THE BLOG
Burton Peak is a 5.2-mile out-and-back hike with just over 1,700 feet of elevation gain. I’d rate it as moderate to hard—it’s a steady climb from the trailhead to the summit, but the reward is more than worth the effort.
We recently visited Bonneville Hot Springs, a unique geothermal soak located along the Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway (also known as the Lowman Highway or Stanley-Lowman Highway). Nestled between Stanley and Lowman in central Idaho, it’s just about 20 miles from Kirkham Hot Springs.
Merritt Lake is a beautiful 5.5-mile round-trip hike to a quiet alpine lake located outside of Leavenworth, Washington.
Nestled in the Methow Valley, Winthrop has become a hub for nordic skiers thanks to the extensive Methow Trails system. With over 200 km of impeccably groomed trails, it’s the largest cross-country ski area in North America.
If you’re looking to spend a day among some of the most beautiful mountains and mountain lakes in northern Idaho, look no further than Roman Nose. This popular trail system showcases some of the most beautiful scenery in the Selkirk Mountains, about an hour-and-a-half drive north of Sandpoint.
On the edge of the Steen Mountains and the Alvord Desert lies a great day hike ready for exploring. While Pike Creek Canyon Trail is nearly 7 miles in total, it’s easy to turn it into a shorter out-and-back (which we did due to heat) or if you’re looking for some additional adventure, you can extend it for several more miles if you’re willing to do a bit of scrambling, climbing and bushwacking.
Deep in the rain shadow of the Steens Mountains, the Alvord Desert is actually a dried-up lake bed ripe with not water, but the opportunity for activities like dirt biking and ATV riding, hiking, geode hunting, artifact finding, and hot spring-ing.
If you’re looking for a challenging hike served up with a side of epic views, the Moose Lake Loop trail is for you. At just about 7 miles long, this is the perfect day hike that offers a variety of scenery and terrain.
Originally built as a manned lookout tower in 1937, the Lunch Peak Lookout is now available to campers and hikers. While it didn’t look available to occupy when we were there, sources online say you can indeed book it for camping through recreation.gov. From the lookout, you can see the Selkirk and Cabinet mountains, Sandpoint, into eastern Washington, Canada, and even over to Glacier National Park on clear days.
Every time we travel to the coast, we fall a bit more in love with it. This year we packed up the van and road-tripped to Dunes City, Pacific City, Cape Disappointment, and Forks, WA.
Located at the end of Pack River Rd. Just north of Sandpoint, the Harrison Lake trailhead is easy to find and accessible most of the year.
One month ago we sat on the beach along Coeur d’Alene Lake and watched the waves crash into the rocky shore with Juneau for the last time. She was content to lay in the sun, her paws just at the water’s edge. We just sat with her for hours, watching her take in the views of her home for the last time.
After a lot of discussion and contemplation, we decided to start a new chapter in a new town. Read all about the life changes we made in 2021.
A review of 2020. Highlights, trips, hikes, and things not mentioned on the blog before.
One of our favorite stops of our multi-day central Idaho road trip was Goldbug Hot Springs. A beautiful gem tucked away in the high desert mountains just outside of Salmon, Idaho.
To celebrate our 10-year wedding anniversary, Kyle and I decided to road trip through central Idaho. We took a full week to hit up Salmon, Goldbug Hot Springs, Mt. Borah, Sun Valley (Ketchum, specifically), Stanley and Redfish Lake (another post about Redfish Lake, here), Kirkham Hot Springs, and then make our way back home through Boise, McCall, and Moscow.
During the course of local protests, the narrative that came out of Coeur d’Alene unfortunately was not that Black Lives Matter. There was not much outward reflection of our privilege in Coeur d’Alene. Even those brave enough to go out and protest around town had to share their narrative with the armed citizens. Stories were about “patriots” getting along with the protestors while protecting them and the business owners. The point was lost in all the noise.
There are days when I want to get outside and run or hike for miles. But, there are other days when getting out of the house sounds nice, but maybe the weather or an overall lack of energy deters me from intense activity. It’s on these days that a nice drive along the backcountry roads of northern Idaho is just what the doctor ordered. One drive we keep coming back to again and again is up and over the Fernan saddle. With beautiful views, fun, winding roads, and even some water access along the way, it won’t disappoint.
For years Kyle has had a dream to take a motorcycle trip down Highway 101 along the coast, and I gladly welcomed the idea. Visions of hugging the coastal curves, camping among the redwoods, and peering down the tall sea cliffs to the water below beckoned us west. We took the first week of September to meander our way down the coast, hitting some pretty great stops along the way.
We've wanted to do a family Disney trip for some time, so for Christmas this year our big family present was this trip. In all, we spent about five days in California enjoying a bit of sunshine and getting in some good quality time together.
If there's one quintessential Boise summer experience, it's floating the Boise River. As temperatures climb into the 90s, the Boise River becomes the city's favorite way to cool off. Drifting through the heart of downtown offers a unique perspective of Idaho's capital—part relaxing lazy river, part urban adventure.