Lake Winchester, Idaho.
Kris and I took a trip to Winchester Lake State Park in the Idaho Panhandle for some mid-October camping. A couple years ago we had our first yurt-camping experience (Kanaskat-Palmer State Park- WA) and have been anxious to camp in a yurt again ever since!
Initially, we were on the search for a pet-friendly yurt as Kris has two big labs that love to be involved in any and all of the adventures we allow them to go on with us. Introducing: Winchester Lake State Park just southwest of Lewiston, Idaho. The pups didn't end up coming with us, but yours can since this campground has woof-friendly yurts.
I've met many Idahoans that have fond memories of going fishing on this lake, and even when Kris and I were there, most of the docks were occupied by people out enjoying the October sunshine and fishing.
This park is full of gentle hiking trails, picnic spots, and even has spots for you to launch your boat. Even though we were only there for a night we still spotted tons of wildlife and combed as much of the park as we could before we were almost forced to leave.
Each of the yurts are located in the same loop (perfect for groups that want to travel together), 4 yurts together, each with deck, barbecue, picnic table, adirondack chairs, fire pit, and within walking distance to the lake. Note: this experience is essentially GLAMPING- each yurt has heat and lights! In the summer there are showers and toilets, in the fall/winter seasons these bathrooms are winterized and there are outhouses.
Here is the best part: In the summer each yurt comes with a canoe and bikes to use in the park; in the winter, these items are traded for snowshoes!
Kris had arrived during the transition from summer to autumn so we had no canoe (or snowshoes), but we had bikes!
After arriving at our yurt and "nesting" the heck out of it, we decided to take the bikes for a spin around the park.
Even though it was cloudy, the air was fresh, the water was calm and the park was so peaceful. We totally felt separated from the real world!
Kris and I are notorious for packing enough of our belongings to last 3+ weeks. We joked that we'd either be the last of the living at the campground in an apocalypse, or, the first ones murdered for our food and supplies.
We like to be prepared, so we had packed lots of activities like watercoloring, coloring with pencils, card games and our journals- again, are we staying for a month? No. Hey, at least we're happy, right?
Since there were so many wildfires in the Northwest this summer, most state parks had fire bans for the majority of the summer- totally a bummer for campers as it's one of the major parts of the camping experience. We were super happy to take advantage of having a campfire on this trip.
We stayed up late doing camper things like roasting dogs and eating smores. If you want to take smores to the next level like we did, try using Smash mallows that come in different flavors like mint chocolate chip, toasted coconut pineapple, cinnamon churro, or strawberries and cream. We used different flavors of chocolate too like raspberry dark chocolate or sea salt. The sea salt chocolate definitely gives you the salty-sweet combo!
When the coals were starting too cool off and so were we, we headed inside for cards and cider!
I'm fairly certain that if you look up 'yurt' in the dictionary that in the definition, it will say something about requiring bunk beds for its occupants. Both of the yurts we've stayed in have had similar furnishings, including bunk beds! Major Score! It's super fun to feel like kids again biking around the campground, come home and eat smores for dinner because your mom isn't there to tell you to eat a vegetable, climb in your bunk bed and stare up through the yurt's skylight at the stars while you drift off into dreamland.
We were all about our campfire and got it started again the next morning for breakfast.
We made friends with several other campers near our yurt, one nice group offered us homemade fire starters made from old egg cartons, sawdust & candle wax. While on our way to get firewood, a giant family excitedly invited us up to their campsite for a cupcake as they were celebrating a birthday.
We suspected that the perception of our skill level in regards to starting a campfire and, essentially just surviving, was a little bit lower than our actual skill level, but we accepted this kindness and support just the same! The campground definitely had a team mentality...all of us were thrilled to see the others survived the night!
This camping trip was essentially brought to you by Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Oatmeal Cups (Blueberry Hazelnut & Apple Cinnamon), Wild Friends Peanut butter snack pouches (Cinnamon Raisin), Smash Mallows (Cinnamon Churro) and DOMA cold brew coffee. What can we say? We like food and we like sharing with you.
After we packed up and left the yurt, we still wanted to spend some time roaming Winchester Lake State Park, so we headed for the trails.
The sun was shining, the skies were blue, and you can't ask for a better fall day than that.
There are several signs scattered throughout the campground with trail maps, and we decided to follow a trail along the lake's edge. It was gentle, relaxing, and was a great location for viewing birds landing on the lake.
While walking the trails, Kris and I talked a lot about how we were so happy to see all these campers coming together to help one another and how friendly everyone was. Sometimes we can be so busy running around trying to get everything done on our daily to-do list, or racing to and from work that we keep our heads down and barely interact with others.
The slower pace that comes with camping helps us to stop and, not only take in the beauty of our surroundings, but it also brings us all a natural, innate joy to be out in nature.
Just remember, YOU are everyone else's environment. We had such a positive experience camping, partially because other campers in our environment were so friendly and warm.
Kris and I spent a lot of time discussing why we meet new people, and how everyone that we meet must serve a purpose and support us on our journey in some way. I like to say that everyone is a mentor in some way, and is there to teach me something. Stop, and think about that for a moment.
Think about your closest friends. Each has something that they 'bring to your table', or bring to your life. You know when one friend reaches out to you out of the blue to see how you're doing? That's no coincidence, my friends. That's the universe's way of letting you know that they are here to help you and they may have some wisdom that's right for you at the time. Nothing has been more true for me in the last couple months while making decisions for myself regarding my career trajectory.
Kris is in my life to bring me continuous joy, laughter, and adventure. She is my friend that allows me to let out my whimsy-whimsical side and embraces it. She has been there since day one of my journey through food intolerances and even eats what I eat the majority of the time! Give us a camera and we are occupied for hours making useless dumb videos, but at least they make us laugh and give us fond memories to look back on. She teaches me daily to be flexible, positive, and that, even if we don't know it's greener, we STILL want to see the grass on the other side (and probably roll around in it, or lay on it in the sun).
What do your closest relationships bring to your life and to your human experience?
October 2017.