Scenic Idaho {Hailey & Twin Falls}

On the way north, we stopped in Twin Falls, Idaho to grab dinner and check out the mile-long canyon Evel Knievel attempted to jump in 1974. It was such an amazing view! There's a canyon rim trail that follows along the Snake River. 

Had we realized all that Twin Falls has to offer, we would have spent a few days and made it to the waterfalls. Next time!

As soon as we hit Hailey, the scenery changed. Suddenly these hills appeared draped in green velvet, just begging to be climbed. A few turns later we arrived at our Boondockers Welcome site for the next few days.

It's such a beautiful area! This is probably my favorite Boondockers Welcome site. You can't beat this view even in high end campgrounds, and this was FREE! We paid just $5 per day for water and electric!

While staying in Hailey, we learned some interesting history. In 1988 Bruce Willis and Demi Moore were looking for the perfect place to raise their children away from the spotlight. They found beautiful Hailey, located just down the road from Sun Valley's ski resorts and the gateway to the Sawtooth Mountains. He ended up buying a house, then the adjacent properties, then the town movie theatre (white building pictured below), a bar and more. His downtown transformation drew attention and soon a tourism boom hit the small town. They were back in the spotlight in California's newest playground. After the couple divorced in the 90s, Willis began selling off his properties and halted the development of a town recreation center and pool, which meant laying off 10% of the town's population. He listed his home in 2011 for $15m, but finally sold it 7 years later for just $5.5m. Still this set a record for the most expensive home sale in the town. His impact on this area still remains, much to the chagrin of the locals.

Another bit of interesting info is that neighboring town, Sun Valley, hosts an annual "summer camp for billionaires". Hosted by Allen & Company, CEOs from major corporations and their families come together for outdoor experiences and to make some major business deals.   

When we left Hailey, we decided to stay a few nights at Hayspur Hatchery. It's free to stay at this scenic campground (no utilities, donation requested). There is a pond and two rivers you can fish in, but you'll have to fight off the mosquitos! And watch out for moose! 

I actually LOVE this photo. 

It shows how much my boy loves his sport. 

Look closely and you'll see the clouds of mosquitos we were enduring!

While he was fishing, I was birding next to him (can't go far when a moose had been spotted in the area) when I watched a Swainson's Hawk dip into a nest. Later I was able to locate it and found two fluffy white nestlings!

Common Nighthawks were plentiful in the campground. If I looked closely, I could easily find 4-5 perched in just one tree! I love watching them flying around the campground.

We visited the nearby Silver Creek Preserve. It offers opportunities to see wildlife, float the river and fishing, although the rules here are extremely difficult to understand. Only floats (no kayaks or boats) can be used on the water, and the river is divided into 9 sections, each of which have different rules, and each year those rules may change. Two of these rules we've never heard of before: children under 14 don't need a license ONLY if they are a resident. Non-resident children DO NEED a license or to be fishing with a licensed person (and counting their fish together). Some sections only allow fly-fishing, something we've never heard of before. When we asked a ranger what the purpose is for restricting to fly-fishing, he couldn't give a reason. I believe they intend to limit the number of people who are able to fish. The cheapest fly rod we could find was $150, while you can find a $25 rod with a reel at any grocery store in the area. So if you want to fish, I'd suggest calling a ranger and asking for all the regulations for the specific location. Or keep it simple and just go birding! It is a beautiful preserve.

 

Wildlife of Willcox {Arizona}

In Willcox, our friends joined us for four nights at another Boondockers Welcome host with a beautiful, wild, desert property. They were a nice family who not only invited the kids to jump on their trampoline, but their daughter even taught the kids some new gymnastics skills on it. When we arrived they warned us of many different kids of wildlife that can be found on the property. He mentioned snakes, bobcats, coyotes, and three kinds of skunk! I only knew two existed! Boy did I want to see some skunks! Oh, and once there was a mountain lion in the tree by the house! This place is perfect!

When we booked this, I had no idea that Willcox was a birding destination due to the popularity of Lake Cochise, a water treatment lake and the grasslands nearby where thousands of sandhill cranes spend the winter. The cranes had already headed north when we arrived, but I saw a good number of birds between the lake and the adjacent golf course. I birded here twice. The first day, I had not even parked yet when I saw an Upland Sandpiper drop onto the golf course! I had no idea that was the coveted bird of the day, until I ran into birder after birder asking me about it. Though it was no longer where I saw it, my sighting gave them hope to keep looking. One guy actually drove the lake loop one last time just to tell me he finally saw it and to thank me. He said without my info, he would have left for the day. 

May not look like much from the photo, but I identified 65 species between here and the adjacent golf course. A great variety of birds and I love the mountains in the distance. I noticed this heart-shaped tree on the golf course.

One birder stopped to make sure I saw the celebrity couple, a pair of Bendire's Thrashers, unusual for the area, that had nested in a bush. I was able to watch for them as they brought food back to their young.

White-faced Ibis (above)      American Avocet (below)

Back at the ranch... Our host had a third RV staying with them. The other RVers had an archery set and let Daddy and Asher borrow it. Nice! Target practice in the yard. Check out the shadow in the last photo.

One night this snake slithered past while we were eating dinner outside. We took photos and I researched it, finding out it's a Desert Kingsnake, a snake known for a mild temperment. I decided if I saw it again, we were going to get a closer look. The day we were leaving, Asher spotted him just outside our door. I ran out and picked him up as gently as possible. He did not try to bite or musk. We held him for a bit then returned him to where he was headed. Such a cool opportunity for my kids to learn more about snakes and interact with a wild one.

This was a great base to explore the Chiricahuas, Portal, and visit a hummingbird banding station near Sierra Vista! 

Boondockers Welcome

 

When we aren't traveling, we enjoy hosting other travelers. It's a great chance to meet new people from all kinds of backgrounds and beliefs while giving them a great place to safely park for the night, week, month or more. We are members of Boondockers Welcome which is a platform that matches people who need a place to stay overnight in their RV with people who have appropriate space on their property. It's definitely a nice alternative to sleeping in Walmart or Cracker Barrel parking lots on long hauls and some hosts let you stay long enough to check out the area. Members can stay from 1-5 nights free. It may be just a safe place to park or they may offer full hookups. When you host, you earn membership rewards. After just one year of hosting, we've already earned a lifetime membership plus other goodies like certificates and t-shirts. We've used it to stay with people in Connecticut, Mississippi, Arizona, Montana, North Dakota and California. We've recently upgraded our membership to include Harvest Hosts, which are farms and businesses that allow self-contained RVs to park on their property in exchange for a purchase. 

Our lives have been enriched by the guests we've had stay with us. Twice we've had people come for a few days and end up staying for 5-6 weeks! Many become friends and some even feel like part of the family.

Hosting is great for homeschooling. It's an opportunity for them to introduce themselves and talk to people of all ages. My children learn so much from our guests. So far they've learned to play guitar, do acrobatics on arial silk, they've learned other languages like Hebrew, Spanish, German and in return they now give shows on the silk, teach others ukelele or participate in jam sessions with other musicians passing thru. I've showed many of them how to use the Merlin App to identify birds as they travel and eBird to keep track of what they've seen. We pick up tips on must-see destinations and share our own favorites in return. It's really a great way to connect with people and learn more about their lives. And it feels like we're on vacation when we light a campfire and spend an evening together chatting about travel and life.

When covid first hit, this wonderful couple, Natalia and Stefen, spent six months with us! 

We miss our Sunday discussions over pancakes and guitar lessons!

Journey gave this guest lessons in arial acrobatics and drawing after their yoga session. 

Journey has begun providing pet sitting for some of our guests.

This family from Israel stayed with us for 6 weeks while their truck was in the shop. It gave the girls plenty of time to bond over learning new skills. We were super sad when it came time for them to go.

aMaverick stayed for six weeks and became family. 💜

A jam session with two travelers. They let Journey try their mandolin and fiddle.

Sleeping in Driveways of Strangers {Rhode Island}

We've been living in the RV for almost four years, but here comes a new "first"- sleeping in strangers' driveways! Yes, I'm serious. But it's not quite as weird as it sounds. We are members of a website called Boondockers Welcome which is a matchmaking site of sorts. It's matches people who have RV parking at their home with those who need a place to park their RV for the night. You must be fully self-contained (have a toilet and water, etc) so you don't need to bother the home owners. Some hosts offer amenities like power, water, wifi, even a rare dump station, while others simply a safe place to park. We've had this membership for years, but haven't actually used it until now.

Upon our arrival, the homeowner directed us into our spot for the night and plugged us in. Asher and Journey got out to meet the owners' children. A couple minutes later, the four of them were laughing while giving the trampoline a workout! My kids didn't want to leave, but now that we had arrived in Rhode Island we were anxious to check out Newport's magnificent Cliff Walk before dark.

The Cliff Walk, designated a National Recreation Trail, is a 3.5 mile walkway with mansions on one side and cliffs overlooking the ocean on the other. We chose to begin our walk from Forty Steps.

Salve Regina University's McAuley Hall sits along the cliff walk. Such a fabulous piece of architecture! 

Thru these gates were mansions so regal, they have their own names. The Breakers is just one of the homes along this trail owned by the Vanderbuilts.  The paved trail turns rocks at the Rosecliff mansion (featured in the Great Gatsby movie). This is where we stopped and turned back.

By the time we reached Forty Steps again, the fog was so thick, we couldn't see the water. We headed back to our spot for the night. The family invited us in to chat for a bit. They had recently taken an extended trip out west to some of our favorite places, so we enjoyed looking at photos and sharing stories while the kids played ping pong and LEGO. Our first experience with Boondockers Welcome was a smashing success! Good thing, because our second experience would be with a new host the very next night! But first we drove back to Newport to take a tour of Fort Adams. After arriving early, we ventured out onto the docks in the dense fog. It was eerie to spot only the top sail of a boat in the water not far from us, and fortunately the fog did burn off before we reached the top of the fort.

This Army base opened in 1799 but the fort was rebuilt three times. What you see here wasn't finished until nearly 50 years later. The third and final build was designed by Brigadier General Simon Bernard, a Frenchman who served under Napoleon. He knew all the ways the fort could come under attack and as a result built the most defensible fort in the western hemisphere. In service from 1841 to 1950, thru five major wars, it's amazing that its soldiers never fired a shot in anger. Our tour guide called it the most expensive insurance policy ever!

At 871,200 sqft, the fort is so large, you could fit Fort McHenry, Fort Sumter, AND Fort Ticonderoga inside with plenty of space left over.

This bunk room is reservable to groups like Boy Scouts. 

View of the Newport Bridge from the top of the Fort.

The fort was armed with 468 cannons, 32 and 24 pounder seacoast guns, as well as 24 pounder flank howitzers!

Here we enter the dark, narrow listening tunnels where soldiers would be able to detect the sound of the enemy digging under the perimeter walls. If they did, they could easily pack that particular tunnel with explosives to solve that problem.

Rhode Island is definitely a state I would like to spend more time exploring!