ADVENTURES IN McCALL

Did I tell you we have the best site. We don't have a view of the river, but our window looks out into the forest.  There is a path down to the river a couple of sites below us, but we are in a valley and our closest neighbor is 50 or 60 feet away. Have I mentioned the deer? There are tons of them here walking all over the place. In the past 24 hours we have seen more mule deer here in this RV park than in Glacier and Yellowstone combined. They walk right up to the bird feeders and help themselves to a snack. On my last walk I saw a doe and a large buck with a smaller buck in tow. Kathe tried to get a picture, but when they heard me growl they ran off.

This morning both Kathe and Jim went to the groomer and they both got scalped. Tomorrow is my day, and I must say I'm looking forward to a real professional bath. I'm tired of the kitchen sink wash and blow that Kathe is so fond of.




Jim and Kathe drove out to Lake Payette and took the Jeep on a dirt trail up towards Brundage Mountain and took this picture of the Lake.  I wish we had a boat because it looked like a lot of people were enjoying themselves on the lake this afternoon.

HIGHWAY 95

Although the drive south today was really interesting, it sure took a long time. We passed many fields of wheat, hay, lentils, and garbanzo beans. Thousands of acres between Lewiston and Grangeville, Idaho. Beautiful fields of golden wheat being harvested and bales of hay ready to be gathered. There were even some fields that were being burned in preparation for a new crop of wheat. It was helpful that many of the farms had signs that identified what was being grown. Just for us city folk! Later in the day we drove through Riggins, the white water capital, and watched people rafting down the Salmon river.  We drove along the river for miles and miles.


We ran into the dreaded road work in several places on the highway and had to drive slowly over gravel which made the trip even longer. Then there was a 7% grade down hill for about six miles outside of White Bird which had Kathe and I holding our breath for a long time.

Once we arrived, we lucked out and got a great site here in McCall at the Northfork RV resort. I'll post some pictures of it tomorrow.

JUST RELAXING

Another nice warm day here in Lewiston at the Hells Gate State Park. Most of the folks cleared out last night and we had a quiet morning. Today we are supposed to be relaxing, but Jim spent the morning cleaning half of the motor home.  Kathe and I walked around the campground a couple of times. Then we watched the kids floating in inner tubes on the lake for a little while, one boy was floating with his dog in his lap. Looked like fun to me. Afterwards, we held down some lounge chairs until it was time for lunch.

It's been really hot here today, Jim tried to talk Kathe into a bike ride, but no go! I can't imagine that it's much fun to exercise in ninety degree weather, she didn't either. We stayed in the air conditioning, me napping and Kathe reading. Now, that's a vacation.

HELLS GATE STATE PARK

Another beautiful drive today. Straight down Highway 95 to Lewiston and the Hells Gate State Park. It took a little over 4 hours to reach our destination. We passed by many large fields of grain and hay, and the towns of Lake Pend d'Oreille and Lake Coeur d' Alene before reaching Lewiston, Idaho. Lewiston is known as Idaho's Seaport. Large quantities of grain are shipped by barge down the Snake and Columbia rivers to the Pacific.


The town of Lewiston is also on a site where Lewis and Clark camped in 1805 on their Corp of Discovery Expedition. We are camped along the Snake River under a large oak tree.  The site we reserved for us was a little too small, so the Ranger moved us to this great site. We have a peek-a-boo view of the river, and there is a 20 mile bike path along the bank that Kathe and Jim are planning to explore.

I've had a spin around our loop B and it's pretty nice. Lots of grass and trees, but it's over 100 degrees outside right now and I didn't feel like doing much. Wait till about 6 AM tomorrow morning and I'll be a happy camper when I take Kathe for a walk.

LAST NIGHT TOGETHER

Not much left to see here at Bonner's Ferry, so I guess it's time to move on. This morning it looked like rain, but by the time we brought everything inside to prepare, the clouds drifted away.  Time for a little more sight seeing in town and a trip to see the Moyie Falls. No one seemed to know where to find the falls, and after a few false starts, and a couple of dirt roads, they came upon it. Not quite as terrific as the Kootenai Falls of yesterday.  But, the view of the bridge over the gorge above the falls on Highway 2 is spectacular from the top view as well as the underneath view.

Next stop, the Boundary County Museum. Lots of historical photographs and pioneer artifacts. The highlight was a mounted white caribou which had quite a history of it's own. The caribou was in the window of the White Caribou Bar and disappeared in 1909. It returned 20 years ago and was placed in and exhibit in the museum, a replica of the White Caribou Bar.

We are all a little sad tonight as it's our last night traveling with the Taylors.  Gianni and Lady Bella are headed tomorrow to Coeur  d' Alene and we are headed to Lewiston.  We've had a great time together exploring and watching our humans having fun. I do hope they start planning another trip together soon, and we will all have another adventure to look forward to.

BACK TO MONTANA

Back over the border into Montana, down stream from the town of Libby, is the Kootenai Falls State Park.  The Kootenai River runs through a narrow, very rocky gorge and drops 300 feet for a distance of several hundred yards. The falls are visible after a short hike through the forest on the east side of the park and there is a suspension bridge on the west.

Everyone enjoyed the hike and the view of the falls, but only the guys walked across the gorge on the swinging suspension bridge. The bridge is 210 feet across and 100 feet above the water.  I'm glad I stayed home.

They found a great restaurant/casino in the town of Troy, MT for lunch on the way back to camp.

Today was the farmers market day in Troy and they were able to buy local fruit, berries, and vegetables. Score! They saw a sign on the road that said, "HUCKS", so they stopped there and bought some delicious huckleberries and fresh eggs from Aunt Patty's Farm. Another great day!

STILL STICKY

Anther day of pine sap and curse words! Kathe is tearing my hair out! I try very hard to avoid the sticky pine branches, but it's impossible. It doesn't seem fair that Gianni and Lady Bella don't have any problems, I guess there white fur isn't as fine as mine. They walk the same paths that I walk and remain sap free.

Today they left us doggies home and went exploring in the town of Bonners Ferry. The town has grown up along the banks of the Kootenai river. It was a fur trading post that became a permanent settlement when the ferry was established as a means of transportation into Canada. There is now a very high and beautiful bridge across the river.

They planned to take a drive along the river in the Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge. After about a mile into the refuge they found out that it was closed for a drainage repair. They turned around and headed back to Old Town Bonners Ferry which has been revitalized with restored buildings, shops and antique stores for the tourists to enjoy. They had a great lunch there and did some antique shopping before heading back to the campsite.