Kyla had a significant life event earlier this week, so we celebrated by going out to tea.  She invited Piper, her BFF, BFF’s mother, and, um, me. 

I had to delete at least 50 pictures of the ducklings after Piper absconded with my phone, on a hunter’s quest.

But Piper did manage to catch herself a chicken.

And reluctantly shared.

Happy You, Kyla!

My darling daughter keeps May Day close in her heart and this year, delivered flowers to all the neighbors before heading to school.  How fantastic is she?!?

She can definitely be my flower queen!

Amen, Sister.  Wise daughter.

…you may barely notice she is wearing a mask.

Meow!!

Just how many kids can fit in the hammock?  I’m guessing this is not my final post on the subject!

I didn’t get pictures of the first bouquets my beloveds brought me (always forget-me-nots, my favorite!).  But Kyla bought the adorable hanging vase and keeps it filled for me above the kitchen sink.  Loveliness.  

…is something you don’t always want to hear while cooking dinner.

I like to keep up my sense of humor while in this room, and when Wesley’s not around, I always have my tea towels.

The towels and I commiserate together.

Par for this trip, we didn’t spend much time in McCall, but we really liked this little town!

The kids loved their ice cream potato— vanilla ice cream rolled in cocoa, “split” with whipped cream. 

First, it was entirely charming in it’s architecture and tidiness, with the nicest RV park we’ve ever been to (McCall RV Park, for future reference). What they didn’t spend on creative nomenclature, they spent on the most beautiful natural stone-and-wood indoor pool and spa, and lodge. It’s nearly as good as Dwayne would have built with unlimited time and budget. The pool was made even more perfect by the blanket of snow we got overnight! Snowsuit to swimsuit to snowsuit and swimsuit, all in 24 hours.

I was nervous about driving out through the snow in a rental RV, and secretly, I really wanted one more in this charming place, certainly our last chance for snow until next fall.  But we went on, for a night in Kennewick and then the last trek back home.  Sigh, I wish it had lasted a little longer with more downtime relaxing with the people that I do actually like, even after 7 days in a 32 food trailer. 

“Mama, I love your squishy tummy!”  “Me,too,!” “Let’s find rocks to shove in her belly button.” “Here’s one!” “Squishy, squishy!”

The one adventure that we promised the kids was to find hot springs in Idaho. A ghost town and snow and sun were on the “hope so” list, but hot springs were a must. Luckily, we stopped at the Visitors in Stanley at the end of Salmon River Scenic Drive.

 

The guy there knew of 5 within reasonable driving distance, but most recommended Pine Flats, so off we drove.

It was off season and no sign for hot springs, but we were armed with our secret knowledge and optimism.

Off we hike!

By the time Dwayne caught up with us, the kids and I were already soaking in the first pool we came to, and Mama was not leaving her happy place.

Pine Flats was recommended because the springs are on the top of a rocky hill, and basically turn into hot waterfalls, the water cooling to a manageable temperature further down the hill. 

That poor bikini hadn’t seen the light of day since New Years.  It was happy to have found warmer water!

Luckily, Dwayne wasn’t content with my happy place and he went off exploring the source.  Once he found it (it was too hot to touch!), he kept exploring until he found an even better spa—the only reason for me to leave my mud hole. 

Intrepid spa-ers had used tarps and rocks to create the perfect pool—just barely below what a body can stand.

I have no idea what eventually got me out of pool heaven.  Perhaps just being the mom and knowing we eventually had to find a place to camp and feed the children dinner. 

Thanks, Pine Flats!  You were the highlight of my day.

Hard to believe we drove over 300 miles today, after doing the math and realizing we need an extra day or more miles in a day. 

But it was not all work!  Crossing a particularly beautiful pass, we stopped for a family snowball….augh!!  To view mayhem, click here.

We ended up in Salmon, ID, that evening, about halfway through our destination goal of driving the Salmon River Scenic highway.

 

It’s truly beautiful, but remembering my own childhood, we only occasionally pointed that out to the kids and let them get back to their games.

We ended up in a trailer park (I’m not misnaming RV park) next to a cow field—which Piper loved—

and several good climbing trees and neighbor kids equally feral as mine.

Of all the places we went, this place was simultaneously the friendliest (we stayed up chatting and drinking with neighbors quite late) and most out of our comfort zone (uh, how often do I actually get to share life with people at completely different economic levels and life stories?).  It was both really cool and eye opening.