Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Heading Home

My business is complete and our trip is coming to a close.  We have been at Waggonhammer RV Park for the last 3 days.  Unfortunately, the weather has been less than ideal.  There have been many showers on and off, day and night.  We did have sunshine for a couple of hours Sunday afternoon and took the dogs on a trail.  The sign says it was part of the Lewis & Clark Trail, but it is hard to believe they would have chosen this route when an easier route is nearby (now highway 93).  Saturday afternoon we took a little side trip to Shoup, ID.  Shoup was named after the first Idaho Governor when this was an active mining area.  Shoup now consists of one store/cafe.  The unique thing about this store is that it has the oldest, functioning gas pumps in Idaho.  Here is a picture.

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We enjoyed a delicious vanilla ice cream cone and enjoyed the scenery.  Here are some pictures from the area.

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This section of the Salmon River is known as The River of No Return.  It was named that back in the 1800’s because men would try to float the river on a raft or in a canoe and they would never be seen again.

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It is a few minutes after 6:00 am and we are all anxious to head for home.  Our next trip starts on June 9th when we head for Billings, MT to meet up with family for a campout.  See you then.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Lolo Hot Springs

Since my last post we have traveled from Cascade, ID to Orofino, ID and then over 120 miles of winding mountain highway into Montana and are set up alongside a stream at Lolo Hot Springs Resort and RV Park.  The drive to Orofino was a white knuckle trip for me.  It was the first time I had to drive for about 3 hours in pretty heavy rain pulling a camper; and to do it with our 6 ton rig on narrow, winding mountain roads alongside several large rivers was a bit nerve wracking.  Here is a picture taken at a turnout on the road, taken just before the serious rain started.IMG_2800

We made it to Orofino without any serious mishaps and checked into a newer campground right on the Clearwater River.  It was very modern with full hookups and wi-fi.  I liked it a lot; Rosie not so much.  She thought it was basically a parking lot; there were no trees to speak of and no good place to walk the dogs.  But it was close to the work I had to do and I didn’t want to continue on in the rain so we set up for two nights.  Here is a picture of the site.

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It took me most of Wednesday to complete my work project.  We found a grocery store and stocked up the fridge.  Thursday morning we headed up US Highway 12, known locally as Lolo Pass because it ends in Lolo, Montana.  It is a beautiful drive, but it is basically 90 miles of a constant uphill grade in the mountains.  About 8 miles past the Montana State Line is Lolo Hot Springs Resort.  There is a lodge, restaurant, bar, two hot springs pools and an RV park.  We picked a spot right next to the stream and got all set up.  We had electricity, but no water hookup.  We had the place to ourselves and could let the dogs pretty much run free; up until Friday evening about 5:00 pm.  Cub Scout Troop 15 from Florence, Montana started arriving.  Turns out the Scoutmaster had reserved the whole area that included the site we were in.  Unfortunately, the person who he made the reservations with failed to inform the person that was on duty when we arrived.  The Scoutmaster was very nice when he knocked on the door to tell me what was going on.  I told him we were leaving Saturday morning and he was happy about that because most of the Scout group was arriving on Saturday.  They set up tents all around our camper, but did leave me room to hook up and a path to get out.  Here is a picture of me before the scouts arrived; relaxed with a beverage by the stream.

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Here is what it looked like Saturday morning when we left.

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Oh, before I forget; when we woke up at 5:30 Friday morning there was frost on the ground, ice on the RV steps and the temperature in my truck showed 23 degrees.  Since I was not sure how much propane was left in our second tank, I put the empty tank in the truck and we all took a day trip to Lolo to get propane and some groceries.  Since diesel was only $3.08 a gallon, I also filled up the tank.  We checked an RV Park closer to Lolo that we liked a lot.  We will probably stay there next time in the area.  I will write again when we get to Idaho and Waggonhammer RV Park.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Business and Pleasure

One of my clients was in the need of my services in central Idaho.  So instead of the usual fast paced, stay in hotels and get it done trip that I usually do; Rosie and I decided to take the camper on a serious run through the Sawtooth Range in central Idaho.

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We traveled to Stanley, ID on Saturday and found a great spot at the Elk Mountain RV Resort.

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Today we continued on the Cascade, ID where we will spend two nights at the Arrowhead RV Campground on the River.  Just as we were pulling and setting up, these deer came through the campground and crossed the river.  By the time I got the cameral out they were on the other side.

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Tomorrow morning I have to meet with the Chief of the So. Idaho Forest Fire Protective Association here and in McCall, about 30 miles north of here.  After about a half day with him, I will be back on site to enjoy this great setting.  Tuesday we are pulling out of here and headed for Orofino, ID, which is further north.  We will be there for two nights.