Sno-Cone Licking, Hot Springs Dipping, & Baby Kissing

Josh and I went to SO many hot springs in the summer of 2023; it was the 3rd year of my 3-year goal to go to 100 hot springs in Idaho. We had been to 60 hot springs combined in 2021 & 2022, and we were determined to complete the last 40+ hot springs in 2023, so our summer plans were consumed with traveling around the state and soaking in both natural & commercial hot springs! It was truly a memorable, delightful summer accomplishing this goal. At the beginning of September, a friend asked me which one was my most memorable hot springs trip this year. There were so many wonderful excursions we had, and I stood there speechless for a minute; I felt stumped trying to think of which one was the most memorable one. This particular trip we took in July was the first one that came to my mind. Not because the hot springs themselves were super amazing (they weren't really bad either!), but because it was the one that I felt the most happy throughout the entire trip because this particular overnight excursion included alone time with Josh, road tripping in rural Idaho to places I hadn't seen before, visiting beloved family, and eating yummy summer food, in addition to soaking in several hot springs! 

When we hosted the BH Tolman reunion back in June, several members of the Jack Tolman family were there because they were hosting their own reunion in Salmon at the Cockrell campground at the same time (we refer to them as the "Jerome Tolmans" because that's where they were raised and most of them still live). We love their large family! When we were hanging out with them, they told us that Janae (their youngest sister who is Josh's age) couldn't make it to the reunion, because she was already planning to come to Idaho a few weeks later for her daughter Lissy's wedding reception in Burley. Josh and I knew we wanted to go visit her, because we hadn't seen her for several years since she moved to Texas. The reception was in cousin Ronda's backyard the 2nd weekend of July, and Josh and I decided to make a weekend trip of it and cross a few more hot springs along the way.

We left the morning of Saturday, July 8th and drove to American Falls first to go to Indian Springs Resort. My friend Kimi had gone there multiple times throughout her childhood and adult years to go to family reunions hosted there, so I'd heard about it, but neither Josh nor I had ever been there. It's a seasonal campgorund/hot springs location south of the town, and it was bigger than I'd imagined. It was very family-friendly, and I could see the appeal to having a family reunion there. They have a huge campground and lots of trees and gathering areas, in addition to the outdoor warm pool. We only soaked there for a half hour, but it was a welcome retreat from sitting in the car after driving several hours. 

From there, we drove south/west towards Almo, a tiny town outside City of Rocks. We went to the privately owned "Durfee Hot Springs", a small outdoor location set right next to the highway between the rocky hills and flat farmland. They have a small store with bathrooms, outdoor changing rooms, and 4 pools: a large warm one, and 3 hot pools with varying temperatures. It was a really cute place, and we both enjoyed it. We tried out the 3 hot pools, and soaked for an hour altogether. It was sunny and warm when we got there, but by the time we were leaving, storm clouds were rolling through and it got a little chilly.

After the hot soak, we were both interested in a cool treat, so we drove about a mile to the nearby "Tracy General Store". It was a cute old building that had been refurbished with a store and ice cream parlor inside. We each ordered an ice cream cone, and ate it as we walked around the store. I bought a souvenir T-shirt. I loved the feel inside that cozy store! 

From there, we headed north, and drove through Albion--a town in Idaho I'd never been to before. We drove past the historic "Normal School" (an original College for Teachers in the West), which I found fascinating. I'd never even heard of it before then! Then we made our way to Ronda & John's house in Burley. Josh and I hadn't been there before, but it was a very nice home with a large backyard. It was a lovely venue for a wedding reception, and the weather cooperated which was a bonus. We stayed for several hours, visiting with cousins, eating, playing games, dancing, celebrating the married couple, and I got to hold my new favorite baby! Janae's daughter Shyanne came to Salmon for the Tolman reunion weeks before, and I got to hold her baby daughter Emberly several times then, and I just fell in love with her! I love that little baby so much! And I got to hold her again for a long time when we were at the reception, which made my heart overflow with love and happiness! We stayed at the reception until it was over, and we helped clean up before heading to a nearby hotel for the night.

Josh talking to cousin Shanda's husband Nate.

Sindy's daughter Jamie & I wore the same color dress!

Lissy dancing with her dad Rex

cousins Shanda & Kayla prepping the food

Group selfie!
Tanisha, Kayla, Brittany, Carrie & Shyanne

On our way to the hotel, we were both craving a snow-cone. It had been a hot evening, and cleaning up after the reception we'd worked up a sweat! We weren't familiar with the town of Burley, so we drove up and down the Main Street, trying to find a place that was still open to buy a snow cone at. We got lucky! We found a Sno-Cone shed in the grocery store parking lot, and we had THE BEST snow cones of the entire summer! I don't even remember the flavors we got, but they added cream to the cones, and they were just absolutely divine! We sat at a little counter there, eating the cones and watching the evening traffic drive by, and I just felt so utterly and completely content in that moment! It had been such a fulfilling day, and this was the best way to end it!

On Sunday morning, we drove to Nat-Soo-Pah Hot Springs south of the Kimberly/Jerome area. It was about an hour from Burley. We drove the scenic route, winding through some farms to get there. It was very similar to Indian Springs Resort--a campground with gathering areas and a large warm pool. The pool was bigger than Indian Springs, though, and it had a large waterslide, a hot tub with jets, and a hot soaking pool, too. We swam in the warm pool and also soaked in both hot pools. We stayed for about 45 minutes before leaving and making our return drive to Salmon. 

So...nothing spectacular or out of the ordinary happened on this particular weekend getaway, but I just absolutely loved the entire trip! I'm so glad we made the trek to cousin Lissy's reception; it was the perfect opportunity to spend time with family that we love while also crossing off 3 more hot springs! 

Cold Water Crossings, Hot Water Soakings

The first weekend in July, Josh and I went on an overnight camping trip in the mountains northwest of Stanley. On Saturday July 1, we left home late because I'd worked at the pharmacy all day. We left around 5:30pm and drove to Stanley, then continued driving west on Highway 21, and turned off to head towards Boundary Creek. We drove to the Dagger Falls campground near the Boundary Creek put-in sight on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River. From the campground, it was only a .5 mile hike to Dagger Creek Hot Springs, but there was a forest fire through the area in 2022, and there wasn't a trail anymore due to the downed trees and erosion of the soil. We had to climb over fallen trees and groups of rocks and through some brush, so it took longer than expected. It took us almost 45 minutes, but we finally got to the hot springs around 9:15 that night, and we had it all to ourselves. We soaked our legs and feet in the singular pool by nearby Dagger Creek, and enjoyed the 106* water in the cool night. Thankfully, it was still light enough to see as we hiked there, but as we were soaking, it got darker and darker, and when we left the hot springs to hike back, it was after dark, so it took us even longer (nearly an hour) to trek back to the van. It was a beautiful night, with nearly a full moon, and a view of Venus and Mars so close to each other in the western sky. We admired the night views as we drove 12 miles back on the Boundary Creek Road to park the van at Fir Creek Campground to sleep for the night. 

Dagger Creek Hot Springs

The nearly full moon lit the way as we
drove to Fir Creek Campground for the night.

Mars & Venus were so close to each other in the night sky. Venus
is the lower, brighter spot. Mars is above it diagonally to the left.

On Sunday morning, we began our hike around 9am from a trailhead near the Fir Creek Campground to get to the destination of Bear Valley Hot Springs, which was 7.5 miles round trip and crosses Marsh Creek twice each way. The hike was pretty, and it was a beautiful day. We were glad we left in the morning, because the weather was cooler and the trail was fairly empty on our hike in--we only saw one other couple. It took us 2.5 hours to get there. The first soakable pool was on a rocky hillside overlooking Marsh Creek. It was shallow, and was pretty hot (about 105*). We soaked in it for a few minutes, not realizing there were more pools below. We could see a group of people camping in a tree-covered section by the creek, and decided to check out the area further. We hiked down to that area, and it was then that we found out there were more pools, a pretty large one next to the creek, and several rock pools along the edge of the creek. They were SO pretty, and I'm glad we investigated further. These pools were cooler, so we were able to soak in them longer, and we loved listening to the flowing creek water as we soaked. We had a wonderful time soaking alone--because the campers weren't soaking at that time and there was nobody else around. Altogether, we soaked and searched the area for over an hour before starting the hike back. It was a lot warmer by now, and we passed multiple people on the trail heading to the springs. Josh and I each tried separate places to cross the creek at the water crossings on the way back, and my way ended up being MUCH more difficult and time consuming. I had a terrible time crossing, and had a full-blown anxiety attack as a result. The water crossing incident cost us about a half hour, so the return trip took 3 hours to get back! We made it back to the van around 4pm. We were exhausted! It had been a great day, but we were wiped from the heat and the exertion of the long hike in the afternoon. We drove back home that evening. 2 days later, I discovered that I'd come in contact with some red spider mites. We believe it was in the first hot pool we soaked in on the hillside. We'd heard and read about the mites, but had been lucky enough not to have been exposed to them before then. The bites covered both of my legs as well as my buttocks, and it was really uncomfortable for several days! I was still glad we'd gone, but I was leery the rest of the summer of hot springs that required water crossings along the trail or hot pools that had reportings of spider mites.

This hike was in the Frank Church Wilderness, so Josh signed
in at the registry before we began our hike. 

The trail followed the creek for most of the hike.

The trail also meandered through hills and forest.

The first pool at Bear Valley Hot Springs. 

The larger, lower pool at Bear Valley Hot Springs

Soaking in the large pool

The gushing water near the creek-side warm pools.

Rock pools near the creek

I picked my first Morel mushroom on the hike back.
I cooked it after we got home. It was good!

Crossing Marsh Creek on the way back. 
I used a large stick to help me cross the 
swifter, deeper stretches to keep my balance.

This was the water crossing that was more shallow.
I had exerted so much energy crossing the swift
creek, that I sat in this water for a few minutes
to catch my breath and stabilize my emotions.

Back on the trail again

I was SO glad to be back on hard land again!

It was fun to see people enjoying the nearby creek.

.

We saw rafters, kayakers, and paddle boarders.

The final stretch of the hike.

We did it!

Spider Mite bites