I've been wanting to go on a girls' weekend lately. So when I found that I had several days off over Labor Day weekend, I started actually trying to make it happen. I was mostly looking for someplace where I could have a relaxing weekend of reading and just hanging out.
As I looked for Airbnbs I came across this one that was right on a river and looked pretty cozy, if dated. It also said it was walking distance to a restaurant which seemed ideal.
Downside: 8 hour drive.
I brought it up to my friend Lori and she was in for the girls trip but not too excited about the long drive. I kept looking for something else but nothing was quite right and since I waited til pretty late, there weren't lots of options. In the end we just sort of gave up the idea for now.
Then on the Wednesday before Labor Day weekend, on a whim, I sent the ad to Frank and just said "should be just go here?" I couldnt' get the place out of my head. Unsurprisingly, his response was "book it!" And so I did.
I had Friday off work so in the morning I went to the zoo with Carter, Harley and the boys. It was a fun morning! Then they came back to the house for the afternoon and we enjoyed an afternoon of swinging and playing with the boys.
Once Frank was done working and the Logan fam was ready to go, we also got in the car and with the plan of driving halfway (an 8 hour drive is a bit long for Frank's taste). We found a Hilton a little over 3 hours away and used points to stay there that night.
The next day we drove the final 4-5 hours. We stopped at a small town that was having a farmer's market and some sort of community activity. We got to see some folks attempt to do a log rolling contest. It was fun to watch for a few minutes.
We arrived around 2 at our destination: Riggins Idaho.
The place was perfect. The house was kind of dated but the only thing I cared about was the view and location. Oh man, that view was amazing...right on the river. The sound of the water was just amazing.
This was taken while standing right by the house, in the yard.
We bought a few groceries and had lunch at the little "steak house" near the Airbnb.
(it was called a steak house but they mostly served sandwiches and such)
I had a burger, Frank had a French dip and we both wondered why we never learn to SHARE A MEAL. We couldn't eat it all and feel bad wasting.
I took pictures from all angles of the deck. There were even some folks going by in a raft!
I tried to book us for rafting or even a jet boat ride but no one was running on Monday (Labor Day).
Sad
On Sunday we watched our ward meeting and then decided to drive around and see the beautiful scenery.
We drove up a road that went right along the river and it was sooo pretty.
We stopped at a camping area that had a beach to put our hands in the water and skip some rocks.
We drove to the end of the road where it became a gravel road. Very pretty drive.
We backpedaled to where we had seen a sign for a hiking trail.
We had to go up this skinny road with all kinds of confusing signs about how we were on private property and making us feel like criminals...but indeed the road ended at some public land and the beginning of a hike.
the trail was quite woodsy, unlike most of the terrain we had seen so far.
It was cool and shady which was nice.
Parts of the trail were very muddy and I was wishing I had my hiking shoes, which I could not find anywhere before we left.
For most of the hike we could see the river and it was wonderful
We reached a point where we couldn't tell where the trail went. Frank tried the dry-ish part of the creek bed and it was indeed the trail.
My feet suck on uneven surfaces ever since my surgery but I made it unscathed
It was worse for me going back down than when we went up but I grabbed onto Frank when needed and it all worked out
We didn't actually know anything about this hike before starting out. We used our hiking app to know how far we went and turned around after about a mile (my decision).
Turns to the whole hike, one way, was 12 miles.
Glad we turned around.
We had brought sandwiches and ate those on the hike.
We never saw another person.
But the road we took to get there had a variety of (private property) tiny homes with amazing gardens. I looked quite cozy though far from everything.
After the hike, we went home for a bit and Frank napped and I laid on the deck, enjoying the river.
We decided to drive the other direction in search of a little beach where we could relax.
We found one and laid on the sand for awhile while also watching people come into the nearby boat ramp after their rafting trips
Monday we had a few plans: another hike, a drive of some sort and maybe a pig roast at the next town over that we had read about.
First, the hike.
It started out pretty barren looking but we could hear the river nearby
And soon we were overlooking a gorgeous view of the river
The trail continued along the side of the river and we gradually moved down toward the water until we reached a bridge.
The trail had a variety and up and down and just gorgeous views the whole time!
I kept thinking that if I lived here I could do this hike every single day.
I loved it so much and I just love being next to a river.
We got lunch after and then went home for a bit.
I did my usual enjoying of the back deck.
Then we headed toward the next town over for the pig roast.
We arrived quite early and even though the info we found said "doors open at 1:00" there weren't many people there so we drove up the road a bit where we found a tennis court.
We hit a pickleball around for awhile.
We drove up the road and it ended up being a long winding road into the canyon.
Frank, kindly aware of my nerves, drove pretty slowly but did enjoy the curves and occasional revving of his engine. I tried to relax but I am ruined for roads with heights. I pretended pretty well I thought but when we got the top of the road I said, "We're going back another way, right?"
At which point he realized I was stressed.
Alas.
Anyway we went back another way.
The pig roast was more full but definitely had the feeling of a small town get together where everyone knew each other. We felt kind of weird and the food wasn't quite ready...so we left.
I can't remember what we had for dinner that night but I think I had leftovers from the restaurant and Frank had a frozen pizza we had bought.
We left early the next morning because we had to do the whole drive in one day.
The drive was uneventful and we listened to an audiobook the whole way.
I am so glad we went because I enjoyed it so much.
The river was just completely healing for me and I would go back in a second!
