Law & Order: Farragut State Park

Walter and I usually take a spring trip to Farragut State Park in Idaho. It is a lovely place to go before Memorial Day and after Labor Day (mid-week is always best). We went to Farragut this past week and had the craziest camping trip of all time.

We got one of our favorite spots in the Whitetail Campground and had been there for about an hour when we heard a loud truck pull into the spot next to us. Then a really loud motor started up and this guy started tearing through the campground on this weird 6 wheel amphibious vehicle. Later when Walter and I were taking a walk the guy talked to me and asked if dogs had to be on a leash. I told him yes. He had three dogs and no leashes. Then he took off in his truck, came back and then left the dogs tied up with ropes and chains. The dogs howled and cried. He was gone for 2 hours. When he came back he untied them and they promptly ran off and he could not find them. Then he left again (I found out later he kept driving down to Bayview to the bar).

Meanwhile, the park rangers were looking for him and it was sort of like the Keystone Cops. Oh, and did I mention that he had a lawn mower in the back of his truck but no camping gear? The ranger found one dog, a puppy, under the trailer of some other campers. While his dogs were running around they kept coming over to my spot and Walter was not happy. He kept coming back and then leaving, missing the ranger each time. Finally he came back around 9 and was yelling at his dogs and running the engine of his weird little vehicle.

I was not afraid of the guy even though he seemed nuts, but I was very irritated. I wanted to go to sleep so at 10:00 after listening to him for far too long, I packed up my tent and went to a different campground. I left a few dishes, my tarp, and two chairs there. The plan was to go to the office in the morning and see if he was staying another night. If not, then I would stay in Whitetail. The next morning he was gone but had left his 6 wheeler. He had evidently been driving it through the campground over picnic tables and boulders. He had also left with my dishes and chairs.

In the end, the park ranger finally caught up with him and gave him some citations and kicked him out of the park. The sheriff showed up as well and I filed a report about my stuff (just to cause him more trouble). There was valuable. My sister and I fished one of the chairs out of the garbage at Glacier several years ago but I had a sentimental attachment to it. They found him at the bar but I do not know the end of the story. The sheriff and I played phone tag and I have not heard back.

I ended up moving to the Waldron Campground and finally had some peace and quiet by noon. Then I took a nap. Walter and I had a short hike in the afternoon and a nice dinner and fire. And it was really quiet. The night time temp was in the 30s so we snuggled up under a couple of sleeping bags. We left early so I could make it back to town by noon for a work meeting. Not sure when we will be getting out again. The weather has been pretty crappy. The lowlands are flooded and the higher elevations still have a lot of snow. I am totally ready for some hot summer days.