Friday, August 15, 2008

Ponderosa State Park

I mentioned that we took a little trip, it was a wonderful little trip. Friday after work we headed north and spent the night in Twin Falls, Idaho. I had the truck all packed and ready for our fun fun camping trip with our friends from Oregon, Joe and Lindsay. Joe and I joked all spring that we should get together sometime this summer. We figured that about 1/2 way for each of us would be McCall, Idaho. Matt said "okay" much to my surprise, then we picked a date and off we were!


We met at our campsite early Saturday afternoon. We camped at Ponderosa State Park near McCall, Idaho in the Peninsula Campground. It was a nice little campground and the area was beautiful. Joe and Lindsay have a little girl, Addison, that learned many bad habits I am sure from my children over the weekend!




Sorry, there are a ton of pictures, but I couldn't help it. It was so beautiful! After being gone from Oregon and Washington for so long, Utah is looking pretty dry. I loved all the trees and I loved seeing moss growing on all the trees again! It was so nice and green and lush!




Joe and Lindsay were great. They totally took care of the Cranes. They cooked, they cleaned, they let us use all their plates, cups, and dish soap! Actually, there is much more than that, but I don't want to mention how ill prepared or lazy we were!

Our campground was on a peninsula that juts out into Payette Lake. The lake surrounds the the state park on 3 sides and it was so pretty! This was the first night we were there. Joe and Lindsay were putting Addison to bed so we took a little walk right at sunset so she could actually fall asleep.



The water was such a treat for the girls. There is something about a lake that just makes it all so much more prettier and fresher.



This would be a great family picture if it were taken 15 minutes later when the sun had gone behind the mountain. Dang it!


My two little dare devils found this fallen tree on our walk and they both promptly climbed up it. Kelsey stopped and sat down when she got scared, but little Kendal is fearless and just kept going. It was making me SO nervous!




Did I mention how pretty it was there?


The park has a few bike trails so Sunday morning we decided to head out on a bike ride. We weren't sure where we were headed, we had taken a look at the map and knew where the trails went, we just weren't sure which one we were going to take.

We ended up taking the longest one to a few lookout points on the very end of the peninsula. When I read "lookout point" I thought, that means it is on TOP of the mountain. Well, yes it was. Lindsay said we went on a 5 or 6 mile bike ride that morning and about 1/4 of it was UPHILL!! Very uphill! Kelsey was off her bike, pushing it, and crying as she climbed the hills. I was pulling an extra 35 pounds up the hills with Kendal on the back of my bike and I had to get off a few times and just push. Joe and Lindsay are bikers by heart, they had no problems!


We made it to the overlook and there wasn't much to over look at. The trees were in the way! Our steep, long bike ride was a little anti-climatic!
So we headed off the hill and hit another overlook, now this is an overlook! The lake looked so pretty and it was great to see all the boats on the lake and people playing in the great outdoors.

This overlook made me a little nervous though, there was just a rock outcropping and then cliffs, and then the lake. Matt and Kendal sure liked to test my sanity!

On our way back to the campground, it was all downhill! This is Lindsay.
This is Joe and Addison.


Here is Kelsey and her dad on his new bike he got for Father's Day! He loved it by the way.


After our bike ride we decided to head to one of the beaches we saw on our way. Kelsey was brave with her swimming suit on while the rest of us hung back a little bit.




It didn't take long for me to realize it wasn't ice water and that Kendal needed her suit on or she would weigh 10 extra pounds with her wet sweater. So we played in the water for a few hours. It was so nice. I love the sound of the water. Matt said he wanted to move our tent to the beach so he could hear the water all night. I think it has been WAY too long since we have been to the ocean. What do you think?








A Sunday afternoon nap was needed after our bike ride and our swimming adventure. I borrowed my sister's DVD player so the girls could watch movies while we drove and it came in nice and handy for our "quiet time." It is amazing what force for good Dora the Explorer and Diego have on my Kendal!

Monday we headed into town to see the sites and see the shops. Lindsay is an antique girl and I love the quilt shops. Luckily we found one of each. Unfortunately though, my body wanted to get rid of every ounce of food or liquid in my body which was quite a bothersome time. To put it straightforward - I was sick sick sick. It was horrible actually. So I didn't get to spend much time in the cute little quilt and fabric store, but I did get a picture of a quilt that I might sign up for. It is a block of the month quilt. They send you everything for one block every month. I thought it was so cute!

We visited the dock in McCall and the girls loved the water once again! They loved the bears too.
After wandering around town for a few hours with me keeping a restroom within view, we decided to head back to camp. Matt took the girls to the fish hatchery first while I had a snooze in the truck, thus, no pictures.
When we got back to camp, everyone headed down to another beach for the afternoon while once again I had a nice nap in the truck. I didn't get much sleep the night before with all my trips across the campground to the bathroom! So here is the beach party without me.
Joe and Lindsay, thanks for such a great great time! It was so fun to play with you guys. Thanks for letting my girls 'baby and boss' your sweet little Addison too.


If anyone wants a great place to play for a few days, Ponderosa State Park was a beautiful place to visit! Go with friends and it will make it even that much more fun!


7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I loved the pics,,,, as much as I hate being in the water,, I so love the ocean,,, just the sound,, the waves,,,,, its so calming and relaxing.
Sorry you got so sick,,, that could not have been fun. Other than you being sick, it looked like a fun trip.

Jenny said...

Is Matt doing a "Paris Hilton" pose in that one picture? I love your pictures, they all are fantastic and it looks like a great time. I do miss the green of beautiful lush trees and undergrowth! WOW, I think we might live in the desert!

Krista said...

Looks like you guys had a lot of fun. I also love the pictures. I have an Aunt and Uncle that live in Twin Falls and so we go up to Lake Alturis every once in awhile. Idaho is a beautiful state. I would love to go into Oregon and see it.

acrane said...

Looks like you had a great time you needto brnig ¥our bikes when you come down and we can go for a ride.
Your pictures are fun and you didn't take to many!

Spencer's Adventures said...

It sounds like youguys have had a very fun - outdoor summer! I love it!

Unknown said...

That place looks like a lot of fun, and so beautiful too. That quilt is really cool. Glad you had a great time, except for the sick part, no fun there! Love the pictures, you can never take to many!

ToRi and cReW said...

So beautiful, so green! I am so happy that you guys got to do on a normal vacation!!

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