Adventures in McCall, Idaho

Hello friends! Happy Monday! I hope you all had a fabulous 4th of July and got to play in the sun with your family and friends! I have been a little MIA as of late so I thought it would be a good time to check in with another Monday Musings post.

Today I will be sharing about our most recent trip to McCall, Idaho along with some other random things that have been going on in our neck of the woods.

Travel

Things have been a little hectic around here. As I mentioned in my post Back to the Ghetto we made lots of summer travel plans. Now that we are two trips down (Capitol Reef National Park and McCall, Idaho) and are on the eve of our third trip I have to say…it has been a bit much.

I think after being stuck at home for most of 2020 we had a little bit of cabin fever. While the trips have been fun there are a couple of things I have learned:

First Realization

I have decided that I much rather go on one long summer vacation than go on a bunch of short trips. This is mostly due to the fact that traveling with kids is so much work (especially if you are camping). So far we have taken a 4-5 day trip each month and it has made our summer feel really busy, but not in a good way. There have been things I have wanted to get out and do with the kids but a lot of time has been sucked up in trip prep and recovering from trips.

It also seems like when you have just one big trip there is more anticipation and excitement for the trip. At this point, instead of feeling excited for our Oregon trip we are feeling a little burned out (at least at the prospect of driving 12 hours with two little kids).

Which do you prefer? Lots of short trips or one long trip for your summer vacation?

Second Realization

I feel like I have always known this, but this year it seems to have finally sunk in. I always seem to equate camping with being free. But the reality is that camping is cheaper but not necessarily cheap. We aren’t currently set up to do dispersed camping which means we are stuck using paid campsites. Even though the campground fees are minimal it does add up over the course of a 4 night trip. While I definitely wouldn’t trade the fun times we have had, part of me wishes we had saved our money from our first two trips and put it towards a VRBO or Airbnb rental for our Oregon trip.

How are your summer plans going? Is there anything you wish you would have done differently or plan on changing for next summer?

Home Improvements

The other big thing that has been happening this summer is our house is being repainted. The house we live in is pretty old and has been repainted probably about 6 times since its original coat of paint. Let me just tell you, it has been quite the project. I didn’t really know what it would entail going into it, but pretty much it has meant that we have had two guys outside of our house for the last month scrapping and caulking to try and prep the wood for painting.

For the most part, the kids have loved it and have been unphased by the constant noise. Madic will frequently hang out by the door or outside to chat up the painters. As for me, it has made my little introvert heart a little claustrophobic. Our house isn’t very big so it seems like at any given time one of the painters is right outside of one of our windows. Hopefully, it will look amazing when they are done!

Are you doing any home improvement projects this summer?

McCall, Idaho

A couple of weeks ago we went on a camping trip to the McCall, Idaho area. It was quite the adventure. Here is a quick overview of our trip.

Going into the trip we didn’t have any campground reservations, which was a little nerve-wracking for this over planner because McCall, Idaho is quite a drive for us. We had hoped we would get there around 3-4 pm to be able to snag one but we didn’t roll in until about 9 pm. Luckily we were able to get the last walk-up campground in Donnelly, Idaho which was right on Lake Cascade. Phew!

The drive up (and back) was a bit squishy because we took Dustin’s truck. The back seat of that thing makes a mini cooper look roomy so we had to get creative so that we could all fit.

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DAY ONE

The first day of the trip we stayed close to camp and let our kids take some naps. Because we got into camp so late the kids didn’t get to bed until 11 pm. At the time that seemed crazy late for our kids but it ended up being the norm for most of the trip.

DAY TWO

On the second day we had a memorable experience that I think any parent that has camped with little kids will appreciate. Because of a mix-up with the hike we had planned for that day we ended up getting back to camp late and the kids missed their afternoon nap.

Honestly, we didn’t think too much of it and just put the kids to bed early. After they were both settled in the tent I was feeling pretty darn excited that it was 8 pm and both kids were asleep. I was happily daydreaming about how nice it would be to sit by the fire and look at the stars when Emma woke up screaming. Naively I thought I could simply go in and help soothe her back to sleep, but she was not having it. After she screamed for about 20 min, I gave up and took her out of the tent.

Fearful of another screaming match we ended up keeping her up until we were ready to go to bed. She went down well, but after 40 min woke up screaming again. That is when the real fun began! For the sake of our fellow campers I took her into the truck to see if I could calm her down. While she did her best to put every tantrum in the history of man to shame, I quietly contemplated every decision I had made as a mother up to that point, namely the seemingly innocent decision to go camping with a 10 month old baby.

Thankfully the tantrum only lasted about 45 min at which point she promptly fell asleep on me.

As calm settled over the truck I took stock of our situation. Emma was slightly sweaty and only wearing a onesie (the result of one of my many failed attempts to calm her down) and I was squished in the truck with no way to recline my seat (due to Dustin stuffing everything that could potentially attract a bear into the back seat). Let’s just say it didn’t take long for me to realize it was not feasible for us to spend all night in the truck. So, holding my breath, I opened the truck door and slowly made my way back to the tent. I slipped my shoes off and was squatting down to unzip the tent when Emma woke-up and picked up right where she had left off (hint: screaming). It was like she could sense that her pack-n-play was near.

In a panic, I ran barefoot back to the truck.

Once we were safely back in the confines of the truck, she abruptly stopped crying and fell back asleep. Sly girl! I sat in the truck for another hour before I worked up the courage to make a second attempt. This time I called Dustin for reinforcements. With his help I was able to get her into the tent before she started crying. Thankfully the screaming didn’t last long and she quickly fell back asleep once I laid down next to her. Sharing an air mattress with a baby and my husband is not my idea of a good time, but I was so grateful I wasn’t going to have to spend the night in the truck.

When we woke up the next morning we thought about just packing up and going home, but we rallied our courage and decided to stick it out. Thankfully our last full day of the trip was so much fun!

DAY THREE

In the morning we hiked to Goose Creek Falls. The majority of the hike follows Goose Creek which is super pretty. At the end you are rewarded with a beautiful waterfall and a small pool for swimming. The water felt so good after our hot, sweaty hike. I was expecting it to be cold, but it was just the right temperature. We spent quite a bit of time swimming and wading before making the hike back.

After the hike we drove around Lake Payette while the kids took a nap and enjoyed the scenery. When we got back to camp we went swimming in Cascade Lake to freshen up, while Dustin built a fire. We got back and changed into our pjs and then roasted hot dogs and marshmallows before going to bed. It was the perfect ending to our trip.

What funny stories do you have from camping with little kids?

Happy July!

I hope you all have a wonderful July and get out and make some fun memories with your kids. I would love to hear what adventures you have done so far this summer or what you have planned. Feel free to comment below!

Until next time, happy adventuring!

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