Day 5 It's a Wet and Soggy Day

We were awakened to the sound of rain on the rood which truly is a soothing lovely sound until you realize you will be driving all day in it !

Departing Zim's Hot Springs and vowing to return on another trip, we pulled back out on to Hwy 95 heading north.  It continued on and down a long mountainous pass along side the Little Salmon River.  The river wasn't so little with the spring run-off.  It was raging and quite the site to see!  It tumbled all along the side of the road for miles and miles and miles through the pass that we were driving through.

Driving into a little town of Riggins, we see many signs indicating "Hell's Canyon" Adventures, so it is obviously a big attraction in this area and as we have learned,m it is a very large National Recreation Area.  It is actually 600,000 acres of rugged, pristine wilderness. And actually home to the deepest River chasm on the continent and three of North America's Wild and Scenic rivers.  Might have to check this out for a fun 'River ride' sometime.

What an inviting little town this Riggins is.  If the weather had been nicer, we may have stopped and found a nice coffee spot or browsed into some spots.  All the business names seemed to be themed around the Salmon River, or Wild Waters.

Out of Riggins, we began a very long climb up and further up.  We, despite the low ceiling and rain, were witness once again to sweeping green valley and beauty beyond description.  You could see in different parts what may have been wagon trails that were forged long long ago.  Conjures up quite the moment of imagination for me.  I think this is one of the longest climbs/hills that we have experienced in our travels.  It's called Whiebird Hill.  It Provided us with some incredible views that's for sure.

Part way up there was a stop to become educated about the Nez Pearce War.  I read about it online this afternoon while we were camped.  Quite the story and well worth the read.

After the long climb out of the stunning green valley, we find ourselvess driving through miles and miles of grain farms as far as the eye can see on either side of the highway.  This part of Idaho and approaching Washington State is a very productive part of the USA. There are also wind turbines in the area at the crests of some of the hills.

Coming into Clarkson, we turned on to Hwy 128W for a short distance and then on to Hwy 12West .  We are now on the Lewis and Clark Trail.  Lots of history here as well. They were quite the explorers.  The farmlands disappeared for awhile and we were back to winding through yet another long ravine - a long climb up and out of Clarkson, surrounded by grassy or sage brush covered hills that loomed up on each side of us and displayed some lava outcropping a as well.

With the continuous rain, we decided to pull into Tucannon River RV. We have stayed here before and it is such a lovely, pristine and very quiet little campground.

Tomorrow night we will be at Curlew Lake State Park in northern Washington near the US and Canadian border.  It is another favourite spot of ours and usually where we stay the first night out on the road or the last night out on the road.  It is quiet and ever so peaceful.  They don't have wi-fi so this will be my last post on this Phoenix to Vernon journey.

There are only 4 pictures today.  The rain made it tough.  I did start with a photo of Ziim's though.

As my regular readers know, I like to end a journey-blog with "This I know".

And This I Know....   This great continent of North American provides us with miles and miles of visual beauty.  I also know that Joe and I want to retrace this particular route another time because it has been one of our prettiest journeys that we have taken between our winter and summer homes.  I highly recommend any one doing this drive take it too.  You won't be disappointed.  The spring provides such a carpet of spring greens while the fall journey will offer up golds and rusts.

Thanks to those who have travelled along with us.

April 28 - We Brake for Hot Springs !

Rising to a beautiful sunny Idaho morning, we anticipated a 6 hour day of driving.  But as you read further, that changed to 4 1/2 hours.

The first thing we did after pulling in the slides, was drive down to the picnic area right at the base of these huge sand dunes.  The lake in the area, with the dunes towering above it was quite a magnificent sight to see early in the morning.  The epitome of serenity for sure.  I took a few more pictures from this perspective.  Nature is quite amazing ! I took a photo of the beautiful silver-grey trees around the lake.  I don't know what they are but I loved them.

Leaving the State Park, we continued on our way north on Hwy 51, crossing over the beautiful Snake River (which we have done so many times in all of our travels between North and South !). It is a beautiful spring morning and the greens are green and the snow capped peaks in the distance are white as white!

We wind our way pass areas of massive farm production with fields full of grain growing.  Then, all of a sudden we will be surrounded by Rocky, craggy lands covered in sage brush and lava rock outcropping a.  Quite the contrast for sure.  And then, over another hill, it's green pastures full of content cattle and sleepy little farms and far a communities once again.  Such a beautiful land this Idaho is!

One of the prettier little cities we passed through was Mountain Home.  It is here where we hopped back on to an Interstate.  We head back West on I 84 until we get to Boise.  What a beautiful city this is to drive through. Especially once we turned off  of I84 and headed north on Hwy 55.  The neighbourhoods are bordered by an array of trees and manicured lawns which are so beautifu on this spring morning.  We will drive 111 miles along this highway.  North of Boise, we begin the "Payette River Scenic Byway".  Again, I am wowed by the amazing scenery all around us.

We wind our way up and up then down and down through the most munificent hills and valleys.  Some beautiful homes perch on top of the surrounding hills which are spattered with beautiful yellow flowers.  I might add that along this first 30 miles or so there are many 'runaway lane ahead' signs so you can imagine how long and steep the grade is going down out of these mountains into the valley.  (More breath holding and closed eyes !!).  But the valley below is so green and lush with a beautiful Payette River running through it.

This byway is a real outdoor enthusiasts area.  For sure, the river Rapids are a big draw to kayakers, white water raft companies, fishing, and even dirt bike riding.  I took a picture of the sign which describes al that this Scenic Byway has to offer.  We climbed out of the valley and were in the Boise National Forest.  I don't know how many times I verbalized how beautiful it was ... but it was many !

By afternoon, we are back into cloudy skies and strong winds.  This has not been the kindest road trip home to BC for us in the weather department.  In fact, we think it is the coldest return trip we have had on our way home to Predator Ridge.

Once we got to a lovely little town called New Meadows, we turned on to Hwy 95 north.  We passed a sign that said we were at the 45th parallel - half way between the equator and the North Pole.    We had about two more hours to go UNTIL .....    Joe said, "look honey - there's a hot spring.  Should we turn around and check it out!"...   and we did just that.  Pulling into Zim's Hotsprings, we weren't sure what to expect.

What a pleasant surprise to be camped in a grassy meadow, satellite hooked up, wi fi working just fine, and a wonderful natural hot springs pool to soak in.  We've had our afternoon soak and after dinner, we will have a pre-bedtime soak.  Talk about relaxing.  This is one of our favourite things to do and we, for sure, we do brake for hot springs even if it means cutting our day of driving short!

April 27 through Northern Nevada and into Idaho

Woke up this Wednesdy morning to a cool misty rain.  Pulling away from the RV Park at 8:00 a.m. we have a good start to the day.  Coffee and some ham and mushroom strata will keep us content for a good while on the road.

We head East on Interstate 80 for about 70 miles.  Drove up and down lots of big hills and through many valleys.  The surrounding hills on this part of the route are displaying more grass than the sage and creosote bush.  Despite the misty weather, the green spring palette on these hills is lovely.  And the cows look ever so happy !

At Elko, we turned north on to Highway 225 towards Boise, Idaho.  I have to say, now that we are at the end of our drive for the day, this is one of the the prettiest drives we have taken on our many trips to and from Arizona.  We climb out of the city of Elko and end up in a high plains area, once again covered with sagebrush as far as the eye can see.  There are cows on the road when we least expect it and unfortunately, we drove by two calves that had been hit and were becoming food the the Hawks and Ravens.

There is a spattering of ranches and farms along this stretch of road and they are all quite soggy from the rains and snow of the past few days.  We passed one house with two very neglected horses in a very wet corral by the house.  One of them looked so sick and starved.  These are the sights that are hard to get out of my head.  Why do people have animals if they can't feed them or care for them !!!

Heading north, we have a smaller range of mountains to the east which is the Shake Mountain  Range.  To the west, is the snow covered, and very large, Independence Mountain Range.  They are covered in so much snow.

As we start to travel along the Owyhee river, from North Fork up to Owyhee, we drive through miles and miles of the most stunning rugged valleys and river passes that we have every driven through.  The speed limit is 25 mph and with all the bends and tight curves, it truly is the maximum speed.  But the beauty of everything around us was breathtaking.  I took so many pictures along this route and even after editing, couldn't reject any more.  I would definitely like to take this highway another time.  Once we got to Owyhee, we were welcomed to the Shoshone and Paiete Reservation.  What contrast to be in this junky, beat up little town just a couple of miles from such stunning beauty.

We finally reached the Idaho border and the highway turned into Hwy 51 N.  The road sign also told us we were at the 42nd parallel at the Idaho border.  The roads have been dry all day but there is a lot of snow all around us and right down to the highway in many areas.  I think Owyhee is at 5400 feet so we are at higher altitudes in this high plain area which is why there is snow rather than rain.

A little further north, we drove through Bruneau on our way to Bruneau Dunes State Park.  It certainly is a WOW as you come around the bend and see these record big dunes in the middle of the plain.  This park boasts the tallest structured sand dune in North America.  It looms 470 feet above the desert floor and is quite magnificent !  There are other smaller dunes (but still very large) as well and a couple of small lakes.  The state park has wonderful campsites and all are good.  The pictures really don't do the dunes justice but I wanted you to see them.  Google Bruneau Dunes Idaho and Bing will provide you with some stunning photos.

We will go for a nice walk and get closer to the dunes despite the cooler weather and wind.  Then I am going to pour a glass of wine and do some reading.  The drive hasn't been as long today so we have some nice down time.

For my fellow RV'ers...   staying in State Parks is so much nicer than parks in towns and cities!  Much less expensive, much nicer and bigger campsites, and picnic tables (which we find many city parks don't provide).  This park even has really good wi-fi!   Something of a bonus for sure.

Until the next blog entry... I remain fascinated by the journey and thankful to have my own little house on wheels to keep me warm and comfy.

April 26 through Nevada. Happy Birthday Mom !

First thought of the day is to send my mother Happy 89th Birthday wishes.  I will try to reach her by phone a bit later but I know she will be busy with seniors coffee morning that she walks down the street for every Tuesday morning.  Then it will be lunch with one or some of my brothers... etc. etc.  She is a well loved (retired teacher) in the community of Airdrie, Alberta.

After a windy night in the park, we are off early this morning, with plans to jig and jag through Nevada until we get to Battle Mountain, Nevada where we will camp for the night.

Turning out of the park on to Hwy 160, we enjoy the beauty of the morning sun casting its light on the mountains we are driving towards.  We are fresh and ready for the road.  Joe turns on our favourite Sirius station and you won't believe the songs they are playing today !!   How about "the letter that Johny Walker read" !!   lol !   Then a few minutes down the road it was "Squaws on the warpath Tonight" ... and a few miles further it was "My Dark Skinned Phillipino" !!   By gosh !!  I am so glad western music has had a change of heart!  These songs would never get published in today's market!

After awhile on Hwy 160, we turn on to Hwy 95 north travelling through the beautiful Amargosa Valley.  Oh yes - we are still in Nevada so we have passed a few Brothels..  There was "Angels Ladies" and "Shady Lady B&B".  Can you imagine a senior couple in all their innocence pulling in to Shady Lady and asking for a room !!   Once again - my warped sense of humour shows itself !

As we roll down the highways of this beautiful, rugged land, I reminisce about what is important in life to me.  My top 3 'Heart Sings Values" are :

The love of, and time spent with, family and dear friends.
My intense love of the animal kingdom.  All creatures big and small - well, maybe not the roaches !
My love of desert lands on this continent.  I feel a presence of a past-life whenever I am in the Arizona and Nevada deserts.  They are still magical to me, even after visiting them for 40 years.

Last nights 3/4 moon is still a faint vision in the bluer than blue sky and up ahead, we can see some huge dines off to the left of the coach about 2 miles. The sign says "Big Dune" .

Drove through Beatty, Nevada.  Another old mining-era town that looks so run down and broken up but people still live here and businesses still do business !  The highway traffic would help for sure.

Leaving Beatty, turning on to Hwy 6 East a ways, then north on to Hwy 376 north,  and driving towards Austin, we run once again, into an area of Joshua Tree forest.  (Did you know the Joshua Tree is part of the lily family?  Neither did I !!) We have a 100 miles of driving right up the Great Basin which makes for a long, straight highway framed by the Silverpeak Range on the West and the Cactus Range of mountains on the East.  Desert beauty at its finest.  The mountain peaks are dusted with lots of fresh snow and look magnificent against the blue spring sky.

Somewhere along this route, we turn on to 50 West to get to Austin.  That is one very long mountain pass UP and one very long and windy mountain pass down.  Another few miles where my eyes were closed tight.  I don't do well on the downwards parts that's for sure!  We ran into lots of snow that must have fallen overnight or in the past day or so but luck was with us and the roads were dry.  The summit was 7500 feet in the Toiyabe National Forest.  Austin, Nevada is not Austin Texas in any way, shape or form !   I must share a couple of pictures I took of this shabby little mountain town with my dear friends in the Texas town.  They will get a kick out of it for sure.  By the way, on the edge of Austin town limits, the highway sign said "Highway 50 - The Lonliest Road in America".  And we can attest for that.  We stopped a short ways out of town to have lunch and in all the time we were pulled over, two vehicles passed us heading north.   Very quiet road and nice to drive.

This Great Basin is full of vegetation.  I see cows out on the range finding something to eat in it.  Amongst have the sage-brush dominated slopes and valleys, and the creosote bushes, they manage to get some kind of nutrition.

We then turned on to Hwy 305 ( I told you we were jigging and jagging through Nevada today !) and about an hour later, we find ourselves at Battle Mountain, Nevada.  We pulled into Clark Park which is a pristine little RV park in town and will provide us with our daily respite from the highway.  My driver will have an afternoon snooze, the red wine will be poured before dinner, and the menu calls for Fajita's in UBe's Coach this evening.

One thing I know for sure.  This is a very large State.  We have been driving for two days and are still in Nevada.  Tomorrow we will spend the night at Bruneau Dunes State Park in Idaho.  Google it... it has an amazing, very large sand dune.  We won't have is-fi so I will post tomorrow's adventure when we next have the Internet!

The photos below are all taken from inside the RV while we are driving.
Blessings to all ..

Spring Travels Phoenix to Vernon BC 2016

Heading north to Wickenburg we are excited to be heading to our B.C. home.  The winds were up and about 30 minutes out, we were experiencing the high winds that were forecast.  Tough driving for my Joe.  It was only 54 degrees passing through Boulder City.  Heading down into the Hoover Dam area we were buffeted around seriously by the high winds.  Crossing over the Hoover Bridge is always traumatic for me in high winds.  The signs actually ask high vehicles to move over to the left lane (in case a wind gust comes and blows you to the side... which would be over the edge from the right hand lane) !   My eyes were closed for miles and miles as we made our way down through the gusty passes and over the bridge.  Lots of deep breathing for sure!

Pulling away from the house was emotionally overwhelming for me.  It is the first time that my UBe is not curled up on my lap ready for her road trip.  By Vegas I had worked my way through two teary breakdowns.  Such is life when you lose a soulmate.  

North of Wickenburg we are continually amazed at the beauty of the Joshua Tree Forest that abounds on each side of the highway.   The desert terrain with all its rockery and scrub brush conjures up Zane Grey in my mind (he is one of my favourite authors and as a young girl, I read every book he wrote and have them all to this day).

West of Vegas has us heading up and out of the city on hwy 160 into some stunning and rugged mountainous terrain.  Over the Mountain Springs Pass we went - up to the summit of 5500 ft.   Warning signs for wild mules and horses had me on high alert for a sighting but no luck in that department.  On the other side of the beautiful and ever so rugged pass we travel down to the large and vast Mohave. This is one huge basin that is flat and as far as the eye can see.  The highway stretches out and over the horizon..the temperatures dropped so low overnight in this area that the mountain peaks have a dusting of snow from the light rains In the area.  We are driving along the edge of Death Valley ... but no heat in the area today.  Just cold, rainy winds !

West of Pahrump, we pulled into our RV Park for the night.  Joe was ever so glad that we had reached our destination for the day.  Driving a big RV in high winds (the highway signs warned of high winds) is very tiring.  We are in Nevada Treasure RV Resort which is absolutely lovely.  The RV sites are clean and paved and level.  It is a themed "Tiki" RV park on 19 acres of land.  To the west we have a beautiful view of the Spring Mountains.  We are literally in the shadow of the Toiyabe national Forest in the Pahrump valley.  for my RV friends...www.nvtreasure.com is the website for this park.

The weather doesn't permit a nice steak on the BBQ so it's lasagna tonight.  As RV'ers, we have learned that a backup meal on days like this is a must.  So we are comfy in our warm home on wheels for the night.  If the current storm blows over, we will venture out for a walk and check out this lovely place.