This bucket list recap post has taken me the longest to write! Probably because it was such an anticlimactic event….ha. We actually completed this item in late fall, long before Idaho was covered in a fresh white snowfall like it is right now.

The Bruneau Sand Dunes are an Idaho State Park about an hour south of Boise. It holds the title for “Tallest Single-Structured Sand Dune in North America” with a peak of 470ft. The surrounding area is primarily desert and Dunes Lake. It’s a popular area for camping and even includes a little observatory.

Many people take day trips to this unique area with sleds to play with on the dunes. They are very steep, so it would be a good workout to climb up and then enjoy the fun ride on the way down.

The area can get pretty windy and since it’s made up of SAND, we didn’t want to bring our baby with us. She didn’t need to risk getting any sand in her eyes! We left her in great hands at home and had a day-date.

We packed out red snow sleds and a cooler with some snacks. The drive down took about an hour, and we stopped in Mountain Home for some iced coffees.

Once we got to the sand dunes, we saw only a handful of other families sledding down the sand structures and saw the vast landscape as one big playground!

Unfortunately we learned pretty quickly that our plastic snow sleds were not the ideal mechanism to glide down the hills. I didn’t realize we would have issues getting traction. I thought the steepness of the dunes and the smoothness of the sand would allow pretty much anything to breeze along. It seemed as though I was very wrong….the friction on the bottom of our sleds made them stick completely into the sand and not want to budge. We tried running starts, scooting along with our feet, pushing each other to get momentum. Nothing.

We tried several times, even tried just “sliding” down on our slick vests but the sand dunes were picky with what they would let glide down.

Apparently during warmer months, there is a state park office that rents out sand-appropriate sleds which we will have to utilize next time. :)

Since we’d made the drive all the way out there, we spent some more time just hiking up and down the hills to get a little workout in. My tennis shoes were filled with sand by the end! We finished our iced coffees on the drive back home and reunited with our girl.

Now we are officially caught up from my bucket list report-out from 4 months ago! Recently I’ve been planning Brynnley’s first birthday party, which we are quickly approaching. I’m really excited about the theme and decorations that I came up with and I can’t wait to see it all come to life & share with you. For now, I think we might go enjoy some of this fresh snow while it lasts because there doesn’t seem to be any more in the forecast for the foreseeable future!