Pollock

Payette River 

Yesterday morning we packed up and left Boise (a suburb called Eagle).  Boise wasn't to our liking - with it being the capital of Idaho, lots and lots of people. The campground we were in only allowed enough distance between RVs that if you stood between 2 and spread out your arms, you could touch one RV to the other.  Grace had a good time...the Class A (motorhome) beside us had a cat and the two stared at each other all day.  Did you know that Boise (boy - zee) is French for trees?  When the French Canadians came through the area in the 1700's they were amazed when after crossing the rolling barren hills of southern Idaho found lots of trees along the Snake River.  Thus calling the area Boise.

Was tough getting out of the spot....took some maneuvering on Dave's part, very frustrating and nerve wracking.  Thought we broke the hitch in the truck at one point. We were literally shaking by the time we got out of the spot and stopped at the front to drop off the garbage.  Stared driving north on State Route 55 called the Payette River Scenic Byway.  And they were right - beautiful!  Raging river along side us all the way.  Crossing in and out of small towns, back into canyons and out into meadows, back into canyons.  Just breathtaking. We saw snow capped mountains all around and rain in the distance, scenery you see in a magazine.  Once we got to Canyon Pines RV Park (where we are now in Pollock) we were so pleased - we are right on the Little Salmon River which is just racing by us.  The sound this river makes - mesmerizing. If you could fly directly due east about 40 miles, we are exactly the same latitude as Waggonhammer RV Park we stayed at last July on our way to Montana.  Only thing that separates the two campgrounds is the Sawtooth Mountains - the same mountains Lewis and Clark crossed over during their 1804-1806 expedition.

Our view out of RV 

Although our ride was only 135 miles from Eagle to Pollock, it felt very, very long.  Narrow twisty road, steep drops into the canyons and huge inclines out, then about 30 miles from our present site the fault warning came on in the truck telling us that something was wrong with the trailer wiring.  Nothing we could do until we get settled in but in the meantime our senses were even more heightened, anticipating something to go very wrong.  Thank goodness, nothing else happened.  Dave will have to do some investigating, cleaning wires, etc before we head out again.

We are near a wilderness area call Hells Canyon National Wilderness, borders Washington and Idaho, which is a sportspersons mecca.  Swimming, rafting, canoeing, fishing, ATVing, boating, hiking, camping, etc. is all in this area.  Will go about 10 miles farther north to the town of Riggins today to see what specifically we can do (interested in doing hiking and photography of scenery). And once we get to Riggins, our time zone changes to Pacific Time.  Will be flopping the clocks back and forth during our stay.  We plan to be here about 8 days, maybe a little longer if we like this area.  We have to be miserly in our water usage - do not have sewer hookup and therefore will have to take shorter showers and use paper products in order to minimize dishwashing.  But - we LOVE our view!

Snake River and Birds of Prey

Swan River Dam on Snake River

Yesterday we visited a birds of prey conservation area and interpretive center located in Boise.  The Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area and Visitor's Center displayed 10 live birds of prey in cages, Boise area being the largest concentration of eagles, falcons, hawks, kites, osprey, condors, owls and vultures found in North America. This is a breeding center for most birds of prey and we saw two California Condors on display and remembered that we saw the condors while at the Grand Canyon.  This is also the headquarters for the World Center for Birds of Prey - Peregrine Foundation which strives to get the Peregrine off the endangered list by education and resources.  Lots of money here. The cages are built in such a way that you could not take pictures due to the grating and fencing - but also to protect the birds, did not take long to go through the center.  Disappointing. We are spoiled because we compared this center to the very familiar with Back To The Wild Rehab Center in Castalia, Ohio where they take in injured birds and animals with the intent to return them to the wild once healed. Money in the Boise location and the Castalia is a donation-only organization.  Sat in on a show where the handler explained that no, they do not rehab here, this is strictly an education center when asked by me how that bird came to the center - was it hurt (someone had the vulture as a pet and had it chained up and with bad diet, game warden confiscated it and in turn donated it to the center). Were told - if we had time - to drive to a natural habitat to find these birds of prey at the Snake River in the wild, and this drive was also recommended by a fellow camper to go do.  So glad we did!  Made up for the not-so-good feeling of the center.

View of Dam from South side of Snake River

Traveled about 40 miles south of Boise to the Swan Falls Dam and Power Plant on the Snake River.  Breathtaking.  Drove down a STEEP narrow road into the gorge and again - timing is everything - the power plant had an open house that day where you could visit the museum located inside the old section of the hydroelectric plant.  The museum had great photos of how the dam was constructed in 1900, the renovations it went through, and how life changed with the advent of electricity.

View of Snake from on top of the Dam

Then walked across on top of the dam to the other side. The view of the river and surrounding cliffs was magnificent.  We could have traveled the dirt road alongside the river for a couple of miles but opted to go back up on the cliff and walk the interpretive trail to get other scenic shots looking down into the canyon. Lots of people canoeing, boating, swimming, fishing, having a nice day on the river. Great day for being outside but alas - did not get to see any birds of prey while there.  How did the pioneers get across the Snake River?  How did they do it?

View from the rim looking west  

Boise, Idaho

Snake River near Twin Falls

Left Cactus Pete's Casino in Jackpot, Nevada yesterday morning in chilly 40 degree temps.  Brr.  Had to have the heaters on all night.  Again traveled US route 93 north into Twin Falls, Idaho and then picked up Interstate 84 west to Boise, Idaho. Sad to leave 93 - was a great trip.  Traveled extensively on it last summer through eastern Idaho.  The total mileage for this section of the trip was 194 miles, comfortable, but still long.  When you only travel 64 miles an hour, it does take longer than a car.

Crossed over and back a number of times the Snake River.  Lots of history between Twin Falls and Boise, Idaho - the Oregon Trail and the California Emigrant Trail (California Gold Rush) passed through this area before breaking into two different routes.  Lots of wineries along the river.  Very gently rolling landscape but quite a drop down along the river then back up.  The truck had to really work to get us back out of the canyons of the river at times.

Snake River  

We have come down in elevation, now sitting at 2631 feet.  But will go back up once we head north next week.  It has been challenging the last couple of moves - when I opened up a bottle, say of toothpaste or of hand cream, the liquid would quickly squirt out - the difference in elevation caused a vacuum in the bottles.  Even saw this with mustard jar when it was opened - blurp!

We are at a campground just north of Boise, Idaho - in a town called Eagle.  Looks pretty affluent, lots of stores and restaurants and large homes. Lots of construction going on here also.  Hi Valley campground is a very tight-spaced configuration - had to have the management cut some branches down to our site so we wouldn't rub the top or sides of the unit and risk damaging the RV.  We will stay here for a week because trying to get into another campground over Memorial Weekend would be impossible to find an opening.   We are camping near the capital of Idaho and in a suburb of the city, we are surprised how quiet this place is.  For the first time no sounds or lights to bother us at night.  Amazing.

Jackpot

Ruby Mountains

Packed up this morning and drove 185 miles north on Rte 93 to a small town called Jackpot.  In Nevada, right on the border of Idaho. As of this afternoon we are 786 miles from our winter home in Picacho, Arizona.  Not bad for being out only 15 days!  We are actually parked in a casino's RV park, the casino is called Cactus Pete's and the RV park associated with it is called Saguaro RV Park.  If it wasn't for the 786 miles north I would say we are back in the Tucson area.

Deer migration tunne

The ride north was uneventful, riding along on a basin (remember - basin, ridge, basin, ridge?) and only went through one set of ranges (mountains) to get here.  Did cross under 2 deer crossing bridges.  The powers that be decided that animals should not be hit by cars and trucks and therefore they built these overpasses for the deer to use during their migration times and not get killed.  This particular tunnel was decorated with tiled hoof prints - pretty neat.  We saw a number of these underpasses in Wyoming and Montana last year for elk and pronghorn.

Independence Mountains

But the scenery - beautiful.  We remarked -  look at the snow and it's almost June.  The most spectacular set of mountains that we followed was the Independence Mountains with peaks as high as Wheeler Peak.

Another pretty cool thing - we watched another RV from the park we were in pack up and leave about 45 minutes ahead of us.  And guess what?  They pulled in here about 45 minutes after we did.  Small world.  Will we go to the casino and loose money?  No, have no plans to.  Only to visit their restaurant for breakfast tomorrow morning.  This little trip here is just an r-n-r stay - we will leave Thursday morning for Boise, Idaho where we will stay put through the holiday weekend.  Then move on again.

All Aboard!

Steam Train Ride in Ely, Nevada

The Nevada Northern Railway is the last of its kind - the sole survivor from a grand era of railroading in Nevada.  This is a National Historic Landmark and we purchased tickets to ride on one of the last working steam trains left in the country.  We got dirty and gritty from the cinders of the smoke billowing out of the stack, heard the whistles of times long ago, and had a wonderful 2 hours riding up to a ghost town of Ruth and then returned back to Ely.  We spent most of the ride on the open gondola car - was more scenic but way more gritty.  Got a nose full of cinders and could taste the stuff much later in the evening.  This ride was the real deal, nothing imitation, no fake or reproduction - everything we saw was the original engine or car or whatever.  Even the machine shop had the original tools and equipment to repair these big magnificent machines.

Our Conductor on the open gondola car 

At first we thought this train ride would be disappointing......we have been on other train rides and they were boring.  But we had a big WOW factor with this ride.  First class operation.  Even though we traveled 8 miles an hour up a hill and through two tunnels (the conductor got angry with the engineer on the way back down - we traveled at a whopping 11.8 mph - going too fast for picture taking he said!) seeing old remnants of abandoned mines and structures humbled us when we thought of how far this country has come in terms of mining today and how technology has progressed.  The second largest silver and copper mine was above the ghost town of Ruth and seeing this mine relatively up close was amazing.

After the ride we had a tour guide take us through the machine shop where the trains are restored to their original beauty.  This operation has many dollars budgeted to restore and operate and promote this history from the past.  He explained the other buildings we saw and the function of each.

Going Thru a Tunnel

The tour guide - we surmised he is 86 years old - knew everything that we were looking at.  The age and how that particular engine came to Ely and what it's service was, what happens when an engine broke down and how they fix it, the history of all the engines and cars we saw in various stages of repair and restoration.  And he was never associated with railroads other than as a young boy started his hobby of having an electric American Flyer train set, he sold medical equipment for a living!  We wondered afterward who will carry on this knowledge and craftsmanship of the trains. So much history displayed in this town.

One of the engines we saw in the repair shop was the one used in the Wild Wild West movie and series. The NNR offers ghost train rides, a geology ride, a starlit ride where you can see the night skies - this area of Nevada has one of the darkest nights in the country, a cowboy robbery ride, and of course in December the Polar Express.  You can pay extra and ride with the Engineer, have hands-on experience with the throttle, or you can work on the railroad during a week long program that includes working on the tracks, working on the equipment, or even spend a night sleeping in the working caboose or in the crew's bunkhouse.  Pretty amazing and big WOW!  Absolutely loved the day.    

Wild Wild West!

Great Basin National Park

Map that shows The Great Basin

We traveled to Great Basin National Park yesterday even though when we started out on the 65 mile journey to get to the visitor's center, we had fog and could barely see across the valley to the peaks of the ranges on either side of us and the temp was just a mere 60 degrees.  I did not know much about Great Basin or what it meant. We were this close (ha!) to a national park, why not go?   Now I understand  - basin, range, basin, range, basin, range.  Most of Nevada, parts of western Utah, southern portion of Idaho and the eastern part of California makes up this basin, range, basin, range geological landscape.  This means - see a range of mountains, then see a basin (or valley) below it with dry arid desert climate with no trees but covered in sagebrush, where the drainage of the snow melt from the range comes down into the basin and does not drain to the ocean.  Then the next narrow range of mountains and down to a basin, then across to the next range, then down to the next basin and so on.


 No wonder we have had to cross summits (passes) over mountain ranges.  And these ranges are not small!  Great Basin National Park was founded in 1986 to preserve and educate people on the geology of this area of the planet.  The visitor's center sits at the base of Wheeler Peak, the same peak (or mountain) we saw as we came north from Las Vegas the other day, and had it in our view for over 60 miles.  Wheeler Peak is 13,065 tall.

Pretty mountain spring

Also within this park is the Lehman Cave which is another underground cave that is under the protection of the national parks.  We toured the cave, was okay, but we have seen spectacular caves over the years.  Some of the folks on our tour were blown away with what they saw and we surmised that they had not been in a cave.

After the tour we took the scenic drive up to the summit of Wheeler's Peak.  A drive that started out at 6200 feet and by the time we parked the truck and began the Summit Walk to Stella Lake, we were at 9,960 feet.  Big warnings about taking care not to get mountain sickness which we suffered from when we hiked on the Continental Divide while in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Too much snow!

Did not have to worry about the sickness - there was too much snow still on the ground and we could not see the trail to follow.  Every now and then we would have to cross a snow pack and we sunk to our knees in it, decided after hiking about 1/4 mile to stop - was getting too dangerous and difficult to go on.  We could have gotten lost without any problem - we lost our way coming back down and if it wasn't for the fast flowing stream we saw and still could hear, we might still be up there wandering around!

Sad that we didn't make it to Stella Lake but did get a chance to talk to a ranger who was just coming back from garbage duty at the campground right near the Summit walk, and she said that the park had just opened up this Summit area the day before.  Talk about timing!  She said that it had snowed just a day or so ago, and snow was predicted for tonight also.

Ely, Nevada

Packed up early yesterday morning and left Las Vegas by 8am.  Temperature was already 82, was going to be a scorcher there so we wanted to get on the road and north asap.  Unfortunately we were right in the middle of rush hour traffic for downtown LV and that was nerve wracking, maneuvering the truck and RV through.

The route we took was Route 93 which runs from Alaska to the Panama.  We traveled it for about a month last summer when we picked it up just outside Pocatelo, Idaho and followed it up into Montana.  And we will also follow this same route until we get to Twin Falls, Idaho.  Talk about sparse population.  We drove for many miles before we would see a mailbox.  Then as you scan to see the ranch/house - could not see anything but open meadow and range.  How do people live out there?  Must have to really plan their shopping visits for groceries, etc.  The area that I liked was called Lake Valley which runs between two mountain ranges - the Seaman Range and the Snake Range. We picked up a tall snow covered mountain way in the distance and for over an hour watched it get bigger in our view. Wheeler's Mountain which is right near Great Basin National Park and the Snake Range Mountains at 13,063 feet tall....we picked up the view for over 62 miles away.  Very pretty.

We are exactly half way between Salt Lake City which is to the east, Carson City to the west, Las Vegas south and Twin Falls, Idaho to the north.  Some things to do here, not sure how long we will stay.  Dave was very exhausted last night - drove 294 miles and his arms and hands were hurting from holding onto the steering wheel while driving through the mountain passes.  Day temps are high 70's and night time is low 40's.  Of course, we are also at 6,285 feet altitude.  Snow on the mountain ranges all around us.

Poor Air Conditioner!

Lights change every 5 seconds

I like the blues best!

We immediately put on the air conditioner (a/c) in the 5th wheel RV yesterday, about 1pm, and it worked and worked and worked. Never shut off until 3am this morning.  It is so dry here in Las Vegas that typically you see moisture coming out of an a/c, dripping down the sides of the RV.  Not a drop.  And it's very dark inside...we have pulled down all the shades and put out the awning to try to shield the sun off the sides and windows.

As I type this at 2pm today, I am looking at the outside temp of 102.  And the heat of the day is not here yet - about 5pm is the hottest it gets.  Great.  We are located on the eastern side of the main strip of Vegas, have no desire to venture to the big draw casinos but can see them from a distance and at night - wow, the lights! Right next door is another casino called the Eastside Cannery and I was mesmerized by the light display on the building.  Until we went to bed and had to really block out the windows....just to block the light show.  Can't win.  But - I am looking forward to seeing it again tonight, I am a sucker.  The amount of electricity that building along must use to show this light display and all the other casinos and us and everyone else running their a/c!

Sam's Town offers buffet meals and we walked over to it early this morning to get a good breakfast and had to walk through the casino to the buffet.  Maybe 20 people at the slots.  Weird to see.  Any time I have gone to a casino (a number of them around Tucson and Phoenix) lots of people and lots of smoking.  Like a ghost town but with the smoking smell regardless.  Yuck.

Leaving in the morning for a small town called Ely, Nevada.  About 225 miles north of here, and 40 degrees cooler.  Are we looking forward to it!

Hot Las Vegas!

Joshua Trees along highway

We decided to pack up a day earlier than planned and made the 5 hour drive north on Route 93 into Las Vegas, Nevada.  Is it hot here!  Right now it's 100, tomorrow 102, and Tuesday supposed to be 104.  The truck and RV did great, no problems.  Road along the Joshua Tree Parkway and saw enough Joshua trees to not have to visit Joshua Tree National Park.  The tree is not very pretty, just distinctive.  And the scenery as we got near the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead - beautiful.

We are staying at Sam's Town Casino which has a hotel, casino, many restaurants and RV park on premise.  This RV park reminds me of sardines - we are packed in that close to one another. If we sneeze we fall off the front of the site or back of the site.  We are spoiled with having space between us, our retractible awning that opens up over the door could touch our neighbor's awning if I let it out all the way, but I will be nice and not do that.  Take three steps out of one RV and into the next - amazing.  But, if you like to go to a casino and not drive - just walk through the parking lot and you are inside Sam's Town.  We have no plans on visiting the casino - but will take advantage of their breakfast buffet tomorrow morning.

Grace passed out on floor of RV

There is a big security force here - they all are carrying guns - and either they are riding around on bicycles or on golf carts.  Makes us a little nervous.  When we checked in they told us to chain and lock up our bicycles if we have any.  They would get stolen.  We do have bikes but will keep them folded away and locked up.


The heat really bothers Grace (and us)- this picture was taken about half an hour after we stopped and opened up the slides, released her from her carry box that she travels in inside the truck with us, and put on the A/C to try to get it somewhat cooled down.  Right now she's passed out back inside her travel box - her place to get away from it all.  Poor kitty.  Will have to run the A/C all day/night due to the 20 degrees above normal heat wave going on.  Ugh.  I thought we were supposed to get out of the heat!

Jerome

We traveled over two sets of mountains and along some very scenic roads to get to Jerome, Arizona yesterday.  This is a town built on a side of a mountain where the residents lived, and worked underground in the United Verde copper mine.  Arizona was founded on the 5 C's - copper, cattle, cotton, citrus, and climate.  Jerome happened to be the largest copper producing mine in the early 20th century, and at one time the town boasted of 10,000 people.  Today there are maybe 500 folks left.  
Jerome State Park is located inside the Douglas Mansion - one of the early owners of the mine.  The mansion was pretty impressive - had many state of the art conveniences, like central vac system for the home and marble bathrooms.

We compared Bisbee's visit a couple of years ago with Jerome's history and although both were founded on the copper mining industry, how the two towns displayed their history is totally different.  Jerome was more about the town and the effects of the mines had - how the people lived, how many homes and businesses slid down the hill with landslides, the businesses that thrived, hospitals, schools for children, etc.  Bisbee is all about the mining industry, how the copper is mined, what happens to it once it leaves the mine, and you can even go on a tour underground in the old Copper Queen Mine (which we had done). Both towns are now populated by artisans and such - and many of the buildings have been refurbished.  Most of Bisbee's buildings still stand today whereas over half of the buildings of Jerome are gone - slid down the hill or fire/age destroyed.  Good thing there were many pictures.

No wow factor.  Interesting, educational.  Here's some pics of yesterday.

A little background on Arizona and gem producing

Front of the Douglas Mansion - State Park

Jerome as it looks today

We woke up early this morning to coyotes howling.  Then about 7am this scrawny thing came sauntering by.  Grace growled at it big time.  Then it walked over near the dog walk/exercise area - looking for breakfast I presume.

Scrawny coyote!

Wickenburg

Yesterday we traveled into Wickenburg - breakfast out, grocery shopping, general merchant store, fill up truck.  We decided to go to the Desert Caballeros Western Museum, a museum that was touted as a 'really great museum on history of west".  Funny how one person views something and you see something totally different.  Lots of money in this town.  At one time there were over 14 dude ranches functioning and today there are 3 left, one of them owned by Merv Griffin.  We were asked by a young man who was also visiting the museum if the sculpturer - Remington, was the same as the gunsmith, Remington.  After explaining that two different men, he informed us he and his roommate were visiting from Sweden and he didn't see any verbiage about what they were looking at or what they were seeing.  They looked disappointed, wanted to see more of the west.  This museum is a collection of one man's  hobby of collecting stuff from a ranch as well as paintings and sculptures from various other people who contributed to the museum.  The paintings were amazing - most of red rock formations, horses and cattlemen, Indians.

One thing I did learn - every year in Wickenbug there is the Desert Caballeros Ride which is a 100 mile route that people who pay big money can do, and the 67th annual ride was just done 10 days prior to us being there.  No more than 240 people can do this ride, on horseback, sleeping out of doors, just being a cowboy/girl for 5 days, cooking/eating meals while on the ride, etc.  Sounds like fun but not for the price.

Heading to State of Washington - Summer 2013

We moved our stuff out of the park model in Picacho, AZ and into the RV and hit the road this morning.  A little worried that all the things that needed attention or fixed while the RV was at the Jayco dealer this winter, was completed.  So far, so good.  Everything seems to be working.  We traveled west on I-10 through Phoenix (and lots of traffic) and picked up 101/60 out of the northwest side of the town and headed to Wickenburg.  Traveled 147 miles - one of our shortest trips ever, but far enough to escape the heat.  When we left at 10am the temp was already at 85 and by the end of this short trip, the temp was 74, supposed to get down to 52 tonight - YEAH!!!!

Sad to leave our Picacho friends - this past winter was a real bonding time.  We have made some great friends and will surely miss them, but will see them again this fall when we return.  But - want out of the heat - has reached 105 a couple of days last week and thats a tidge too warm for us.

The RV was a disaster in terms of where stuff was - we just piled things in and knew we would spend a couple of days finding the right spot for everything.  And we are very pooped tonight.  But - comfortable and back in our home.  We are at an Escapee SKP park, have to be a Escapee camping member to be here, in Congress, about 8 miles north of Wickenburg.  We are virtually alone here, most folks have headed out either back home where ever home is, or, headed to cooler climate up north.  That is our plan too.  We will visit around here, see what we can in the week allotted, then head north.