11 October ‘06
Leaving Coeur d’Alene was met with mixed emotions. We are definitely excited about getting on with our journey, but this is also saying “Goodbye” (leaving the close proximity) to our family for at least 8 months. Farragut also has given us a great experience also, with the mix of hard work, lots of opportunity to meet and enjoy additional travelers, a chance to explore deeper into the panhandle of Idaho, and be a part of the “community” of Farragut State Park. After getting all the windows in the “Toad” tinted and the air-conditioning finally fixed, we found we were ready. We also did something we haven’t done for a long time…we went to the AAA office and had them make up a “trip tic” for this leg of the trip. We are following Highway 95 all the way to the Baja with a lot of stops in between. Fact is, our first stop is at Hells Gate State Park in Lewiston Idaho (about 85 miles from CDA). We’ve been reading so much about Hells Canyon and thought this might be the perfect time for us to see it. For some reason the weather has decided to become early Fall, with the temp rising to 72 degrees in full sun. Now the way to see Hells Canyon is to take a “jet” boat up the Snake River on a full day tour. There is no access to the canyon by car and besides, who wants to pass up a days ride up a canyon with all kinds of additional adventures waiting. Tomorrow morning we board before 8 and we’ll be back by 6 with lots to talk about. Last night we took a walk up river (the Snake) to see and photograph some wonderful rock formations that have risen from over 300 feet below water level to well over 300 feet above. The formations rise straight up, twist, and curve to a beautiful natural phenomenon. High up on the side of a portion of the many walls of these rocks, Louise pointed out a large colony of mud nests that were made by Swifts or Martins (our guess, not knowing for sure). As we were getting the backpack all set up with water and other things that we like to take on hikes, a park ranger came by to let us know that we should watch for rattlesnakes that could be warming themselves along the path that we would be taking…SNAKES ???? With my camera ready and senses alert, we saw no snakes. I’m not sure whether I’m disappointed or just damned excited that we missed them…
Leaving Coeur d’Alene was met with mixed emotions. We are definitely excited about getting on with our journey, but this is also saying “Goodbye” (leaving the close proximity) to our family for at least 8 months. Farragut also has given us a great experience also, with the mix of hard work, lots of opportunity to meet and enjoy additional travelers, a chance to explore deeper into the panhandle of Idaho, and be a part of the “community” of Farragut State Park. After getting all the windows in the “Toad” tinted and the air-conditioning finally fixed, we found we were ready. We also did something we haven’t done for a long time…we went to the AAA office and had them make up a “trip tic” for this leg of the trip. We are following Highway 95 all the way to the Baja with a lot of stops in between. Fact is, our first stop is at Hells Gate State Park in Lewiston Idaho (about 85 miles from CDA). We’ve been reading so much about Hells Canyon and thought this might be the perfect time for us to see it. For some reason the weather has decided to become early Fall, with the temp rising to 72 degrees in full sun. Now the way to see Hells Canyon is to take a “jet” boat up the Snake River on a full day tour. There is no access to the canyon by car and besides, who wants to pass up a days ride up a canyon with all kinds of additional adventures waiting. Tomorrow morning we board before 8 and we’ll be back by 6 with lots to talk about. Last night we took a walk up river (the Snake) to see and photograph some wonderful rock formations that have risen from over 300 feet below water level to well over 300 feet above. The formations rise straight up, twist, and curve to a beautiful natural phenomenon. High up on the side of a portion of the many walls of these rocks, Louise pointed out a large colony of mud nests that were made by Swifts or Martins (our guess, not knowing for sure). As we were getting the backpack all set up with water and other things that we like to take on hikes, a park ranger came by to let us know that we should watch for rattlesnakes that could be warming themselves along the path that we would be taking…SNAKES ???? With my camera ready and senses alert, we saw no snakes. I’m not sure whether I’m disappointed or just damned excited that we missed them…