- Joined
- Apr 30, 2004
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- 503
If youve read my other camping story, this is the second chapter describing the events that took place after that day.
Last Thursday night, my long time friend made it in from Texas on his much anticipated trip. The flight out here was not without its own heartaches of missed connections (weather delays) and lost luggage, but Ill spare you the details here. We loaded up the truck the next morning for a drive down to City of Rocks National Preserve, close to the Utah border in southern Idaho. I had seen many photos of the area on the internet, and even at the airport, so I had been wanting to go there since I first arrived in Idaho. The area is filled with natural rock formations shaped by wind, rain and time. It is a popular rock climbing area and is set up mostly for tent camping, as opposed to a lot of structured campgrounds where people are coming and going all night with their motor homes. As we were ready to head out, my friend spotted a nail in my tire knowing how far and to where we were going, we knew we had to get it repaired. We went to the local tire store, but there was no way they would be able to get to us in a reasonable amount of time. Our trip was already delayed by the late arrival of his gear from Texas. We elected to push on and stopped in a small town about 40 miles down the road, taking advantage of a tractor and tire repair shop in a small farming community. 30 minutes and $8.00 later, we were patched and ready for the road.
We stopped along the way at Malad Gorge, of interstate 84, which is a pretty impressive canyon that leads into the Snake river. The photos are below. The water was green and the sky was blue. The drive from there took us down through miles of farm land and we passed by an infamous Idaho potato field or two. The drive revealed some historic areas, namely Oakley, Idaho, which has numerous nationally registered buildings. The town of Oakley also had some competing rock businesses that made me think of a gentleman from down under who himself has collected a rock or two for commercial purposes. Ive included a photo below for reference. We were both amazed at the inventory of flagstone and fieldstone in their yards.
The final stretch into the City of Rocks presented several mule deer and numerous jackrabbits. The terrain was fairly rugged, and all the while spectacular. Passing by here on a wagon train must have been impressive and there were markers indicating that they had done just that.
We settled in a camping spot overlooking one of the main canyons in the park. We got there later than we wanted due to the late departure caused by the airlines and other stops we made along the way, but it was much lighter than my earlier camping trip! We quickly set up camp and noticed that cactus was everywhere. It looked like miniature prickly pear. I needed to restrain my dog or he might find himself in a world of hurt. Dinner was served over a propane stove as we watched the sun go down (again, no campfires allowed). A couple coyotes were singing their lonely songs nearby as the night set in, but they didnt come too close. The stars were brilliant as you could see the milky way and we observed several shooting stars due to the absence of city lights.
The next morning we got up and after enjoying a camp perculated coffee, a quick breakfast and then we took the dog and explored the rocks. We probably spent four hours climbing and got closer to the edge than we probably should have done, seeing how far the resultant fall would be, but it was quite envigorating. There were several groups of rock climbers that could be seen at the higher elevations. Not exactly something I would want to do, but it was very impressive.
I would have loved to just stay there and continue exploring the park, but he wanted to see other parts of the state. We made the drive up to the Sawtooth National Recreation Area and made camp for the second night. It dropped down to the high 30s up in the mountains, but we were sufficiently prepared after I froze my tail off there last year! We left early to get him back in time for him to catch an afternoon flight. The normally scenic drive was clouded by dense smoke from the forest fires further to the north. We passed by a base camp of smoke jumpers with literally hundreds and hundreds of tents, several helicopters and a very attentive crowd watching the spectacle of transporting water from the Payette River up over the hills and return for more. The smoke burned our eyes for the short time we were in the thick of it and I wondered how the firemen could handle the constant exposure to it. To them, I tip my hat and must say thanks for saving our natural treasures.
We saw a lot in a short period of time. Im looking forward to getting back to the City of Rocks with my family for more exploring. Hope you enjoy the photos.
This is Malad Gorge. You can see the falls and the interstate in the background.
Some rocks at one of the rock businesses in Oakley, ID. Look at all the rocks in the pallets in the background and on the truck.
This is my fairly well used Satin Jack on the cactus I described above.
Satin Jack with some of the rock formations in the canyon.
Rat Hunter at the City.
Here's the RH over one of the depressions in the rock. There are some depressions much larger that would contain water during certain times of the year. There was one rock called "bath rock" where the indians used to go for a swim.
Here's the RH being put to good use.
Last Thursday night, my long time friend made it in from Texas on his much anticipated trip. The flight out here was not without its own heartaches of missed connections (weather delays) and lost luggage, but Ill spare you the details here. We loaded up the truck the next morning for a drive down to City of Rocks National Preserve, close to the Utah border in southern Idaho. I had seen many photos of the area on the internet, and even at the airport, so I had been wanting to go there since I first arrived in Idaho. The area is filled with natural rock formations shaped by wind, rain and time. It is a popular rock climbing area and is set up mostly for tent camping, as opposed to a lot of structured campgrounds where people are coming and going all night with their motor homes. As we were ready to head out, my friend spotted a nail in my tire knowing how far and to where we were going, we knew we had to get it repaired. We went to the local tire store, but there was no way they would be able to get to us in a reasonable amount of time. Our trip was already delayed by the late arrival of his gear from Texas. We elected to push on and stopped in a small town about 40 miles down the road, taking advantage of a tractor and tire repair shop in a small farming community. 30 minutes and $8.00 later, we were patched and ready for the road.
We stopped along the way at Malad Gorge, of interstate 84, which is a pretty impressive canyon that leads into the Snake river. The photos are below. The water was green and the sky was blue. The drive from there took us down through miles of farm land and we passed by an infamous Idaho potato field or two. The drive revealed some historic areas, namely Oakley, Idaho, which has numerous nationally registered buildings. The town of Oakley also had some competing rock businesses that made me think of a gentleman from down under who himself has collected a rock or two for commercial purposes. Ive included a photo below for reference. We were both amazed at the inventory of flagstone and fieldstone in their yards.
The final stretch into the City of Rocks presented several mule deer and numerous jackrabbits. The terrain was fairly rugged, and all the while spectacular. Passing by here on a wagon train must have been impressive and there were markers indicating that they had done just that.
We settled in a camping spot overlooking one of the main canyons in the park. We got there later than we wanted due to the late departure caused by the airlines and other stops we made along the way, but it was much lighter than my earlier camping trip! We quickly set up camp and noticed that cactus was everywhere. It looked like miniature prickly pear. I needed to restrain my dog or he might find himself in a world of hurt. Dinner was served over a propane stove as we watched the sun go down (again, no campfires allowed). A couple coyotes were singing their lonely songs nearby as the night set in, but they didnt come too close. The stars were brilliant as you could see the milky way and we observed several shooting stars due to the absence of city lights.
The next morning we got up and after enjoying a camp perculated coffee, a quick breakfast and then we took the dog and explored the rocks. We probably spent four hours climbing and got closer to the edge than we probably should have done, seeing how far the resultant fall would be, but it was quite envigorating. There were several groups of rock climbers that could be seen at the higher elevations. Not exactly something I would want to do, but it was very impressive.
I would have loved to just stay there and continue exploring the park, but he wanted to see other parts of the state. We made the drive up to the Sawtooth National Recreation Area and made camp for the second night. It dropped down to the high 30s up in the mountains, but we were sufficiently prepared after I froze my tail off there last year! We left early to get him back in time for him to catch an afternoon flight. The normally scenic drive was clouded by dense smoke from the forest fires further to the north. We passed by a base camp of smoke jumpers with literally hundreds and hundreds of tents, several helicopters and a very attentive crowd watching the spectacle of transporting water from the Payette River up over the hills and return for more. The smoke burned our eyes for the short time we were in the thick of it and I wondered how the firemen could handle the constant exposure to it. To them, I tip my hat and must say thanks for saving our natural treasures.
We saw a lot in a short period of time. Im looking forward to getting back to the City of Rocks with my family for more exploring. Hope you enjoy the photos.
This is Malad Gorge. You can see the falls and the interstate in the background.
Some rocks at one of the rock businesses in Oakley, ID. Look at all the rocks in the pallets in the background and on the truck.
This is my fairly well used Satin Jack on the cactus I described above.
Satin Jack with some of the rock formations in the canyon.
Rat Hunter at the City.
Here's the RH over one of the depressions in the rock. There are some depressions much larger that would contain water during certain times of the year. There was one rock called "bath rock" where the indians used to go for a swim.
Here's the RH being put to good use.
