Bayhorse: A Well Preserved Ghost Mining Town

We're spending a couple of nights in Challis, ID at the Challis Valley RV Resort. It's a no frills RV park with huge sites, friendly hosts, inexpensive laundry, and hardly anyone staying at this huge park (36 acres and only a handful of RV's). At the Passport America rate of $18/night it's been a very quiet and convenient place to stay.

Hans is riding the bucking bronco stationed at our site!

As we approached Challis we could see smoke in the mountains West of town. Turns out it is the Lodgepole fire and has burned about 20,000 acres so far. Even though the fire is about 10 miles North West of us, we've only smelled smoke twice when the wind changed direction for a bit.

Challis is situated along the Salmon River and nestled up against the Salmon/Challis National Forest. Fishing, hiking and ATVing are popular in the area. Having only one day to explore and some roads being closed due to the fire, our best option turned out to be an excellent one: Bayhorse Ghost Town.

Bayhorse historic mining town is just a few miles South West of Challis, up a narrow canyon on a good dirt road. The site was discovered in 1864, though lead-silver ore was not successfully mined until 1872. Mining in the area was most profitable between 1882 - 1899, once charcoal kilns were built to better process the ore. Mining continued sporadically into the early 1900's. Today, the state of Idaho has preserved (not restored) the buildings and mining equipment for our viewing pleasure.

Bayhorse Mill

Charcoal kilns. These were originally beehive shaped.

Bayhorse Hotel

One of the earliest structures in the canyon.

Residence that was added on to over the years.
The towns doctor lived here. He was originally an orderly in the Civil War
and did not have full medical training.

After touring the town site, we continued up the dirt road towards Bayhorse lakes. Along the way, more mining ruins were perched on the hillsides and along the creek.

Much of the ore processing was accomplished using gravity, as is evidenced by these buildings
perched precariously on the mountainside.

At Upper Bayhorse Lake we hoped to do some hiking. We were able to find an ATV trail and followed it for a while, but the expected hikers only trail never materialized. Luckily, there were no ATV's around during our visit. The fishermen on the lake seemed to be having lots of luck.

Back on Hwy 75 heading towards Challis we admired the rugged mountainsides and searched for bighorn sheep.

Salmon River on the right.

The farm land along the river is a big draw for the bighorn sheep.

Challis turned out to be a nice stop over. It's worth a longer visit, and perhaps we'd stay at the Challis Hot Springs next time (it's more expensive than our current RV park).

Today we're off to Montana for the next few weeks. First stop, Hamilton, MT.

Campground Review: Juniper Campground at Ririe Reservoir, Ririe, ID

We had a gorgeous 120 mile drive yesterday from our boondocking spot just North of Pinedale, WY to Ririe, ID. We started in rolling green hills and headed into the mountains, followed the Hoback River canyon, then the Snake River. Entering Idaho, the terrain slowly changed to rolling fields of wheat and potatoes.

We stopped for one night at the Juniper Campground at Ririe Reservoir. It was a lovely and inexpensive stop among the farm fields. Roads and sites are paved. Each site has a picnic table and fire pit and grassy area. Full hookups are only $18 per night.

Amenities include very nice restrooms with showers, a 9-hole disc golf course, all types of boating are allowed on the reservoir. We had excellent 4G Verizon signal, using our own internet service.

We only stayed one night and did not explore the surrounding area. This park was beautiful, quiet and inexpensive; a perfect place for a stopover.

Site C-8

Ririe Reservoir

Playing the 9-hole disc golf course with wheat fields and a storm
in the background!

Campground Review: Rock Creek Park, Twin Falls, ID

We spent two nights at a county park: Rock Creek Park. It is a lovely slice of green along a fast moving creek in an area that is high desert and farmland.

You have to watch carefully for the entrance to the RV section which is between a gravel holding site and a modular home dealer. The park sits below the busy entrance road in a canyon. This makes it a little quieter at night than if you were right next to the road.

There are approximately 25 spaces, 7 are pull throughs, the rest back ins. Roads are paved, sites are gravel and mostly level. At just $15 a night it was a bargain with water and electric hookups only. There is a free city dump station about one mile away.

Water pressure was strange on the second evening, as though there was air in the system, though still usable. We had read about the water pressure issue on RV Park Reviews, so it seems to be an ongoing problem. We unhooked the water that night due to a freeze warning.

When we arrived midweek the place was virtually deserted with only four other campers. The next afternoon  the park was the site of a a junior high level cross country race, but quieted down again that evening, with even fewer campers.

Our Verizon and Millenicom services worked well here on 4G/LTE.

Half of Rock Creek Park campground; we are the fifth wheel in the upper right.
Our truck was parked in a visitor space nearby.

A Slice of Beautiful Canyon Amidst Desert and Farmland

We moved just 65 miles South to Twin Falls, ID.

We had a big change of weather from high 70's when we arrived on Tuesday, to mid 50's and lots of wind the next day. Being in the middle of desert and farmland the wind created a LOT of dust! Luckily we visited Perrine Bridge and witnessed some BASE jumpers on the first day, before the wind started.

Perrine Bridge across the Snake River Canyon.
People BASE jump from the center of the bridge.

A BASE jumper nearing end of the flight. No, s/he did not land in the water!

Perrine Bridge may be the the only man-made structure where BASE jumping is allowed without a permit. It is a very short flight and then they have to climb up a very steep cliff to return to their starting point.

The Snake River Canyon and Shoshone Falls were beautiful on a cool, windy morning. This canyon is the most impressive feature in this land of high desert, lava flows and farmland.

The Snake River Canyon is 500' deep in places.

The canyon is so wide in places they have resorts and golf courses nestled in it!

Shoshone Falls runs low during irrigation season.

All sorts of wonderful rock formations at Dierks Lake.

We're headed South towards Salt Lake City. Next up, Wells, NV.

Campground Review: Riverside RV Park in Bellevue, ID

There are only two RV parks with full hook ups in the Ketchum/Sun Valley area, which includes Hailey and Bellevue to the South. One is just South of Ketchum at $45/night and the other is in Bellevue, 15 miles South of Ketchum, at $27/night.

Our criteria for this stay was: full hook ups, reasonably close to the mountains...yet far enough away that if the temperature dropped suddenly we might not freeze at night, reasonable price, and decent walking close to the park.

We chose Riverside RV Park in Bellevue, ID based on all the above, plus it is a couple blocks off Hwy 75, whereas the more expensive park closer to Ketchum is right next to the highway. The park does not have its own website so I linked to the RV Park Reviews page.

This is a no frills RV park. Except for the sweet little grassy picnic area at the entrance, everything here is gravel and there is no landscaping. That said, the sites are fairly well spaced, each has a picnic table, full hook ups (30amp), and the laundry (two washers/dryers) and shower building were fine.

Even though the rules state 90 days max, it looks like there are a handful of folks who live here, all were neat and tidy. It was very quiet at night and the park was about a third full during our week long stay. There are approximately 30 sites, with the perimeter sites being back in and the center pull through, most are very level. The Host was very friendly upon arrival.

The parks wifi was fine, our 3G Verizon and Millenicom services worked well as did our satellite.

The Big Wood River passes just outside the RV park and there are lovely river side trails to walk or bike from camp. The Wood River Trail system is just a couple blocks away; it's a 33 mile paved trail connecting Bellevue, Hailey, Ketchum and Sun Valley.

This park was well located, very quiet, and a good price for our needs in the area. We would stay here again as the park in Ketchum was too pricey and looked to be too close to the highway. Next time we come through the area we are likely to head for Stanley, ID, higher in the mountains; weather permitting.

Entrance with picnic area behind sign

Picnic area, shower/laundry building at back right

Looking down the first 2 of 3 rows from the entrance.
We are on the left, 2nd rig in.

Our site, between our two closest neighbors

Walking on the Moon and a Birthday Hike

On Friday we decided a change of scenery was in order and headed for Craters of the Moon National Monument. Craters is a 750,000 acre wonderland of lava flows. These flows started about 15,000 years ago and the last eruption was about 2,100 years ago...since it's averaged an eruption about every 2,000 years, it is now overdue to blow.

The monument boasts a lovely campground (no hookups) among the lava, a visitor center and a seven mile loop road with stops to access several miles of trails. Here are some pics of the day:


Crazy, intricate lava formations adorned by fresh life struggling to survive
in this harsh environment.

Lava tree molds

Hiking through Indian Tunnel, a partially collapsed lava tube

Hans inside Beauty Cave

Saturday was Hans' birthday. We celebrated his 52 years with a hike to Prairie Lake, just North of Ketchum. With 1600 feet of elevation gain in 4.75 miles, it's a gentle ascent to an alpine lake through forest and meadows, along streams dividing soaring mountains.

The drive up highway 75 North of Ketchum was spectacular, with the mountains growing taller and more jagged, the aspens more colorful and we even spotted a few boondocking spots along Hwy 75.

Then we turned onto Prairie Creek Road, a dirt forest service road, for a couple of miles. We were excited to see more private and scenic and easy access boondocking spots. The next time we make it up here we should be ready for dispersed camping.

We saw many deer prints and even moose prints, but did not see any in the flesh.

Fabulous views from Hwy 75, just North of Ketchum

The happy hikers after reaching Prairie Lake

The mountains looming over us as we hiked; we searched hard to see
the mountain goats that live on those crags, with no luck.

The trail opened often into hillside meadows with year round springs tumbling down the hill.

One of many streams we crossed

Fall colors along Hwy 75, North of Ketchum, ID

There are many, many hiking and biking trails around here, and if it weren't getting so late in the season we would probably head North, further into the Sawtooth National Forest. For now though, we've had a little taste and whetted our appetites for the next time we're in the area. Early next week we'll head a bit South...

Bellevue, ID, Gateway to Ketchum & Sun Valley

We've relocated about 150 miles SE of Boise to Bellevue, ID. Because we are still newbies at this full time RVing we want simplicity; a bit of time to get to know the RV lifestyle without undue stress.

With that in mind, we chose a very simple RV park in Bellevue called Riverside RV Park (practically the same name as the last place) because it was low cost ($27/night), had full hook ups, pull-through sites, easy access to the Wood River Trail (a 33 mile paved trail that connects Bellevue, Hailey, Ketchum and Sun Valley), plus walking distance to a sweet little nature trail and a couple of restaurants. We also figured by staying slightly South of the mountain ranges there was a little less chance of a freeze if the weather changes.

The Wood River flows outside our campground...seen here from the Wood River Trail at Boxcar Bend

Our first day we drove up to Ketchum/Sun Valley to get a feel for the area. There is a lot less smoke here than we experienced in Boise. That is partly due to the winds lately and a little bit of rain that washed away some of the smoke (and hopefully helped the fire situation).

We did a short hike on the edge of Sun Valley to soak in the views and fall colors.

The ravines between hills are filled with colorful aspen

Only the North side of the hills have conifers, most hillsides around here are covered 
in low, brown chapparal (foreground where Hans is walking)

Taken from a ravine, here you can see the rolling chapparal covered hills in the background.

Today we rode about 25 miles of the Wood River Trail.

It's clear and sunny and 75 degrees, with night time temps in the 40's, absolutely perfect! I would love to see the area in early summer when the hills must be green and loaded with flowers...guess we'll have to come back some time.