For the past couple of springs, Chris has gone sage rat hunting with a group of friends from work out in Kimberly, Oregon. He always comes home and tells us how beautiful it is and how much we would enjoy it out there. I’ve always just kind of brushed him off. The campground they stay at, Big Bend Campground, is first come, first serve, right along the John Day River. The drive is over four hours away, there is no potable water, you must pack out all your trash, and there is only one pit toilet. Sounds enticing, doesn’t it?

Well then Covid hit, leaving us to cancel our long trip of the summer to visit Teton National Park. Since Chris already had the time off of work, he finally convinced me to check it out. And I’m so glad he did; it ended up becoming one my my most favorite locations we’ve camped at.

We invited my brother and his family to join us. Their oldest is newly 4, and one of Josie’s very best friends. Fun fact: when Josie is upset at home, she often tells us she no longer wants to live with us and instead wishes to live with Idara. Their youngest is now 1 year old, though he was just 9 months old for this trip.

After an almost five hour drive, we made it to the middle of the state. We drove through some beautiful country. The Columbia River Gorge, wheat fields as far as the eye can see, windmill farm after windmill farm and beautiful forested land.

Upon arrival, the campground doesn’t seem like much. You pull into a gravel drive and head straight downhill toward the sites. There are four available spaces, two of which were occupied. I let out a sigh of relief that there were in fact two available spaces though. The one Chris stays in with his friends is on the far end and most desireable, was unfortunately already taken. So we opted for the next one over, which ended up being perfect.

We got the car parked, and Henry announces he needs to use the restroom. So he and I hike back up the hill we drove in on to use the only pit toilet. It’s an outhouse, but very well kept and very clean. He gets his pants down to his ankles and just as he’s about to hoist himself on to the seat, I see a baby rattlesnake in the corner.

Not wanting to alarm him, I casually ask him to not get on the toilet and instead walk toward me and out the door. Once he was out I showed him and we both slightly panicked. I called for Chris down the hill, and between his Leatherman and his Romeos the snake was no longer an issue. However, it remained an issue for Henry (and Josie) who all subsequently decided they had no interest in using this toilet. So for the remainder of the trip, they either went to the bathroom behind a tree or in a bag I held under their rear end. Not my finest parenting task, but they were terrified to step foot back into the outhouse. Can’t say I blamed them.

Our second day, we headed South into the John Day Fossil Bed National Monument area and hiked the Island in Time Trail. It was warm and sunny, but only 1.3 miles out and back. The fossils and different rock formations along the way were really neat for the kids (and adults!) to see. We then returned to camp for some fishing, wading into the river, catching crawfish and making dinner.

On day two, my brother and his family stayed behind for a relaxing day at camp. The six of us loaded up into the car and headed south again, back into the John Day Fossil Bed area. Our goal for the day were the Painted Hills portion of the monument. Our first stop was the James Cant Ranch. Due to Covid, this and all the other museums were closed. But we wandered around the property, peeking in windows and exploring an old barn. We then continued on to the Painted Hills.

We stopped for lunch at the small Visitors Center area in a cool, grassy area full of shaded picnic tables. We spotted a ranger popping in and out of the little museum, and were able to talk him into a stamp for our passport books. Those of you that travel to multiple National Parks, know how much we love our passport books! They help us keep track of all the parks we’ve been to and when. So to get a stamp while the entire country was shut down felt like a major accomplishment. I digress..

After lunch, we drove into the hills. They were beautiful, and like every other park we visit, the pictures do zero justice. We hiked up Overlook Trail for a full view of the hills. We then did the Painted Cove Trail, which was an easy hike full of boardwalks along the bright red rock. Afterwards, we made the trek back to camp.

That evening, we had put the kids to bed and the four of us sat around a small campfire visiting and discussing current events. Shortly before we were ready to turn in, we heard a couple of cars heading our direction on the highway. They slowed down and made the turn into the campground. Driving quick in clunky cars, one pulling a trailer, they sped toward our campsite. Headlights centered on us, they came to a stop, quickly reversed, and returned back to the first spot within the park. I’m a big fan of true crime podcasts (I only listen in daylight hours), and I’d certainly been listening to far too many. I thought for sure this would be the end of us. I knew they were out to get us! So we turned in for the night, but I don’t think I got a wink of sleep that night. I thought for sure they’d be back to get us. I kept looking at my watch thinking how much closer we were to daybreak. At one point, my oldest’s watch started flashing a green light. I jumped out of my sleeping bag thinking it was someone using a night vision style flashlight (again, too much true crime, I know). It was quite a relief to find it was just a fitbit. We made it through the night unscathed, and I was awfully tired the next day.

The remainder of our trip included lots of fishing, crawfish catching, wading into the river, skipping rocks, and generally enjoying the outdoors. In addition to being in a beautiful area, we were also just grateful to be out and about after being on lockdown for the three previous months. We were very cautious, kept our distance from others, and used lots of hand sanitizer.

Take me back!!