GW Brew + Frolf Tour Pt III; Idaho..Hot Springs and Hazelnut Beer

We blaze North into Idaho.

Pocatello, Blackfoot, Idaho Springs, Rigby.

Camp between Rigby and Rexburg;

at Beaver Dick Park.

We stay the night at this ($5) park with a cute little pond, as our attempts to find other (free) campsites failed.

We camp-grill macaroni and cheese, and went to sleep.

We packed up early and go North towards Salmon.

Mud City is on the way...so is Leadore.

There is a tiny bar; it says "welcome hunters"

When we go inside there is no one in there. It is clearly a house converted into a bar, and there are knick-knacks everywhere.

A Chihuahua loses its mind bork bork borking. An elderly lady makes her way behind the bar and offers us a beer from the bar adorned with snow globes and photos of dogs that preceded the Chihuahua.

She is full of stories; this is her house/bar. The bar ceiling is covered in signatures.

It was entirely unusual and surreal.

I order a beer and listen to Shannon talk about back home (Portland) and what Mud City is like.

We finish our drinks and go next door.

"Hey we met Shannon"

There are a few customers, and everybody knows her of course (small town).

It is an eccentric place as well. A bar and laundromat. The owner is bartending, and he says the place just sold. The new owner is renaming it the Painted Pony.

We have a beer there too, and drive on out of this little town.

Salmon. Only 3000 people, but we had a real good time in this area.

Day 1 we find Bertrams Brewery. It looks like a grandparents home from the inside. Pinkish wallpaper, knick knacks, dark wooden furniture..there is a restaurant in front.

I get a "nutsac". A local favorite, it tasted like Nutella. It was a combination of their hazelnut brown ale and sacagewea stout. One of the best beers I've ever had.

We look for a disc golf course we read about online, but give up after nearly an hour of driving back and forth on a narrow rutted gravel road.

Back to town. We check out the Owl Club.

The owl is filled with arrows and a patron tells us that it's a tradition for the local high school kids.

No one knows about the disc course.

We meet an older guy (Cal) who beats Tyler in pool.

He says we can camp in his yard. We follow him there.

The yard is filled with campers and tires and whatnot. The grass is dead. Hasn't rained much.

But he has a potted garden that is alive and well.

Inside is a geological wonder. Rocks and geodes and high-grade magnifying glasses.

But Cal says he has a PhD in astrophysics. Used to work for NASA.

Whoa.

We go back to the Owl Club. Some patrons say there's a private disc course in town, so we find it.

There are some people playing, and they let us join in. We have to drive across a foot of water to get to it, and I am surprised we don't get stuck.

There is a hunting hound and several other little dogs. These people are so friendly. One has a coors light tattoo. They all have little ragged children running around.

They're all very friendly. We play twice, and it's starting to get dark.

They tell us we can camp there, and we set up the tent next to a river, cook dinner, and go to bed.

In the morning we pack up and look for Goldbug Springs--public, natural springs I've read about.

It takes us a while to find it...and when we do, it's a 2.5 mile hike. A super steep hike. Through these mountains. Right between them is where the trail is:

And it's soooo worth it. At least 15 tiny waterfalls cascading down the mountain...some pools are hot, some are cold.

They are clothing optional. I take advantage. Tyler doesn't.

We head East to Missoula, where we go to a concert (Widespread Panic) and the Missoula Museum of Art and Culture.

We frolf one more disc golf course, and camp in Lolo National Forest.

Then..back to the Black Hills of SD.

I've been gone 2 months.