Just about 180 miles south west of the west entrance to Yellowstone lies a little tucked away gem of excitement called Lava Hot Springs.

We put it on the itinerary because of the hot springs which run anywhere from 105 to 112 degrees farenheit… little did we know there was much much more fun to be had here.

Next up, the crazy public pool with 2 massive curly slides, 2 3 story speed slides, 5 diving boards, and 3 diving platforms of 5, 7, and 10 meters!

Finally, we come to our tubing adventure, of which we have no photos, sadly. It turns out the Portneuf river which runs right through town and past our KOA campground is rated the best river for tubing in the US, go figure! Our first run was great, we had a quad raft/tube and set off down the river over at least 6 sets of rapids, some were pretty insane, possibly class 2/3 rapids, but we handeled them. Supposedly back in the spring the river was closed due to snow cap runoff flooding the river creating class 4 rapids.

So, after one run, Jackson and Carrie decided to sit out the remainder of our two runs and headed next door to the hot springs. Lily and I traded in the quad raft for a more mobile two seater… first run- success! 2nd run, not so much… we tipped after the 4th rapid and ended up being dragged down stream for what seemed at least 45 seconds to a minute. We sustained minor cuts and bruises all over our shins, and eventually got back onto our float and made it to safety, my flip flops were lost… in the end Prestons 2 – Portneuf River 1, doesnt feel like a victory though, but ine heck of a memory we shall have!