You Are Not at the Top of the Food Chain Here, so Better Run Fast!!
That’s right: The Wolf, the Coyote, the Fox, the Bear, the Cougar: you are not at the top of the food chain here, so Run Fast.
That’s the start of the registration form for the River of No Return Endurance Race. Marsha and I signed up for the 100 kilometer run. And if you believe that, I have some beach front property in Arizona to sell you. We knew nothing of this race, but it may be the only thing Challis is known for. Small town in the middle of high desert, very dry yet green because of the Salmon River running through it. They water continuously to keep the fields green, but it is surrounded by dry landscape. With the heat wave the country is having, it could be 100 degrees tomorrow for this run. Can you spell CRAZY!
We came to this area because we read about the Hot Springs. Man, what a find! We have tried a couple of Hot Springs in Montana, but this one was so nice. It’s a good 5 miles out of town, right on the Salmon River, and has two hot pools – one around 100 degrees and one about 108. The grounds, because they water a lot, are very green. Due to the race, they were sold out, but it was still a quiet place. Our campsite was right across the street from the river.
The pools are a natural springs. They need no cleaning or chlorine as the intake is so great it replaces the water every hour or so. It continuously bubbles up from the rocks below. It comes in at 112 degrees, so they are always adding well water to maintain a more tolerable temperature.
The pools were a short walk from our campsite. The grounds had a few older buildings that were very cool.
But more importantly, the Cat.
The town was very small, but we did find a local breakfast place (doing a brisk business) and a nice coffee place (not so brisk as it sits at end of town on quiet street). They won’t retire on us, but we do like supporting the local mom and pop places.
We enjoyed our time here and it was great taking daily hot tubs. Especially after a 100m km race – man did we need that! And remember the beach front property I have for sale. It was a very quiet and relaxing spot and we hope to see it again. Now onwards to Boise.