Jun 192016
 

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Road Trip Along Idaho's Hwy 12 (25 of 25)

Just a little bit about Idaho’s Hwy 12 between Syringa and Lolo Pass:

River front camping for DAYS.  “Keep your eyes peeled for those dirt road pull off’s, you’ll find yourself some real nice spots,” a fellow told me at the gas station when I was inquiring about places to camp.  I will put my hand over my heart and swear to you, this is beautiful country and one of the most pristine places we have ever camped.  I still shake my head in disbelief that a place like this exists.

Catch and release fishing to your hearts content in the rivers and nearby lakes and 99.9% of the time, you have the place to yourself.  At least this was our experience, last summer in August.

Exploring the Selway River Road took us deep into the backcountry where we fished, hiked and swam in the refreshing cool river.  Nearby forest fires created a rather smoky atmosphere, but that was to be expected in mid August I was told (we learned a lot about forest fires during this trip of ours — wait till you see my pictures I took when we visited Glacier National Park).  Also, if you enjoy mushroom hunting, put this place on your radar — the ranger told us you can find ginormous mushrooms from morels to oysters and many other varieties depending on the time of year of course.

Hot springs in their natural state – no man made formations here.  It was glorious alternating soaks between the hot therapeutic waters and the cool icy river.

In a nutshell, our trip was nothing short of glorious, how could it not have been?  Campsite after campsite, one after another, all river front, all private and all breathtaking.  I miss my morning cups of coffee strolling the rivers edge and watching hubby fish.

I also made a successful breakfast pizza on that trip.  Successful for me in a big way because the crust was grain and gluten free and hubby and B didn’t even notice!  All I heard was, “Wow, this is really good!”  I’ve been following a ketogenic (keto for short) way of eating now for a while and I have been slowly trying to convert the boys without their knowledge.  It’s kind of working. So with the success of this pizza, well, it made my day.

For the pizza crust I used Julian’s Bakery Paleo Pizza Crust Mix.  I pressed the crust into my cast iron skillet and par baked it at 425 degrees for about 10 minutes.  I then added the toppings, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, cooked and crumbled bacon with four cracked eggs on top.  A sprinkle of salt and a good turn of pepper and into the oven at 425 degrees it went for about 15 minutes.  If you like your eggs on the runny side — I would start watching the pizza around minute 10.

Thank you for being here and more importantly:  HAPPY FATHERS DAY XOXO

Warmly,
Monica

PS:   here is a handy brochure explaining all there is to do along this beautiful stretch of road.  We are convinced that planning road trips along scenic byways are some of the best road trips to be had.

  15 Responses to “The Long and Winding Road”

  1. Absolutely gorgeous photos Monica! Love, love, love this!

  2. Absolutely gorgeous photos Monica! Love, love, love this!

  3. We hope to explore up there in the near future. Its so beautiful and I would love a riverbank spot! For now, Arizona offers a lot of places to visit, just hours away. This weekend we’ll be hitching up our Airstream “Lil Northern Star” and heading to a lesser known part of the Grand Canyon. Spots along the way will include Marble Canyon and Navajo Bridge. Its just a short trip, so we want to cram in as much as we can. Even before we find out camp spot. Summer was made for travel. Especially when its hot here, its always a bit cooler just beyond the horizon.
    Happy trails Monica, Jeff and B.

    Rainey & Mike- Northern Star Travelers

    • I know I have told you this a bazillion times, but if you ever come we must camp together!! As for me, I would love to visit your neck of the woods. I have never been to the Grand Canyon and I can tell you I am eager to visit. I once saw a photo of a waterfall and people enjoying the cool waters in the canyon, I was awestruck but the beauty of that photo. I look forward to following along on your trip!! XO

  4. Truly spectacular! I can’t wait until we can camp out West! I opened my just delivered Country Living and was delighted to find you and your Airstream featured on the Go RVing ad!

  5. Your adventures and lovely photos are an inspiration! With all the fabulous cooking, you must have to take along a lot of provisions. How do you deal with camping in bear country? I have read that you can keep food inside one’s camper but you have to have all your windows and vents closed at night or when not in the camper. That might get pretty hot. And then if you have a four legged friend come along how can you leave the AS all closed up and leave for more than a few minutes in warm weather? I am wander-dreaming of a trip with 2 four legged babies and plan to do my own cooking as well. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

    • Ah the BEARS — I will never, ever forget our first visit to bear country when we camped at the Fishing Bridge Campground in Yellowstone National Park. I became concerned when I started seeing all the signs, “YOU ARE NOW IN BEAR COUNTRY.” When we were checking into the campground, the ranger gave us the low down on the bear situation. She basically told us to not leave anything with a scent outdoors (grills, coolers, bug spray, lotion, toothpaste, etc.). She said to keep all food inside the RV but not close to any doors. For example, she told us about a family who was camping in their trailer and before retiring for the evening, they placed a bag of trash, inside the RV leaning up against the door. In the middle of the night the entire trailer began to violently shake back and forth. Turns out, a bear had picked up on the smell of the trash and was clawing at the door to get inside. In the morning the exterior of the trailer was severely scratched up. Imagine!
      She did tell us to close up the RV’s windows if we left during the day as well as at night. Now mind you, it was in the heat of the summer so we ran the A/C while we slept which I was very grateful for.
      As for traveling with our precious fur babies, I very much understand your concerns during warm weather. For me personally, if Oliver (my furbaby) is not allowed somewhere, then I simply won’t go. I will admit, I’ve missed out on a lot during our trips, but it’s a sacrifice I make. However, there have been a couple of instances where I needed to be somewhere and absolutely couldn’t take him with me so I called up the local vet to ask for sitter recommendations. Once I left Oliver for a full day when we went on a snowmobiling trip and the other I left him for about an hour or so while I attended a meeting. The first time he stayed with a sweet lady who ran an in home boarding service. Oliver pretty much had his own little “corner” inside of the house and the second time, a sweet gal who ran a pet shop took care of him. He just hung out with her for that hour in the store. If you call around the local vets, you will be surprised some of the recommendations they have. I was very pleased!
      Anyhow, I hope that helped you!!

  6. Oh god! What a heavenly place!!
    Can you keep posting more of such photos please?

  7. These are amazing photographs! It looks like you all had a ton of fun! Glad to see you enjoyed yourselves! Thanks for sharing a part of the adventure with us!

  8. That looks like an absolutely amazing trip! Did you catch anything while fishing?

  9. Monica,
    Your pictures are fabulous. Along with the fantastic dishes you prepare and your decor – love your site! I’m looking at adding some lenses and a lot of knowledge/practice etc…. to my Nikon- what do you use ? I know on some sites the pictures are enhanced. Way over my head!
    Thank you and keep on camping and writing……

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