27-29 September 2013 St Maries

September 27  We had lunch today at the St. Maries Senior Meal Site with Francie and Sally and several other seniors. Friday's lunch is usually well attended. Today's menu was roast beef, squash, mashed potatoes, melon, and coconut cream pie.

The cooks and staff are proud of their efforts--no government funds support the meal site, only donations and the charges for the meals. Meals are served Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Sometimes it's a financial struggle; sometimes the noon meal is the only hot meal a a senior eats that day--companionship and food offered in clean warm surroundings. Other organizations in St. Maries have a food bank, an evening meal on Fridays, and a Thursday "Souper Supper." This little town helps its needy folks.

After lunch Francie, Bill, Patrice, and I went to a big garage sale east of town--nice stuff, and people that Francie knows (everyone in Benewah County knows Francie). We bought a few things. I took Bill with me to buy some propane and a new heater for the rig. We did some more visiting at Francie's and then had pie and ice cream at Sally's Handy Corner in the late afternoon. We were home by dark and paid the owner of H2H Bison Ranch for our stay--his excavating company keeps him busy, and I was able to catch him. He has the same number of bison as last year when we were here--no babies this year.

September 28  Late breakfast today--Amana sausage, eggs, and Yukon (brand mix) flapjacks. More rain predicted for today and tomorrow. We decided to delay going to Republic until Monday because of the rain and wind forecast. Hung around our rig until mid-afternoon then went to St. Maries.

Just before we left Patrice noticed that one of the bison was out of the fenced area. I ran and closed the main gate and then tried to find someone to re-corral the small bison. Finally found Warren's mother--she said they often let Penelope out into the main yard but only after the gates are closed. They are trying to train Penelope to be people-friendly so they can display her at fairs and shows. Warren later told us that he forgot to close the gate himself and he was grateful that I took care of it.

On our way to St. Maries we stopped in Plummer to see Denny and arrange for breakfast with him and his wife Rita tomorrow. We arrived at Francie's, visited over coffee, and headed to the Calder Store for their famous Saturday night prime rib dinner.

Calder is about 25 miles east of St. Maries and upstream on the St. Joe River. It was drizzly and a bit windy, and we saw several deer on the way. Calder is a small village with several homes and the restaurant/grocery store/post office. I found a USGS gaging station as we crossed the bridge into Calder.

What a meal--great salad bar, baked potatoes, vegetables, and the most tender, flavorful prime rib we've ever had! We came to this restaurant last year on our visit--and had the same waitress, whose name is Patrice! The dining area is full of historical pictures of logging activities in the area. Many diners were from the nearby hunting camps (elk season), and several people in camouflage jackets stopped by to greet Francie and Bill--everyone knows them.

We returned to Francie's for lemon meringue pie and coffee.

We had a great time today with Francie and Bill.

September 29  Went to an early breakfast with Partice's cousin Denny and his wife Rita at the casino near Worley, Idaho. Not a great breakfast but a good visit with Denny and Rita--lots of catching up with family news.

After returning to the rig, we paid Warren for another night and bought a pound of ground bison. Patrice and I drove around the ranch area and saw several bison calves born recently. The young ones are this copper color. Another "batch" of four calves born this spring already have the dark brown color and are larger. The little ones were trying to get some hay but were butted out of place by the larger bison bulls--it was a bit of a crowded feeding area, and they all were a bit nervous. Patrice got these pictures.

This afternoon we drove into St. Maries and went to the Art, Music, and Brews Festival with Francie and Bill. The building was full of people, vendors, and on the stage were two young men singing and playing some terrific fiddle and guitar. We were captivated.

They were billed as the Acuff Sherfey Duo, and according to the St. Maries newspaper they are "the hottest country rock duo in the Northwest." The fiddler Justin Sherfey just turned 15 and for the last five years he has finished in the top five of all US fiddlers competing at the National Championships held in Weiser, Idaho. Justin also played some fine mandolin and guitar during the performance. The guitar player (also singer) Colby Acuff was 16 and has accompanied the Justin at the championships. They hit it off and became a duo. Colby wrote some of the songs that the boys performed. Patrice and I attended the Weiser National Championships several years ago and we know how talented the entrants are and how tough the competition is. What a treat this was today.

Justin Sherfey and Colby Acuff

Justin

We shopped around at some of the craft tables and ate some hamburgers and hot dogs before leaving the event.

Marionberry pie and ice cream at Francie's ended our day.

It is possible we will move to Republic tomorrow--severe wind conditions are predicted for tonight and some of tomorrow. We understand these winds are moving to the eastern side of Washington from a major western Washington storm. We'll make our decision tomorrow morning.  

24-26 September H2H Bison Ranch and St. Maries

September 24  Moved from Clarkston, Washington, to the H2H Bison Ranch near Worley, Idaho. This working bison ranch has five RV sites with 30-amp electricity, water, and sewer hookups. Bison wander the adjacent fenced acreage, and are well cared for. During the summer season the owner cooks BBQ dinners and serves groups of guests in a large three-sided dining hall. A fire ring with chairs invites evening relaxation. Like last year when we stayed here, we are off-season to enjoy the "dude ranch" activities--we don't really miss them, though. This is quiet, pleasant, and near Patrice's relatives.

After setting up we checked with Patrice's cousin Denny in Plummer (about five miles from us), then on to St. Maries, where Patrice's mother and her siblings grew up--the Gallaghers. There were six children in the family and only Francie, the youngest, is left--she is a vibrant 81. Sally and Rosie live nearby, sisters to Denny. We met Francie and her gentleman friend Bill for dinner at Sally's Handy Corner--yes, cousin Sally owns it. Just by chance meatloaf was the dinner special--my favorite, and we all had some!

Aunt Francie at home in St. Maries   

September 25  We went into St. Maries today for lunch at the St. Maries Senior Meal Site. Francie takes the money and handles the finances for this community lunch service. Cousins Rosie and Sally showed up today to visit with us--all the family in St. Maries know Patrice as "Lollie"--a nickname that she's had since she was a baby. Ham and hotdogs in sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, corn, melon, and cookies for desert--great lunch.

After lunch Bill came over to Francie's--he lives in Fernwood, about 20 miles from St. Maries. We all spent most of the afternoon at Francie's just visiting. Bill and I took a ride to see all four of the forest products plants operating in St. Maries. They all work three shifts a day and produce a huge amount of lumber and chips--there's a huge market out there.

We visited a bit too long again this evening, and most of the 45-minute drive was in the dark and the rain. Weather's supposed to be a bit better tomorrow.

September 26  [Patrice writing today] Yup, it was better weather today. We woke to sunshine, blue sky with puffy clouds. It was a nice day for Philip's 78th birthday, and we had a pleasant time all around.

It was about an hour's drive today to the Spokane area, and to the True Legends Grill at Liberty City. There we met Russ and Patti, our next-door neighbors at our lot in North Palm Springs. They didn't come to their lot this last winter because Russ was ill. They will make it with bells on this year, probably arriving before we do. Lunch was great, conversation and company was just terrific, and it was great to see Russ his old self, full of fun and bull.

Russ and Patti

We then got some gas at Costco, did a bit of shopping, and checked out a low bridge that might give us trouble on Sunday on our way to Republic. Should be no problem with the bridge, and traffic will be light on Sunday.

Found our way to son Kriss's apartment, where he stays during the work-week and travels home to Malo in the weekends. Wife Julianne joined him this weekend because they are taking a short trip to Idaho, and Kriss won't be home until next weekend. Our grandson Kleyton is home taking care of the critters at the house; Uncle Kent and Aunt Arleen are nearby and helping out.

Kriss and Julianne

Carlos hasn't seen either one of them for a year, and talk about happy reunions! He couldn't get enough belly-rubs, loving attention, and smooches. Such a little bundle of joy.

We had dinner and made tracks for the Bison Ranch, in the dark and under starry skies. It was a great day!

20-23 September 2013 Clarkston/Lewiston ID

Friday, 20 September  We left the Wildhorse RV Park near Pendleton, Oregon, and headed north on highway 11 to Walla Walla, Washington. We turned east on highway 12  traveling through Waitsburg, Dayton, and Pomeroy to Clarkston where we are camped at the Granite Lake RV Resort on the Snake River. Beautiful drive uphill and down through the golden wheat fields of the Palouse hill country. Most of the wheat had been harvested and planting of winter wheat was in full swing.

We were fortunate to get our campsite here in Clarkston--there are many workers parked in the local RV parks while the twice-yearly maintenance on the Potlach mill is in progress. This is good for us--the sulfur odor from the plant that permeates riverside Lewiston and Clarkston will be mostly absent during our visit.

Patrice's sister, Bobbie, came from uphill Lewiston down to our park. After catching up on relatives we all headed to downtown Lewiston, for the art walk. Lots of talented people producing all kinds of artwork. A small, perfect scratch board painting of a lion's head called to us and it will fit on one of the few empty wall spaces in our RV. The participants laid out snacks and beverages in the buildings along the art walk--we ate our way through and decided we did not need dinner. So back to the rig, more talk, and we said good-night as the full harvest moon rose over the Snake River. 

Saturday, 21 September  Got up late, caught up on mail, and shopped at Costco. Then we went to Bobbie's place in uphill Lewiston. Carlos went with us--he traipsed all over Bobbie's yard and garden and barked at a bronzed cat garden ornament for a while. He was so happy to be out and about and visiting people! Bobbie cooked us a great dinner of home-made noodles and chicken, fresh tomatoes (from her garden), wild plum jam, and peach cobbler.

We visited with Bobbie and her granddaughter (Patrice's grand-niece), Heather, who is staying with her grandmother while attending Lewis and Clark College. Heather's parents and brother live in Kirkland, Washington. She's a sophomore and will be an elementary school teacher. Doing well.

Carlos found a warm lap and crashed!

Bobbie is so proud of her granddaughter

Sunday, September 22  Met Bobbie at the Lewiston Main Street Grill for a late breakfast; then up to Bobbie's place to show her some of the paintings Patrice painted in New Smyrna Beach last November. Bobbie chose one quickly, the only one she considered, and we hung it for her--there was a space just made for it in her computer room. It pleased us all!

We picked up Carlos and took us all on a drive in our truck about 15 miles up the northeast side of the Snake River--wonderful cliffs with basalt ridges, sunny day, lovely ride. We drove waaaaay up the hill to highway 195 at Colton, through the Palouse wheat fields, and finally back to Lewiston, waaaaay down the famous hill.  We had Mexican food for dinner with Bobbie and Heather (who was taking time from her studies and jobs).

Tomorrow more visiting, shopping, and getting ready to move again.

Monday, September 23   Late breakfast then some grocery shopping at Albertson's nearby. Bobbie came over for a visit after her work at the school--she substitutes in the food service program at the Lewiston schools. Carlos and I did some "man" shopping at NAPA, Auto Zone, Home Depot, and Petco.

We met Bobbie and Heather for dinner at Panda Express. They brought a small cake for my birthday (really on the 26th). Said our good-byes after dinner and returned to the rig to get ready for our move to the H2H Bison Ranch near Worley, Idaho, tomorrow.

19 September 2013 Wildhorse Casino and Resort

It was a nice drive today from Country Corners RV Park near Caldwell, Idaho, to Wildhorse RV Park near Pendleton, Oregon. Got in early so I washed the rig and Patrice cleaned out a kitchen cabinet and vacuumed the floors. I haven't washed rig since leaving North Palm Springs in May--lots of road grime and a buggy bull nose. It's nice to have rig clean inside and out. 

We ate at the Wildhorse Casino tonight and happened to catch a seafood buffet. King, snow, and Dungeness crab and lots of other good stuff (more mussels for Patrice!). On to Clarkston, Washington, tomorrow, where we will park the rig a few days. We'll spent time with Bobbie, Patrice's sister, who actually lives in Lewiston, Idaho, just across the river. 

18 September 2013 To Caldwell, Idaho

Today was an easy 190-mile drive across southern Idaho from Declo to Caldwell. However, we did have a strong headwind most of the way--sure to cut down on the gas mileage. Before we left our campground at Declo this morning Patrice had to get photos of some frisky colts in an adjacent field. There were seven mares in the field and each had a colt. They put on a show for us last night and again this morning.

Our campground last night was next to the Snake River and we crossed it again several times along I-84. One of the spectacular crossings was near Twin Falls at the southern end of the extensive lava fields in Idaho. Here we could see massive lava cliffs adjacent to the Snake River and its tributaries.

We arrived at Country Corner RV Park for the night. This little park is north of Caldwell and conveniently located just off of I-84. The sites are neat and there is green grass by each site (Carlos says Hooray!). After checking in the park owner offered us the opportunity to pick some fresh sweet corn and tomatoes from his large gardens. We did just that, and had fresh veggies and soup with wine for dinner.

Tomorrow we stay on I-84 and cross over Cabbage Mountain Pass on our way to Pendleton, Oregon, our next campground.

15, 16, and 17 September 2013 Wyoming, Utah, and Farewell to Jerry and Marge

Sunday, the 15th, we traveled 225 miles from Rawlins, Wyoming, to Coalville, Utah. It was a partly cloudy day with many sun breaks, and we dodged several thunderstorms. After we crossed the Continental Divide, we went through amazing layered walls and wind-sculpted formations, near Rock Springs and Green River--green layers, huge massifs, and blocky hoo-doos. Patrice and I must have seen more than 200 antelope in small groups in fields close to the highway.

We stopped for our picnic lunch at Little America, a mega truck stop, with a motel and gift shop. It had been advertised from far down I-80, "50-cent ice cream cones." Much to our surprise it is listed as Little America on our road map, and the population is 68.

Near the end of our travel day, we passed through a wondrous canyon that ran all the way down to where 1-80 is joined by I-84. There were huge red cliffs that were eroded into fantastic shapes--toothy skulls, bad dentures, hollow eyes, ragged windows, and lots of crooked spires! With the narrow canyon, there was absolutely no safe place to take pictures.

We camped at the Holiday Hills RV Park in Coalville, Utah. This is a strange but adequate little park. The check-in was at the office right next to a filling station, and the entrance to the park was around and next to a motel. The sites were on curved concrete pads, parallel and on either side of the road.

Monday, the 16th, Marge, Jerry, Patrice, and I drove about 15 miles into Park City, Utah. Park City hosted the Winter Olympics in 2002; there are many reminders of that along Main Street. Main Street runs straight uphill, parallel to and at the base of the huge ski area. Many art galleries, clothing boutiques, antique stores, cafes and restaurants, and other shops lined the streets. We browsed a bit, and bought some chocolate.

Us with me eating chocolate

The hills were alive with fancy homes, condos, apartments and hotels! A very pricey atmosphere prevailed in the decor and landscaping of the homes.

We stopped for some groceries before we headed for home--from the store's parking lot we had a clear view of the Olympic ski jumps.

Back at the park we had our last "happy hour" together on this trip. Jerry and Marge brought out a bottle of champaign--we toasted each other for an awesome trip to the Maritime Provinces. It was a great trip to share with good friends and we will always remember it.

As an aside, I calculated that we had put 15,433 miles on our pickup from North Palm Springs, California, to Coalville, Utah, and 8,229 miles of that was in the Maritimes. I will calculate and enter the miles put on our fifth wheel later. We are fortunate to have traveled across the "tornado alley" area of the U.S. twice without encountering any, and to have avoided any hurricane activity while on the East Coast and in the Maritimes.

We went into Coalville for some gas and looked for a restaurant--there wasn't much there, so we went to the Subway. The cashier asked us if we had a points card, and when we told her we were just passing through she said, "Well, when you have the best food in town, most everyone in town has one because they eat here at least once a week." It was pretty good, too, for a Subway. 

We had our last Gramma Marge's ice cream social tonight also.

Marge

Jerry

Today, Tuesday the 17th, we left Coalville, Utah and drove to Declo, Idaho. Leaving this morning was kinda sad, saying goodbye to Marge and Jerry who are headed west and south toward their home in Banning, California, and Patrice and I are headed north and east to visit relatives and friends in Idaho, Washington, and Oregon, Nevada, and California before returning to our winter lot in North Palm Springs, California. We will miss sharing our adventures with them and Carlos is already moping around not seeing them every day.

Our trip today began with some spectacular scenery on I-84 north and around Salt Lake City. There were more red cliffs, and layered monoliths jutting out of the rounded hills. Patrice spotted two small natural arch bridges (!) on either side of the highway up in the cliffs.

The road took us through some deep and narrow canyons with geologic formations we've never seen. One particularly awesome scene is called the Devil's Slide. Luckily there was a small roadside stop directly across from it in this narrow canyon.

Devil's Slide - side view from the west

Straight on view

A truck passes, notice the barrier narrowly separating the small parking area

There were many similar ridges like those of the Devil's Slide up and down this canyon, and the hills had rounded white tracks of this type of rock, as if the layers had been laid sideways in the earth--the trees and shrubs grew in the ground in the rows between.

After turning north at Ogden, Utah, we traveled through about 30 miles of commercial development along the Great Salt Lake then through about 70 miles of farm lands and mountains in Utah and Idaho. At the rest stop just north of the Idaho border we learned about the ancient Bonneville Lake that was created about 20,000 years ago. It had no river outlet leading to the ocean, and sat in the surrounding basin. Eventually it filled up and overflowed into the Snake River. Much later the lake dried up and left the desert area and the Great Salt Lake as a remnant.

As we continued, we saw thunderstorms developing. Our weather ap on our phone signaled that we were in an area of strong thunderstorm activity. We skirted around two storms areas (fortunate again) with only a few drops of rain before reaching our RV park, Village of the Trees RV Resort in Declo, Idaho, for the night. After setting up we received a tornado warning--none occurred and all was well.

On to Caldwell tomorrow.


    

14 September 2013 Rawlins

Yesterday, Friday the 13th of September, we traveled 225 miles in rain and fog to Cheyenne, Wyoming, elevation 6,200 feet. Patrice fixed a great dinner using the smoked pork chops we bought in the Amana Colonies. We had a few major thunderstorms with heavy rainfall from about 7 to 11 p.m. Very tough day driving and scary night with weather alerts of flash flooding in our area. I-29 south of Cheyenne was closed completely.

Today we woke to clear skies and headed to Rawlins, Wyoming. Our first rest stop was at a newly remodeled information center on I-80 just east of Laramie, elevation 8,640. This center looked new, and had bright displays about the history, wildlife, farmlands, and mountain sports and outdoor recreation opportunities in Wyoming. This is the land of Butch Cassady and the Sundance Kid, as well as Tom Horn (remember the Steve McQueen movie?). A section of the exhibits commemorated the United States's first transcontinental highway, the Lincoln Highway. It was dedicated in 1913 and ran from New York to San Francisco. I-80 follows much of the old Lincoln Highway.

In 1958 a project to erect a memorial honoring Lincoln on top of Sherman Hill, the highest point on the highway was begun. A 13.5 foot high bronze bust was designed and created by Robert I. Russin, a University of Wyoming professor. The sculpture was to be done by the sesqui-centennial of Abraham Lincols's birth. The bust took 11 months and 10 tons of clay to complete. The 4,500 pound bust was formed and cast in Mexico City, transported to Wyoming by rail, and placed atop a 35-foot tall granite stone base.

It was placed at the building on the old summit. After Interstate-80 was completed, the memorial was moved to the new summit visitor center, actually at a lower elevation than the old summit, about a mile west. It is an impressive sight, and the blue sky with clouds made a grand backdrop.

Patrice found these flowers near the memorial and found me and Carlos chilling out on a nearby bench.

The rest of the drive to Rawlins was through the beautiful great basin. The recent rains greened the landscape with tasty grass for the many pronghorn antelope we sighted--there must have been over 300 that we saw, in groups of 20 to 50. We passed through several valleys bounded by rock outcroppings and through road cuts exposing interesting geology.

There was no rain on the way, thank goodness, and thunderheads danced around us. Patrice is fascinated with clouds, and after we set up in Rawlins, she took some photos from the lot.

We were able to enjoy a "happy hour" with Jerry and Marge; it got cold after our popcorn, so we went in. Then the deluge began--thunder and lightning, and we watched some new arrivals trying to set up their fifth wheels in the downpour.

Patrice and I drove into town for a terrific dinner at a Thai restaurant. We were surprised--we haven't seen any Thai restaurants for ages. Our routine 8:00 ice cream social with Marge and Jerry ended our day in Rawlins.

On westward tomorrow to Coalville, Utah.