Travel
Bruneau Dunes State Park, Mountain Home, Idaho
Everybody finds a reason to keep looking up at Bruneau Dunes State Park.
First, check out the sand dunes. The tallest stands 470 feet high. Some climbers carry sleds with them and make a sliding return to their starting point. Shorter dunes can be conquered by those who prefer to stay closer to the earth.
Near the dunes, a couple of small lakes welcome nonmotorized floaters such as canoes, kayaks, float tubes, and pontoons. From a boat or from the shore, anglers try to nab legendary bass and bluegill in the waters.
The park itself encompasses 4,800 acres and also is great for horseback riding, bird-watching, and trail hiking.
Kite enthusiasts are another group who look to the skies. Bruneau Dunes has great conditions for flying kites, because a good breeze usually is present.
Bruneau Dunes State Park in Mountain Home, Idaho, offers stellar views such as this one from the park’s observatory
Then there is the ultimate reason for looking heavenward: the heavens themselves. To aid in that pursuit, Bruneau Dunes has a 25-inch Newtonian reflector telescope. Take a look through its lens at galaxies, nebulae, planets, the moons of planets — countless treasures await above. The telescope is set up for visitors on Friday and Saturday evenings from approximately mid-March through mid-October. If a holiday falls on a Monday, the observatory also may be open the Sunday evening before. What a way to spend a night!
And even before the sun goes down, visitors can check the sky with the park’s solar telescope.
A small admission fee is charged for the evening observatory program ($5 for individuals; $20 for a family; $3 for seniors age 62 and up; free for children 5 and under). It starts with an orientation; that way, you know what to look for and what you’ll be looking at.
When it’s time for shut-eye, head for the campground. The park has two RV areas — 82 sites with water and electrical hookups; some pull-through. Showers, rest rooms, and dump stations are available. For camping reservations, call (888) 922-6743, or visit the Reserve America website: https://www.reserveamerica.com/explore/bruneau-dunes-state-park/ID/313035/overview.
When to visit: If you’re here only for the evening astronomy program, the season is not as important; in fact, you can avoid big crowds in late July and August. But beware it is very warm during the day in summer. Sand retains the sun’s heat, so those who want to climb the dunes especially may want to focus on March, April, May, September, or October. Assistant park manager Bryce Bealba said no matter when you are here, be sure to bring plenty of water and wear sunscreen.
For more details:
Bruneau Dunes State Park
27608 Sand Dunes Road
Mountain Home, ID 83647
(208) 366-7919
Email bru@idpr.idaho.gov
www.parksandrecreation.idaho.gov
Bookshelf
At this time of year, many adults recall the delightful days of their childhood, perhaps the weeks spent at summer camp. “Tweens” and other children may eagerly anticipate — or dread — an upcoming camp experience. These thoughts are addressed in the novel A Summer At Camp Floridian.
Author Nancy B. Miller, who has written for FMCA’s magazine, attended summer camps as a child and later worked as a camp counselor. Her book provides insight into life at a coed summer camp as seen through the eyes of first-year counselor Susan Grant. Older readers may remember their own days at summer camp. Children may find it a “clean” how-to guide to solving common problems young campers may encounter.
A Summer At Camp Floridian is available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. To learn more, visit www.nanmillertimes.com.
Campground Spotlight
Nashville Shores Lakeside Resort
Hermitage, Tennessee
Kids love summertime water play. Adults like adventures, too. RVers of all ages can dive into their favorite thing to do at Nashville Shores Lakeside Resort this summer.
Nashville Shores Lakeside Resort in Hermitage, Tennessee, rents campsites right along Percy Priest Lake.
The resort includes eight slides, three swimming pools, a wave pool, and a “lazy river” slow river float experience. Plus, the water park is on the shores of 14,000-acre Percy Priest Lake, where an Aqua Park inflatable playground is set up. It adds tons more fun places to climb, jump, and slide.
Wee kids have their own place to play in the water, too: pint-sized Kowabunga Beach. And aside from lounging or sliding around the water park, adults may want to rent a pontoon boat or try out some rentable jet skis on the lake.
Nashville Shores’ Treetop Adventure Park is a fun challenge, as it offers an adult course, a junior course (ages 9 to 11), and a kids course (ages 7 to 9). The adult course is the most strenuous, with increasingly difficult levels. This is not just zip-lining, but climbing and maneuvering in the trees. Those who make it all the way to the end can claim bragging rights!
Nashville Shores Lakeside Resort in Hermitage, Tennessee, offers family activities at its popular water park.
Stay at the 100-site RV park and you’ll get the $39.99 daily water park admission lowered to $25.99. If you plan to visit more than once in a season, consider a water park season pass for $49.99. The Treetop Adventure Park admission fee is lowered to $26.99 for those staying at the RV park (compared to $49.99).
The sights of Nashville beckon as well. Some of the most popular include the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, the Hermitage (president Andrew Jackson’s home); Ryman Auditorium; Centennial Park, home of the Parthenon replica; the Grand Ole Opry; and many others. The Nashville travel website spells them all out: www.visitmusiccity.com.
Details
Nashville Shores Lakeside Resort, C12154*
4001 Bell Road
Hermitage, TN 37076
(615) 889-7050
www.nashvilleshores.com
*FMCA commercial member