Fishing in the Sawtooth

After overnighting in Boise, we let the kids loose at Meridian's community park Treasure Valley which boasts both a wet and dry playground, along with a collection of massive percussion instruments the kids can bang.

We cruised up the 55 north to meet the Payette River and took the road east along its South Fork towards the Sawtooth range and the Sawtooth National Recreation Area.

At a national forest campsite that we found on the banks of the South Fork Payette the boys took their monster trucks down into a rock pool someone had made and played in the icy cold water barely warmed by a strong setting sun.

Continuing on in the morning, we found a fantastic snack spot at an empty campground beside a meandering stream and meadow. The boys rode their bike/scooter around the campground while the adults admired the setting. Is there any better stream than a meandering one?

The Sawtooth range jutted its craggy peaks out for us despite the weather closing in and we came across the small township of Stanley at the junction of the 75 and marveled at how they'd managed to construct every building in town to maintain the log-cabin esthetique.

A fishing store in town sold Nath a licence and gave us some advice and so we followed the Salmon River up the 75 to the 'town' of Sunbeam (a restaurant), then left it to take a backroad that continues on north to Bonanza and Custer Ghost Towns.

That's where we found the fantastic little ponds we'd been told about and sure enough the fish were literally jumping out of the water. Surely this would be the perfect spot for the boys to try out their rods for real.

Pretty soon the boys had a fish on almost every cast and though a lot got away, they each landed several - some of which we threw back and some of which we kept.

Indy stuck at it a long time whereas Dash (who is usually the one to stay outdoors beyond rhyme or reason) had had enough after about half an hour.

Thanks to my little fishermen, we had crumbed rainbow trout for dinner - yummo!!

We drove back to a national forest campground not far from that spot and shook our heads in disbelief at the price - $2.50!!! (With our American National Parks pass we get a 50 per cent discount on National Forest campgrounds). But even at $5 that would still win the prize for our cheapest paid-for site yet!

And with a rushing stream beside us!

Both of the boys were keen for more fishing come morning and so we returned to the same spot given the guarantee we had of success and after an even bigger haul than the day before (at which again Indy proved to be the stayer) we returned to the 75 and ventured down to some thermal rock pools that have been formed at the edges of the Salmon River.

The boys ignored our pleas to leave a small group of early 20s tourists alone (Dash wanted to 'plop' the rocks in their pool and run through it swirling up the dirt and mud from the river bed while they just wanted to soak their nubile bodies and imbibe their bottles of grog. Indy just wanted to talk and talk and talk and....)

Sensing the generational divide, and with more tourists arriving that the boys were sure to 'connect' with, we made a hasty retreat knowing that the next week or so will bring us close to thermal action again.

Continuing along the 75 and still following the Salmon River we took a dirt road off the side and were rewarded with a little campsite at the confluence of two different streams - nice!!

The next morning we continued on, checking out the exclusive residences and golf courses of Ketchum and its famous Sun Valley Ski Resort, and as we ventured further south (to Hailey and eventually highway 20) we left the glorious mountain scenery behind for agricultural lowlands.