Road Trip 2016 - part 4 Hells Canyon

Leaving Missoula, we headed down Lolo Pass and cruised into Clarkston, Washington. A few years ago my dad was on a guided fishing trip in Hells Canyon, so we wanted to take a jet boat ride. We booked a half day trip with Snake River Adventures and had an awesome day.

We left the dock about 10 am. Our group had about 25 people in it. It was a beautiful day on the river. The boxed lunches were generous, we learned a lot about the history of the canyon and saw some wildife. It was just a great way to spend the day.

Snake River

Rafters

Mirror Image

Mama Bighorn with babies

Chillin in the shade

Gobbler

Petroglyphs

Leaving Clarkston, we headed home. 

Road Trip 2016 - Part 2 Idaho

From Oregon we headed into Idaho and spent about a week wandering through the state. We spent one night in Hagerman at the Hagerman RV Village. We also checked in at the Hagerman Fossil Beds Visitors Center, but didn't make it to the overlooks. It was incredibly hot that day, so we opted to lay low.

Another NPS site I wanted to visit was Craters of the Moon National Monument. It was really interesting. NASA actually trained astronauts here before the moon landing in 1969.  And Arco, Idaho was the first community in the world to be lit with electricity generated by a nuclear power.

Inferno Cone

Lava field

Vegetation in the lava field

Art installation - Lava Tube

After a couple days in Arco we headed north to Challis and camped along the Salmon River. We also enjoyed the pools at Challis Hot Springs. The hot springs were amazing. It was so nice to just float in the 99 degree water. The springs fill the pools through the ground and then needs to be cooled. 

Salmon River near Challis, ID

From Challis, we wandered just a bit further north to North Fork, Idaho and camped another night along the Salmon River. We stayed at the Wagonhammer RV Park, which was celebrating it's Lavender Festival. We took a little drive to do some wildlife viewing.

Salmon River near North Fork, ID

Elk grazing

Pronghorn

Leaving Idaho, we headed across the border into Montana.

Road Trip - Wrapup

So, we left Coeur d'Alene on the 14th, traveling south on Hwy 95 to Lewiston, Idaho where we crossed the Snake River and stayed in Clarkston, Washingtion. For those who have never been to Lewiston/Clarkston, the towns are located in a deep gulch. There are tons of signs on the road down warning about steep grades and brake failure. And it's hot. When we left on Sunday morning, it was 87 degrees at 9:30.

While we were in the area we took a little drive over to Spaulding, Idaho to the visitor's center at the Nez Perce National Historical Park. The park is huge and encompasses sites in multiple states. The visitor's center does have a nice exhibit of Nez Perce history and artifacts. We had a good visit but it got a little crowded when a huge bus pulled up with an ElderHostal tour.

On Sunday we continued south and west to Pendleton, Oregon. Pendleton is like many small towns where Sunday is a slow day. We did drive into town to see the rodeo grounds which will host the 100th Pendleton Roundup next month. And we visited Hamley & Co.. We also spent a couple hours at the http://www.wildhorseresort.com/ after dinner.

Today was a long pull home. We stopped for lunch at the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center in The Dalles. My last trip to the center was probably ten years ago. Mom and Dad had never been, so it was good stop. Then we ran into paving on I-84, which made the trip longer than it should have been.

The bottom line is we had a good trip. In eleven days we drove 1400 miles in three states in the motorhome. We put another 700 on the car in four states doing side trips and short runs to town.

Road Trip - Coeur d'Alene, ID

Yesterday's travel took us just down the road to Coeur d'Alene. We are staying at an RV park on the Spokane River. Today we took in the sights. Our morning started at Cabela's in Post Falls. For those who haven't been to one, it's a sporting goods mega store similar to Bass Pro Shops. This was our first visit to Cabela's. And we did a good job with the shopping.

After leaving Cabela's, we drove to what used to be one of the largest outlet malls. It's sad, but today, the mall is like a ghost town. The majority of the shops are empty, which was discouraging. As a result, we headed downtown. We did a bit more shopping, but the one thing I really wanted to do was walk the "longest floating boardwalk" at the Coeur d'Alene Resort. I remember on previous trip we actually came across the lake, tied our boat to the dock and walked it then.

Road Trip - Hope

And no, that's not a sentiment. It's a town in Idaho on the north shore of Pend Orielle Lake, about 18 miles from Sandpoint. It's been nineteen years since we were last here and many things have changed. Two things, however, stay constant: The lake and the deer.