City of Rocks

 I've been trying to plan a trip to City of Rocks in Almo, ID for 2 years. Every time I plan a trip we cancel it for one reason or another. Last week, we finally made it. It's only 2.5 hours from us and it's a National Reserve. There's also Castle Rock which is an Idaho state park just right by the entrance to City of Rocks.  First things first—make sure you have a full tank of GASOLINE before you exit the main highway. I mean this place is out in the legit middle of absolute nowhere. 

It's a cool place to see. You're driving out in the middle of all these Idaho farms and it feels like there's just nothing out there. I'm talking dirt roads. I couldn't believe we were in any sort of national place. There was no entrance booth. The visitor center wasn't even in the actual reserve area. 

Driving in, you just all the sudden see these giant rock formations and boulders sticking out. It's really cool. I didn't realize there's a history attached as well. It's the old California wagon trail and you can see pioneer names written on rocks. 

Our campsite was on the complete opposite side of the park then where we entered in. It was up in the mountain and not on a rock formation. There was a long drive from the main road in to our site. But we were so secluded. The most secluded campsite I've ever been to inside of a park. We couldn't hear anyone else. It was so peaceful and beautiful. The fall colors were spectacular. Most of the other camp sites were just off the rock formations which would have been really fun too. Especially for the kids to be able to climb around on the rocks. 

We drove down a few times for the kids to climb on the rocks. We did a couple short hikes (walk really) to check out an arch and walk around the rocks. There was also a solar eclipse while we were there which was fun to see. My good friend Carissa and her family came down for the day one of the days to hang out which was also really fun. 

It was such a fun trip. The kids loved climbing around on the rocks. We love camping in the fall. It's less crowded and we just always have such an enjoyable time together as a family. I think it might have been our last trip this year until next season though which makes me really sad. I fully cleaned out the camper when we got home and washed the bedding and did my indoor version of 'winterizing' it.