Sula, MT - Days 6 & 7

Thursday, September 29, 2022

It’s funny how quickly humans fall into a pattern of life — Andi worked in the RV this morning, the kids and I did school at the kitchen table in the rental cabin, and Janie and Jim went for a walk together. Andi drove his parents to the top of Guide Creek Road, which isn’t far from where we are staying, and returned a few hours later to pick them up at the bottom. This turned out to be an easy way for them to hike in the woods without a lot of resistance as the gravel road was flat and free of rocks and tree roots, yet they were still surrounded by pine trees.

Morning quickly rushed into afternoon. Andi grilled brats and salmon burgers for lunch, which we paired with a bagged salad mix. Aden must’ve been hungry because he ate 3 brats! When Grandpa Jim said he wanted another one, too, Aden snapped his brat in two and handed him half. It was pretty funny.

We let the kids have some quiet time playing games on their iPads and talking to their friends on FaceTime that afternoon while I cleaned the RV, blogged, and Andi helped his parents with some personal things. We decided to go to the Knotty Nymph for dinner — a local sit-down restaurant south of Darby, MT.

The restaurant was fairly busy for a Thursday night, but we were seated right away. Andi and Janie ordered each ordered steak, Jim had a burger, and I order a penne rosa pasta dish. Aden and Tory weren’t very impressed with their kids’ Mac & Cheese or chicken nuggets, but otherwise our food and service were very good.

Friday, September 30

Friday morning, I did school with the kids again, and then Andi and I took off for a quick 24-hours away because Janie offered to keep Tory and Aden overnight for us. We thought it’d be easiest if we left Jim & Janie with the Jeep as a vehicle, so Andi and I took the RV and decided to drive 60 miles south of Sula, MT to Salmon, ID.

Andi and I both love the state of Idaho and the town of Salmon has been on our bucket list to visit. As we crossed the Montana/Idaho state line traveling south of Highway 93, we couldn't believe how quickly the landscape changed. The tall lodge pole pines of the Bitterroot Valley gave way to dry, rolling hills of Idaho. This area recently battled wildfires, and evidence of that was noticeable in the forest. Many tree trunks were burned black as firefighters recently extinguished the blaze. Luckily, we didn’t see any damage to the town itself.

Andi stopped at the US Forest Service Ranger Station north of Salmon for hiking and camping recommendations & the ranger provided us with a great list. She said most of her favorite hikes had been “burned up” by the recent fires, but said we should definitely check out Gold Bug Hot Springs while we were in town. Andi was really impressed with the ranger’s helpfulness & said that was the friendliest ranger station he’d ever been to.

Armed with the ranger’s tips, we drove the RV into the town of Salmon. We both liked it right away. Andi parked the RV in a big, open parking lot on Main Street and together we walked to the co-op market. There, we picked up some snacks for the RV and a bag of fresh salad mix.

Next, we stopped in a computer repair shop to see if they sold flashlights or headlamps (because Andi couldn’t find his). They didn’t, but the nice lady working at the front desk told us to “hold tight” because she was certain they had a box of headlamps in the back room. She returned a minute later holding two inexpensive headlamps. “We don’t sell these, but you can have them for free.” How nice was that?! We asked if we could at least buy batteries for the headlamps at her store. “We don’t sell batteries either, so you’ll have to go to the hardware store” and she proceeded to tell us exactly where that was. Our last stop was to an outdoor clothing store in town where Andi purchased a real flashlight and had a pleasant conversation with an employee about all the different people who come into the store visiting from Wisconsin. Gotta love small towns; the people are so welcoming!

Our last stop in the town of Salmon was to the grocery store to buy a meat to grill for dinner. We decided against eating in a restaurant tonight, opting instead for a quiet evening together at our campsite. Once we secured a few more food provisions, we drove our RV to a free camping spot south of Salmon along Waddington Creek. This spot was exactly what Andi and I were in the mood for — peaceful solitude with beautiful views surrounding us.

Once we got the RV set up (which literally took two minutes!), Andi and I decided to go for a walk on the road. We contemplated going for a more official hike, but decided to save our energy for Gold Bug Hot Springs tomorrow. We walked about two miles in total along the river, talking and appreciating the beauty of the area.

Andi was not very pleased with all the snakes we saw crawling on the road though!

Down by the river, we came across an old dugout house built into the hillside. A plaque posted there told the story of “Dugout Dick” — an Idaho hermit who built his home in this very spot. Eventually, after years of squatting here and living off the land, the Bureau of Land Management gave Dick legal rights to the property where he lived his life until age 84. Kind of a weird, but interesting piece of Idaho’s history.

Andi grilled chicken and steamed artichokes for dinner, and then we snuggled up together in the RV and watched episodes of Yellowstone together for the rest of the evening.

Tomorrow, we’ll hike to Gold Bug Hot Springs before heading back to Grandma, Grandpa and the kids in Sula.