Thoughts on Bruneau Dunes

Hubby and I took our new used motorhome out for a trial run. We plan to spend five months in it so we wanted to make sure everything is in working order before we head out. Our first camping trip took us to Bruneau Dunes State Park. It’s a lovely place with giant sand dunes in an unlikely place, the middle of irrigated fields and sagebrush prairies.
One of the benefits to being retired is being able to camp mid-week rather than just on weekends. In the months before school is out, the campgrounds are not as crowded during the week. It’s quieter and more peaceful.
Bruneau Dunes State Park is relatively close to the Snake River. It’s birding season so binoculars were popular with other campers. The birds’ songs floated all across the campground. It’s such beautiful music, signaling that spring has come and the birds have returned from their long journeys. We heard them, but didn’t go out birdwatching. We had too many other things to do, like cooking and organizing.
We spent one day at Three Island Crossing State Park. It marks the spot where the Oregon Trail crossed the mighty Snake River. Three islands are in the channel. The wagons would cross the river by going between and over the islands. So rather than crossing the wide river in one shot, they crossed three shorter river channels. A small museum in the visitor center sits on a hill above the river. So much history there!
In the small town of Glenns Ferry, we found a small restaurant that served great ice cream, wonderful fudge, and delicious cake. We didn’t stay long enough to try out their ribs, but they sure smelled good. Finding small businesses like this is great fun. I love supporting them.
We stayed at Bruneau Dunes over a Friday night so we could enjoy their observatory program. Several telescopes were set up and people were invited to view the heavens. That night, the moon was dark and the skies were clear so the conditions for viewing were perfect. We mostly looked at star clusters in places where no stars were seen with the naked eye. They were interesting to see, but not as interesting as seeing Jupiter with its red stripes and five of its moons. That was the best thing we saw through the telescopes that night. We also watched the space station go over, but we’d seen that the night before. The previous night, we’d watched it in a wide arc across the sky, staying visible for about five minutes. That was a thrill!
We enjoyed our time out camping. We have plans for lots more of it through the summer. I’ll let you know how it goes.