Last Day In Leavenworth

Today is our last day in Leavenworth.  Had dinner here last night with our friend JoAnn Prusa who lives close by.  Today we went to town and:

• Tasted and bought Cheese in town.
• Tasted and bought Wine in town.
• Tasted and bought fresh fruit and veggies at a location just outside of town.

Before returning to the RV park we drove a bit farther up Icicle River Road and poked around some and eventually managed to get down to the water for a few pictures and a moment or two communing with the river.  A number of years ago we hiked with friends Craig and Janet Wilkie from the end of this road up to Lake Josephine where the headwaters of Icicle River are small enough that we could step across it.  From there we hiked out on the Pacific Crest Trail to Stevens Pass where we had planted a car for the trip home.  A great 3 day 2 night trip.

More River Pictures

Update from Leavenworth

Spent three full days at Larry and Linda's with our motor home parked in front of their garage. While there we went for a long boat ride on Lake Pend Oreille, ate out a couple of times and did a little hiking.  Yesterday we drove from their place near Sandpoint, Idaho to Leavenworth, WA to a small RV campground on the Icicle River.  This was one of our favorite back packing areas in years past.  While here we were visited by my niece Mia and her family who spent some time in the river while I made sure the motor home stayed cool in the 100 plus degree heat. We will be here until July 1st and hope to visit another friend and of course spend a day in town.

In front of Larry's garage.  His coach is inside.

After hiking up the ridge behind Larry and Linda's house.

Grounds of the "Sleeping Lady" resort next to the RV park.

Icicle river downstream from the RV Park.

Jay and the kids exploring up river.

Mia and Anna enjoying the cool water too.

Coeur d'Alene and The Palouse

Today we made the climb out of the Lewiston/Clarkston area through the Palouse and to our campground here near Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.  We will stay here a two nights.  Larry and Linda have gone ahead to their house in Sagle which is another 60 miles or so north of here and we will join them for a few days after we do some cleaning and restocking here.

Here is some trivia for all of us who wonder what Coeur d'Alene means.  When early French traders came to this area they found the local native american's to be friendly but sharp traders.  The traders named the natives  for the sharp, hard tip of an awl.  Coeur d'Alene means "Heart like an awl".  For years I believe someone who told me it meant "Heart of an Owl".  Oh Well......

We are just outside the city at the mouth of Spokane River.

The Palouse (/pəˈluːs/ pə-looss) is a region of the northwestern United States, encompassing parts of southeastern Washington, north central Idaho and, in some definitions, extending south into northeast Oregon. It is a major agricultural area, primarily producing wheat and legumes. Situated about 160 miles (260 km) north of theOregon Trail, the region experienced rapid growth in the late 19th century, and at one time, the population of the Palouse surpassed even that of the Puget Sound area as the most populous region of the state.^[1] The region is home to two land grant universities, the University of Idaho in Moscow and Washington State University in Pullman. Located just eight miles (13 km) apart, both schools opened in the early 1890s

Lewiston / Clarkston

Today we moved from McCall, ID to Clarkston, WA at the confluence of the Snake and the Clearwater rivers on their way to join the Columbia.  Beautiful country with a couple of impressive grades.  One was 7% for at least 7 miles.

This morning we woke up to find a large buck slowly making his way in front of our coach.  By the time I got my camera he had moved a ways from us so I am afraid I mostly got a couple pictures of deer butt.  He was a very healthy looking guy and still had velvet on his antlers.

Twin Falls / McCall

Yesterday we left Twin Falls, Idaho and made our way through Boise and up the Payette River Canyon.  While a beautiful drive in a car the highway is a bit on the twisty side for big rigs with many places where there was no shoulder right next to the river.  If we ever come this way again it will be up highway 95.  Spending Tuesday in McCall and then headed for Lewiston, ID for two days.

Overview of Snake River canyon in Twin Falls

Our location at the McCall RV Park.

The view out the windshield. 

Yesterday as we sat out in front of our coaches on the bluff overlooking the river we watched a deer come out of the brush and cross the river.  Plenty of fish here too.  McCall averages over 10 feet of snow a year.  It has the highest average snowfall in the state.  Pretty hard to visualize right now.

Richfield, UT to Ely, NV

After sitting out a rainy day yesterday in Richfield we woke up to sun and just a little fog which quickly burned off.  Left the campground at 10 a.m., fueled up, and made the 243 mile trip to Ely.  Arlyene and Linda both drove today, all on good road but only two lane.  As before when we crossed this route we could go for many miles without having another car pass us in either direction.  There is a good reason why highway 50 is called, "The Loneliest Road In America."

 This is the second time we have passed by the entrance to Great Basin National Park.  I have been intrigued by this park both times we have gone through this area and I hope to get to visit the park on a future trip.

On arrival at the Ely KOA campground we were assigned sites side by side with this view out our windshields.  (Click on the picture for a larger view.)  Our route to Twin Falls, Idaho tomorrow will take us up the valley in the left portion of this photo which is a merge of four individual pictures.

For tonight we are back on Pacific Time after having been on Mountain Time for over a week.  Tomorrow, when we enter Idaho we will be back on Mountain Time again for a few days. It is all soooo confusing.  At least our cell phones keep track for us.....

Moving On

With a fresh forecast full of rain and thunderstorms we elected to end this trip to Capitol Reef National Park a day early and avoid driving to Richfield, UT (our current location) in the nasty weather.  We are now settled in to the Richfield KOA and the promised thunder is in the distance and the rain and wind are already here.  The good news is that we are back in the land of internet and TV so we have plenty to do and catch up on.  We will stay here tomorrow and re-provision before heading on to Ely, NV on Friday and then Twin Falls, ID were we hope to visit the Craters Of The Moon.  I guess that will depend on whether the bad weather follows or not.

I have done a couple of catch up postings with photos which precede this one.

So far all the machinery and technology has performed perfectly for which I am very grateful.

Tuesday's Hike

With a day that promised better weather, a very small chance of rain, and with the Scenic Drive now open we were able to make a trip deeper into the park.  The good Jeep roads to the places we wanted to go were still closed but with the main, paved, scenic road open we could drive to the end where the closed, gravel road was and hike from there.  We were just not able to get as deep in the canyon as we could have otherwise.  As Larry talked about imagining Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid along with the Hole In The Wall Gang hiding out in places like this we hiked one canyon trail/road as far as we cared to and then back again.  I have posted more than the usual number of pictures here just to show the contrast and the texture of this geology.  You can almost see faces in the rocks.

Arlyene and Linda outside the Visitor's Center

Monday's Jeep Trip

With many of the good sites still closed we took a Jeep trip into the hills behind the campground on Monday.  It was all on higher ground.  Good if you are concerned about flooding.  Not so good if you are concerned about lightening.  As you can see from the pictures we made a pretty decent climb and ended up on top of the mesa looking back towards the campground.  Got to one point where I chickened out and did not want to subject the Jeep to more torture so we parked it and hiked the remaining distance which also fulfilled our goal of getting some exercise.  I think the lady's also got enough thrashing around in the Jeep to last them for a while.

Overhead view of start and end and route

This is the approximate point we ended up looking back from and where our photo below was taken,

Somewhat closer view of above area.

Along the top and along the way.

Looking back towards the campground.