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.

The best laid plans!!!

Sometimes planning doesn't go so well; specially when you plan to stay at a very popular State Park in Idaho the 3 days prior to the 4th of July, without making a reservation well in advance. So we are changing our schedule and our route. Instead of Priest Lake State Park or Farrugut State Park, we are headed further south to stay at Winchester State Park for Thursday night and ending up at Waggonhammer Campground in North Fork, ID on Friday and Saturday night.

After we left Deception Pass in Washington we wondered towards the upper Cascade Range to Skagit County Park Campground. This is a beautiful site right on the Skagit River with large sites and well manicured grounds. We had a site about 40' from the shore of the river. There were trails nearby (to Rosie's delight) where we could take Sammy and Annie and let them run off leash for a spell.

A family of geese kept us entertained on Wednesday morning before we departed. Mom and Pop goose and 5 little gooses kept cruising by.

Tuesday, after crossing over the Cascade Range with many waterfalls and other wonderful sights, we arrived at Lincoln Rock State Park near Wenatchee, WA. The name comes from an island in the Columbia River that looks like Abe Lincoln's face in recline. We liked the place so much we decided to stay an extra night and catch up on some much needed R & R. I actually took a nap in the morning. Then we headed into town to find an ice cream shop and get some groceries. The ice cream was really great; but I hate to add up the calories for it.

So tomorrow on to Idaho and Lake Winchester. I hope the fishing is good.