along this creek. 

It is still an enjoyable stroll though not quite the adventure of my memory. 

I was able to find one of my favorite sites where we camped in the past.  To enlarge the day use area all of the camping near the beach has been re-designated to be used by day use only. 

Location of Camp site from my childhood

While the site is longer in use as a campsite, the awesome view and my memories still remain.

Nothing remains the same

While I enjoyed visiting the past and viewing the changes, I am really at a different point in my life and enjoy different things today.  My explorer inner child has been set loose.

 So..... I'm off to new adventures and making new memories!!

Thanks for joining along !

 

Our Camping Journey - According to Nana

It is now day eight of camping in my little nest with Granddaughter.  Actually adapting to living little in a tiny space with a extra person has gone pretty well.  What a eager camper my granddaughter is.
  

We arrived into Northern Idaho on late Thursday nite (6 PM) and were fortunate to find a camping spot due to the helpful camp host of our intended spot at Beaver Creek on Priest Lake. While she didn't have a spot for us she directed us to one that fit the bill perfectly. 


We had 7 available to choose from on one of the busiest weekends of the year.  We drove around and around until we decided on the best spot.  We did a minimal set up since it was sprinkling and ended up setting up and cooking in the dark.

But we are here!  This lake is home to many campgrounds and some of my fondest camping memories from childhood.  It is such fun to show all those special places to Hailey.  Our campground was Luby Bay National Forest Campground with the regular price of $18/$9 for seniors pass holders.  There were 2 big surprises,  flush toilets and 4G cell service !!  WOW!!

It had begun to sprinkle during the drive up here and we can hear the the National Forest breathe a collective sigh of relief to be receiving the much needed rain.  The forest is so thick in the Priest Lake area it often comes right to the edge of the road wrapping you up like a thick winter coat.

       
I  am always up for finding things to do when outside activities are limited.   Little gift shops, libraries and museums are on our list of things to do.   The rain has limited our access on the lake and prevented pictures from showing how pristine and beautiful the area is.  But the feelings and smells of the forest envelope your senses.

During my childhood, my Aunt and Uncle built a cabin on Priest lake.  This is a picture of the cabin as I remember it.  The picture was taken in 1964.






 
We went in search of the cabin.  It was difficult to determine which one it was, as the last two owners had made many changes.  But at last we found it.

Of course my memories span the cabin from it's very beginning in 1962 till the time they sold it in the early 1990's.  Hailey loves hearing the stories of my early memories.

Hailey happily took pictures and prepared  a guest blogger gig that she did for me for me (see the previous post),  It was fun to see the area and our travels from her eyes and experience. I think she did a fantastic job.

A visit to the local museum introduced us to characters who lived in the Priest Lake area.  Priest Lake is linked to 1920s silent movie actress and filmmaker Nell Shipman, who established a wilderness movie studio near what is now Lionhead State Park at the North end of the lake.    One story told of a movie starring her son, who fell through the ice while crossing the lake during the winter.  It is said that she pulled him back into the icy water several times until she was sure she had the perfect shot.  She certainly was known her dedication to getting the perfect shot at any cost.

Another story told of her as an actress.  The script called for her to be stalked by a couger.  Unkown to the crew the trainer released the cougar from the harness and the cougar crept up to within inches of Nell before the trainer regained control of the animal.

Anything for the perfect shot.

Since it was raining on our parade and beach activities seemed out of the question, we decided it was a perfect day for a drive and hoped that we would be able to hike and visit some of the sites.





We traveled up the west side of the lake and on up into the nearby mountains.

 It seems that many areas have a local shoe tree where locals and visitors alike leave behind shoes to commemorate their visit.  Northern Idaho has it's version as well.  So it was definitely on our list.

 




 We want to know, how did they got the shoes up that high?

A drunken yo-yo lite the tree on fire and now the tree is dead.  Just what are some people thinking?

The tree is located in a dispersed camping area at Granite Creek and just a short distance from Granite Falls and the Roosevelt Cedar Grove. 

This picture was taken just before she fell into the creek. 

Flowers and water.... could it be more beautiful?  












Is there anything that smells more wonderful than a cedar forest after the rain?

Look at these beauties

 Of course we had the cooking fiasco at the camp where Hailey, while trying to turn off the camp stove turned on the second burner and the gas exploded shooting flames.

Unlike Nell Shipman, I didn't get the picture, but I saved dinner, my granddaughter and the forest!

Emmitt took a stroll AFTER dark.... Scared me to death, but he showed up, wondering what all the fuss was about.

All is well and it ended well.  

 

Disasters Waiting to Happen

Guest Blog by Hailey

After a long camp out at Lake Spokane, we are headed off to Beaver Creek Campground in Idaho. But when we got there we were unable to find a campsite. So we talked to the host of the campsite and she calls a host who has campsites that are open at Luby Bay campsite. When we get there we have to drive around the campsite about 5 times before deciding on a spot.  We set up a basic camp in the dark and decided to finish in the morning.

So after a long morning of unpacking,we went on a drive to explore around the lake, but I learned do not, under any circumstance trust the maps a ranger gives to you.  We got turned around and went down the wrong road more times then I care to admit. So driving back towards the camp we decide to stop at the museum to see when they close and if they would be open tomorrow. Since they were going to be open tomorrow we went for a quick stop at the town library and bought some books, for you who haven't heard... I love, love, love to read any book I can get my hands on.

At the museum there was a lot of pictures and they had some movies you could watch on how the lake and land around it has changed over time. They had an exhibit on what the kitchens looked like in the older days and had the dinning table set for the meal.



Outside they had a bunch of mining tools.

Saturday there were many disasters waiting to happen. We decided to go explore the lower falls of Granite Falls and get some pics... to bad there was no trail where we wanted to go.





Instead we climbed on slippery rocks and across logs to get to the other side, but alas, our luck together was running thin.








When we tried to go along side the falls I slipped in to the water and got all wet.

 

After a long hike we made it farther up the trail to the Ancient Roosevelt Cedar Grove.

The tree was five of me around

 

It was amazingly peaceful and quite and not something you can experience in many places.

 Later that night my Nana asked me to turn off the stove outside. But unfortunately I didn't have a clue on what I was doing. So instead of turning the stove off I turned on the other burner... and set the whole stove on fire shooting out flames. Yelling at my Nana to tell her what I had done, she comes running out in her socks, because I was not able to speak clearly. Seeing the flames for herself, she ran back in the trailer and grabbed the oven mitt and turned it off. So in the end, not much damage done other than a broken burner.

Now....time...for FUN...KITTY PICTURES!!!!!

Whazzz Up?

Can't you see I'm trying to sleep?

Squirrels Anyone??

Granddaughter on the Road

It has been fun showing Hailey some of the sights that I have discovered.  During her time with me at Lake Spokane I took her back up to check on osprey nest.  The eggs have hatched and babies now nearly ready to leave the nest.  

We had Auntie with us for a couple of days, so she was able to see the osprey also. 


While we were at Lake Spokane we heard of a fire across from our camp.  The fire was located near people we know in the area.  This photo was near the end of the fire.  We are always grateful to the efforts of fireman and women who risk their lives fighting fires.

We had a couple of smoky days and nights as the smoke settled down close to the water until there was enough wind  to move the smoke away.











Our back porch view








After the weekend we were the only campers other than the hosts.  So we let the kitties out during the morning to check out the place.  They had a ball.

Socks and Emmit

Emmit on the prowl

Spook posing for the camera

Checking out the kayak 

 Waiting for sunset, wrapped up in a good book.




While she loves, loves, loves the water, Hailey has been open to going anywhere and doing anything I suggest.  I see the explorer in her, which of course I can appreciate.

 

 The ending of another beautiful day.

Water Dog.......

My granddaughter Hailey and I are happily planted at the campground.  I truely had a wise moment, when I choose a campground close to home beside a lake.  Yesterday, she spent 6 hours upside down in the water.

 

Oh, how I remember doing all the same things when I was a kid at the same age. 

It all ends with BLUBBBB!








And then there was the log........

 Logs always draw a crowd.

There is a truth about riding a log that I learned long ago......

 

Try, Try,Try Again

The Log Aways Wins

After setting up the camp the afternoon before, I sat happily in the shade, resting.

Night time seems to be my coming alive time and I cooled down in the lake. It made the hot, hot hot night so much better.

No cell service, No internet, No TV, just sun, water, and fun.