4th Of July On The River!

Our last stop before heading home tomorrow morning. It is the Fourth of July and we are comfortably set on a great site about 20' from the Salmon River just north of Salmon, Idaho. This is Waggonhammer Campground, the place we often start or end one of our journeys. Last year this was the first stop on our way to Alaska and the last stop on our way home from Alaska. As always, the owners and the staff are friendly and very helpful. This afternoon, they are having a hot dog grilling event with guests bringing side dishes. We meet the nicest people here.

The one down side this location is the darn, pesky misquitos; they are everywhere. Which means we either wear long pants and long shirts; or load up on repellent. There is a bridge on the edge of the park to an island in the river. The owners have cut a long path/trail in the tall grass. Sammy and Annie are happy to be able to run off leash over there. It is really funny to see Annie bouncing up and down or standing on her hind legs to try to find Sammy in the tall grass.

I have seen an eagle fishing in the area (he is better at it than I am) and I keep the binoculars at the ready. Met some nice people from California, Arizona and Wyoming so far. Will probably meet more tonight at the grill party.

It has been a good trip. It was great to see our daughter, Michelle, and meet her 4 legged traveling companion, Loren. She, and her friends Michelle and Randy Vincent, were great companion campers at Deception Pass State Park in Washington State. After we parted company we had a great drive across the northern edge of the Cascade Mountain Range.

Once we arrived in Idaho, we spent Thursday night at Winchester Lake State Park. I did manage to catch 3 trout in this beautiful setting. The camp sites are in the woods and the lake is surrounded by a forest. The trip between there and here was over 100 miles of mountain forest and river driving. I never thought I would get tired of forest and river scenery, but yesterday I got tired of forest and river scenery. We stopped in Hamilton, MT for last minute food supplies and got here about 4:00 pm. It is good to be back in the Mountain Time Zone again. Tomorrow we are about 4 hours from home. It will be good to get back.