June 2023 Randoms

HOT TUB PROBLEMS...CONTINUED

In May, our hot tub stopped working. Josh worked on it multiple times, and tried several electrical/technical fixes, including ordering a new control panel for it and a new electrical plug, but even after he installed both, it still wasn't working. The local hot tub salesman had also come out but couldn't figure out what was wrong with it either. In June, we had a local electrical company come and install a new electrical outlet outside our home, closer to the hot tub. After that, the jets started working, so we drained the tub, cleaned it out, and refilled it. We were so excited at the prospect of it finally working again, but after we filled it, we realized the heater still wouldn't turn on. When Josh's cousin was at the Tolman family reunion the second week of June, I asked him to come and look at it, and he figured out the control panel wasn't the proper one for our hot tub. We ordered another new one, and VOILA!, our hot tub FINALLY worked again! We really missed using it for the 6 weeks it was out of commission and were SO glad to be able to soak in it again!

The new outdoor outlet

FINALLY the jets were working again, but 
then we realized there was still no heat

FRIENDS

Amanda and Ryan came and stayed with us the first week of June. I had to work every day at my new summer job at Saveway Pharmacy, but I just worked in the mornings so that I could spend afternoons with them. We went out to eat one night at the 28 Club together, and on Sunday after church, the Hobbs family came over and played games with us, too. It was a really nice week!

At the end of the month, Kimi's family visited Idaho from Florida and came to Salmon for a week to see her parents. She brought her kiddos over to our house to play one evening, which was SO fun! It was the first time we'd met her little son, and it had been a couple of years since I'd seen Tari--when I went out to Florida to visit Kimi (she had just found out she was pregnant when I visited her). I just love being with Kimi, and it was so wonderful to have her in our home again!

VIEWS

We love the longer days of June! There were some pretty sunset views during June, which we really enjoyed:

from the north end of town

at the cemetery

near our home

We went Jeep riding above Sunset Heights one night, and had some pretty views of the mountains and distant town of Salmon as a result. 

COUSIN RACHEL

Josh went to his cousin Rachel's funeral in June. She sadly lost her long-fought battle with breast cancer. She was married to Brad and together they have two little boys. They moved to Florida many years ago, and had a funeral for her there, but then had her final funeral in Utah where her parents live and her siblings and extended family live closer to. He was grateful he went to the services and was able to hear Brad speak of his precious wife. He reflected about his words and her life all the way home, and stopped along highway 28 to "smell the flowers" and enjoy life, as that was what Rachel did and that same advice was echoed throughout her funeral.

pink Indian Paintbrush

The heavens were shining down!

KANYON

Kanyon started working full-time at Saveway in June. He juggled 3 summer jobs: working 5 days a week in the produce department at the grocery store, changing irrigation pipe every day for grandpa on the ranch, and picking range ball twice a week at the golf course. 

He also made time for friends, and even brought them over to our house a few times for games and playing out in the yard. Twice in June they had sleepovers at our house--they came over at dusk/dark, played in the yard and hung around the fire pit, and then came inside super late and gamed until they fell asleep. Most of the boys slept in our spare bedroom, and some slept on the floor in Kanyon's room, too. 

Lone Upper Loon Hikers

On Friday, June 23, Josh and I left after work to go camping for the weekend. We took the sleeper van and drove to Tin Cup Campground, which is a 3-4 hour drive from our home. To get there, you drive south to Challis, then turn on the highway headed towards Stanley, but then turn off at the Sunbeam junction. After the dredge, it's about 35 more miles on gravel roads to Tin Cup Campground, which is at the end of the road before the wilderness. Once we turned past the dredge, we were both in country that neither of us had seen before. The drive was long, but it was enjoyable to see new country. We passed a large, open mine, and paused at the top of the pass to take photos of it. Then we passed a high-end guest ranch where we saw a guy on the dirt road holding a goblet of wine, which seemed so out of place in the rugged, mountainous area! The sight made us chuckle for days afterward! We saw an old mining ghost town and explored the area for a bit, as there were still two homesteads with remnants to walk amidst. When we arrived at the Tin Cup Campground, there was only one other vehicle there, but we didn't see anyone at that site that night. We couldn't believe we got so lucky to have the place to ourselves! We set up camp, ate dinner, walked around the campground, and went to bed after the sun set. 

I have never seen such a perfectly-shaped tree in nature like this!

On Saturday morning, Josh and I hiked along Upper Loon Creek for 5.5 miles and hit up 3 hot springs within one mile of each other at the end of the hike (Upper Loon, Crescent Moon, Owen Cabin). It was still early on in the season, so Loon Creek was still flowing strong, which meant the hot springs that flowed into it didn't have pools to soak in yet. We had to be creative to "soak" in two of them, by climbing down some rocks and standing in the creek under the hot waterfalls! After checking out the different hot springs, a storm started to blow in, so we began the hike back. We hunkered under some trees for a few minutes when it down poured, but thankfully the storm moved on, and so did we. It took us 8.5 hours total to hike, soak, and hike back. It was absolutely beautiful country, and we only saw one other person along the entire hike, which was amazing. He was on his way out as we were hiking in. We loved the solitude and surroundings! It was entirely delightful, except for the fact that we also spotted 2 snakes that day, and we each had ticks on us when we got back to the campground! Our bodies were both so sore, and my feet were killing me, but I was so proud of myself for completing the trek! It was my longest hike ever done in a day before! I hiked 11 miles and Josh did 12 (when I stopped to eat and figure out a way down to Owen Cabin Hot Springs, he continued on the trail, and then back-tracked to where I'd stopped). 

This 2-walled "outhouse" was at the beginning of the trail.
It was definitely a toilet with a view!!!

"Upper Loon" hot springs had several pools. We
decided to hike to the furthest pools and soak in them
first, and then come back to these on our return trip.

There was evidence of several hot spring sources from
mile 4.8 to 5.7 on the Loon Creek Trail.

This footbridge crossed Loon Creek about .5 mile
after the Owen Cabin H.S. This was where
Josh turned around on the trail. 

The view of "Owen Cabin" hot spring waterfall,
as seen from the hill above it.

The view of "Owen Cabin" Hot Springs,
after our descent down the rocky cliffside.

A small pool at the top of "Crescent Moon" Hot Springs.
It was very shallow and full of algae.

"Crescent Moon" H.S. seeps out of the hillside, 
and then plunges over a 20-foot cliff into
Loon Creek via 2 hot waterfalls.

I couldn't figure out how to get to the hot waterfalls.
Josh decided to walk upstream to access them. Loon 
Creek was pretty deep in some places, so I chose
to sit and watch him rather than try & fail myself.

It was very peaceful sitting on the edge of 
Loon Creek with my feet in the water!

Josh made it to the "Crescent Moon" H.S. waterfalls--
it was a tricky trek across the creek to get there.

After a while, Josh disappeared from my view. I thought
he was behind a cliff. However, he'd found a way 
out that would lead me to the hot waterfalls.
He walked up to the trail, and then approached me from
behind. He surprised me, and gladly led me to the
waterfalls so that I could experience them, too.

We finally made it back to soak in "Upper Loon" H.S.

We saw 2 snakes there, which wasn't a pleasant sight,
but we also saw a toad guarding a string of eggs,
which was pretty cool. 

Can you see the string of eggs jutting out from the large rock?

As we were leaving Upper Loon H.S., we noticed
a storm front moving in. We made it to a grove of
trees to hide under before the downpour hit.

The views were spectacular the whole way!

Mostly, the trail followed the Creek, but occasionally it
meandered through the hillside.

I spotted a few mushrooms that were HUGE!
I put my water bottle next to one as a comparison.

Josh's favorite wildflower is the Indian Paintbrush.

The van was badly leaking power steering fluid on the drive there, so after the hike, even though Josh was tired and sore, he knew he needed to work on it so we could drive it back home the next day. He jacked it up, removed the driver's side wheel, and crawled under it to fix it the best he could with the tools he had. He impresses me with his determination and problem-solving skills! He taped it and zip-tied it together to try and keep as much steering fluid in as possible. After he put the tire back on to finish the job, we found multiple ticks on him and his clothes as a result of laying on the ground, which completely creeped him out! He changed his clothes, and then we had dinner, sat around the campfire, and relaxed for the rest of the night. In the middle of the night, I found a tick on my head which totally creeped me out! The next morning, we woke up, cleaned up camp, and drove home. Thankfully his temporary fix-it job had done the trick to get us safely back to Salmon. After we got home, we promptly showered and did a thorough tick-check on ourselves! Thankfully we didn't find any more! Ick!!! 

Josh electrical taped the power steering line,
then zip tied it. After we got home, he replaced
the power steering in and pulled this one out that
he'd fixed temporarily. He did a good McGyver
job with what he had available in the mountains!

All in all, it had been a wonderful trip, and we would both go on that trail again. But next time, we want to hit it up at the end of July to see how the hot springs would be different after the creek level drops.