Challis--Summer 2011--Annual Salmon Fishing

We headed up to Challis in the middle of July for our annual salmon fishing! Unfortunately, no one caught any salmon, but of course we had a great time! We went for daily walks/runs, did some hiking, yard games and relaxed the days we weren't on the river fishing.



Our family of four!

Pretty view of a waterfall going over Trail Creek.

Sherry, Em and Chels

Brotherly love...Zac and Jesse hanging out by the fire!

Kyle, Kip and Zac...on the river!

I'm holding on for dear life before heading into the "gorge," life jacket on, butterflies in my stomach! I survived the gorge two times! The second time was a little scarier for me. The water had gone down some, which meant the "waves" were a little bigger and on the last section Kip had an "oar blow out," which meant that we went right through the middle, rather than staying on the side! It was scary for me! But I survived to blog it!

Our trip wouldn't be complete without a good story to tell...remember last year, Kip tried sinking the boat before we even got in. This year there's yet another good story and it doesn't involve hooking, landing or eating an amazingly huge salmon. We stopped at Colston to see Roger, Jerry, Kyle, Debbie and Randy and to see how they were doing and whether or not they had had any luck. Good thing we stopped (or maybe it wasn't), a huge thunderstorm came through with a lot of rain an even some marble sized hail. I don't know exactly what happened to explain it correctly, but what I do know is that Roger said something like "who's boat is that floating by?" And the next thing I remember is Kip running down the bank and everyone jumping in vehicles to go down river. Yes, Kip Fry, amazing fishing guide, helplessly watched as his boat went floating down the river without anyone in it! So, Kip, calm as can be, jumped in his dad's boat with a motor and cruised down the river until he caught up to his boat. Eventually, he was able to get both boats to the bank, Roger loaded up his boat and Jesse, Zac and I jumped in the boat with Kip and continued our float like nothing had even happened. Once it was all said and done with, it made for a great conversation an some good laughs. It was also pretty comical to see all of the passerby's stop along the highway and watch the boat floating down the river personless!

Luckily, just as everything turned out fine when Kip tried sinking his boat, everything turned out okay this time around also! It's turning out to be an annual pattern of a "good story to tell" each salmon fishing trip. I'm scared to find out what next summer will bring!

The calm before the storm....who knew what the day's floating trip had in store for us that day!

Beautiful view of the White Clouds hiking up Slate Creek.

Sherry, Zac and Emily hiking up Slate Creek. Unfortunately, we never made it to the lake we were aimlessly wandering for or the "Great Wall of China," but it was a beautiful day for a beautiful hike with beautiful views.

Most nights we found ourselves enjoying a beer or two, (red beer for me) while playing frisbee golf, croquet, trying to catch water balloons and listening to stories told by Kip Fry. A few nights after the sun went down, we had a fire and roasted marshmallows for smores and enjoyed some biscuits with honey. One night someone had the wonderful idea of launching water balloons straight up into the air for fun, hoping the water balloon didn't land straight on your head. It should be noted, it was dark so even if you tried to look up and follow the balloon, you couldn't see it, so instead you stood the chance of the balloon landing straight on your face. I had a lucky shot of straight up and straight down into the fire pit, all the while Sherry and Debbie were roasting bread. A plume of smoke and steam filled the air and the fire was nearly put out, but when it all settled, Sherry and Debbie were still cooking their bread.

Overall, it was a great trip. We had some great walks and hikes, beautiful weather, some amazing thunderstorms, good fishing stories, and as always great company!