The Cascades

We had come this way west through the Cascades back in 2003 on our way back from a trip to Banff and Jasper, but for some reason we didn't remember it being so spectacular.  The mountains are rugged, sharp, and forbidding with a lot of snow for good measure.  The road is winding, somewhat narrow, and it is especially hard for the driver to stay on course with such sensational scenery around every corner.  

Climbing up towards Washington Pass

We remembered we had stopped somewhere along the way to take a short walk to a viewpoint and were hoping to find it once again.  We did.

Jan at the viewpoint

Beautiful!

Me standing on the edge of the cliff, yeah right...

We had a nice lunch stop along the way, and just took our time, pulling off every so often to let the traffic by on our way to Rockport, WA.

Awesome

We continued to an overlook above Diablo Lake, a part of the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project.

The color is from glacial silt

We made our way down and got another couple glimpses of the snow icing the mountains.

Pretty

We pulled into a really nice campground at the Howard Miller Steelhead Park.  It was very well done, and even though we did not have sewer, it was peaceful, quiet, lots of privacy, and arranged in a way that we had never seen, in circles, very inventive.  Check out the map in the brochure.  There were 10 sites in the circle, fanned out, easy to get into and out of, and afforded more privacy than the normal side by side sites.

The view from our site, #40

We even managed to get in another couple days fishing, no we still haven't caught anything:(

Our fishing stream

A River Runs Through It

Way, way back when we lived in Pennsylvania and I started flying for a living, I flew with several hard core fly fishermen.  They mentored me and taught me how to fly fish as well as tie flies.  I loved it.  But as time often does, after I was hired by Delta and we moved and life progressed with building a house, raising kids, commuting to work, running a hardware store, etc, I let it go.  Now Jan and I had been doing a lot of talking about our lifestyle and our traveling and realized as we have covered so much area out here and were starting to overlap in places we've been to before, we needed to come up with something that would allow both of us to do something together and that excited both of us in our myriad travels.  It's not that it just came up either, we actually had talked about it off and on for years but without any kind of drive.  We have driven by or hiked along some incredible waterways where one of us would comment how enjoyable it would be to lose yourself fly fishing for a few hours.  Jan has always loved to fish, but never fly fished before.  So while we were in Boise we decided to do some investigation and see what would be involved to get back into a sport that I left for...y years, well let's just say a LONG time ago.

We also realized that my fly rods, reels, and other stuff from that time were safely stored away in our storage unit in FL.  There is a huge Cabela's in Boise so over we went and looked at rod and reel combos, vests, waders, flies, leaders, tippets, nets, and on and on.  We hemmed and hawed and went back two more times before we made a move.  We felt it would be stupid to invest in all the gear if Jan didn't like it, or wasn't thrilled with learning to cast, it isn't intuitive.  So we bought a rod and reel combo that was already loaded with fly line and leader, tied on a little tell tale and went out to a park and I proceeded to teach Jan how to cast.  She did great and best of all loved it.  So step two, go back and get a bunch of stuff.  We got another rod and reel combo and a bunch of stuff at Cabela's and tried to buy waders, but neither of us was able to find anything that fit us, so we ended up going to an Orvis store and after trying on tons of different waders and boots we got our gear.  We ordered some more stuff including our nets from Amazon, so by the time we got to Twisp, WA, we were ready to take our maiden voyage.  

We got our licenses and found a good spot to start, and were glad there was no one else around to see us get all dressed  and set up for the first time:)

Bottom line, we had a great time.  Jan progressively got better and better, she's a natural, and by the end of our second day was able to land her fly where she wanted to.  It very happily came back to me, kind of like riding a bike.  We fished for a couple days, and plan to fish some more here in the Rockport, WA area in the Cascades, and several more times in Washington state as we move around.  So now you know our new endeavor and as I warned several of you, it might be kind of a let down, but for us we are pleased to have a new hobby to add to our repertoire.

"Our spot"

Working it

A very happy Jan!

Been chilling mostly

We left you as we were arriving in Lewiston, ID at the Hell's Gate State Park right on the Snake River.  We stayed here once before way back in 2001 when we went on a jet boat ride with Jan's parents, Vern and Viv, and our good friends Ray and April.  We had remembered it as a very nice public park lots of room and quiet and nice.  Funny how some things blur after 15 years:)  When we made our reservations back in Feb we didn't take notice that it was on a Fri, Sat, and Sun.  Bad mistake.  As I explained in my post comparing public to private campgrounds, the public ones, especially, fill to overflowing on the weekend, and when it is right next to the Snake River with lots of boats and beaching, to say there are a few kids and families is an understatement. And the usual advantage of being less expensive didn't pan out either as we paid more for a public campsite than we have ever before.  Oh well, even us experienced full timers make mistakes once in awhile.  But it turned out okay, it was quiet and dark at night although the barking dogs, running children and being right along the walkway to the beach added a bit to our excitement during the day:(

The drive up through eastern OR and WA had us transition from the incredible scenery in the Wallowa area to more and more wheat fields.  Miles and miles of them with softer rolling hills that were planted everywhere it was possible.  With windmills covering the ridge tops.

Wheat as far as you can see

A couple windmills

We took a drive to the east to Orofino, ID along the Clearwater River, and as we went the scenery got better and better, although I guess if you were a big farmer the wheat looks pretty darn good.

The pretty little town of Orofino

We poked around and had a good lunch overlooking the river.

Nice spot

We walked around the park a bit and got some reading done, nice to just chill.  Meanwhile we have been doing tire research as we have made it our mission to install some more appropriate tires on the truck after our little fiasco.  We settled on BFG All Terrain T/A KO2 tires that are 8 ply and have an excellent rating and following.  We also decided we would wait until we got back into Oregon and go to Discount Tire a national company where we have been buying tires for the last 15 years.  Why Oregon, because they don't have sales tax there:)

Then we headed north to Coeur d'Alene, one of the prettiest lakes in the country.  We have been there several times over the years.  This time we had a mission to run over to Spokane and exchange a pair of shoes that were killing my feet at REI.  We stayed at Blackwell Island RV Park which has gotten bigger and bigger since we were there last in 2005. It was very nice though.  After that mission was completed and the new shoes tested out, we wanted to ride up to see Priest Lake and Lake Pend Oreille about 80 miles north.  We headed up and found as we got further and further north the timber got thicker and thicker, logging trucks were everywhere, and we saw some enormous mills that were digesting all the timber and making lumber.  We went to Priest Lake first and found we could catch a glimpse at the southern end but the lakeside is essentially all private property so there was no access until we went even farther north to the Indian Creek Campground part of the national forest where we found a picnic table with a view and had lunch.

Then it was south and back east to Lake Pend Oreille, the largest lake in Idaho, and the 5th deepest lake in the US.  In fact, the Navy built a base there during WW II for submarine research, and to this day has an Acoustic Research Detachment that tests large scale submarine models in its 1150' depths.  Again this lake is surrounded by private property, so is hard to see much of.  In fact we didn't even get pictures.  It was a long day, over 200 miles and although it was pretty the forest didn't really allow too much visibility so out of character I don't have pictures.

We only had one more day so we took advantage of being able to wash, most campgrounds don't allow it, and washed both the motorhome and the truck.  Exciting, huh?  One more thing we wanted to do while there was go have dinner at the famous Wolf Lodge.  When we were in Coeur d'Alene the first time in 2001, our good friends Dick and Ann told us all to be sure to go eat at the Wolf Lodge, we were curious and went over to see what it was.  Well it appeared to be this kind of broken down building out in the middle of nowhere.  We stopped in as it was open and were told to be sure to make reservations or we wouldn't have chance of getting in.  What?!?  We did, for the next night, thinking it was one of the silliest things we ever did.  Well let me tell you, when we arrived the place was packed, there were cars parked up and down the road, a line at the door, and wow, did we have a great meal with huge delicious steaks!  So in 2005, Jan and I were sure to go back which we did and had another great meal.  So this time we made our reservation, and had a so-so meal.  It seems after all these years they have gotten complacent or changed hands or something.  Very disappointing.  Time marches on I guess.

Having an oh so average meal:(

So now we have moved about 200 miles to the west just about into the Cascade Mountains to Twisp, WA, where we plan to actually implement our newest endeavor, more to follow... 

Wallowa-Whitman National Forest----WOW!

We had read several blogs about this place in eastern Oregon and were very curious to see it.  Could there be a place that beautiful that we have missed over the years?  The quick answer is yes, it is awesomely beautiful with a unique mix of topography which makes it so cool, and it is largely undiscovered, even by Oregonians.  

The first thing we found is it is somewhat difficult to find a campground, they are few in the area, but the Wallowa River RV Park worked out nicely.  If you look at a map this huge area is found in the northeastern corner of the state, a 2.3 million acre parcel with over 600,000 acres designated as wilderness and was inhabited by the Nez Perce indians.  It is bordered on the east by Hell's Canyon, the deepest gorge in North America.  We have jet boated twice on the Snake River which is what dug out the canyon, but I can tell you the view from the top is much, much different from the view from the bottom!  We got a good idea of just how big that canyon is, unfortunately it is similar to the Grand Canyon as in your eyes and brain can't really do it justice as it is just so big it's hard to comprehend.  To get to the area we needed to work our way west into Oregon, go north and then finally east on 82 towards Wallowa, Enterprise, and Joseph.  You work your way up and over a winding road and descend into the prairie area.  It was rainy when we arrived and honestly we thought it looked nice but nothing to crow about (we couldn't see the backdrop of the mountains).  The area is as low as 875' in the Hell's Canyon area to as high as 9845' in the Eagle Cap Wilderness Area.

We waited out a rainy day and then hit the road.  We made a huge circle from our campground in Wallowa to the Buckhorn Overlook and then back down across the Zumwalt Prairie back to Enterprise and finally to our campground.  

The topography is phenomenal, prairie, wheat fields, smooth rolling hills covered with grass interspersed with rocky cliff faces, clumps of trees to whole hillsides of trees, to majestic snow covered rocky peaks in the distance and lots and lots of green.

Just leaving the campground

Along the way

Scenic

We stopped at the Red Hill Overlook for our picnic lunch and thought the view was pretty spectacular.

Lunch

We worked our way over to the Buckhorn Overlook and wow oh wow!  Amazing, it  gave us a look at how big Hell's Canyon really is, hard to comprehend.

Buckhorn Overlook

After the overlook we worked our way south towards the Zumwalt Prairie, a mostly intact 330,000 acre prairie that because of its elevation, 3500-5500' and remoteness has escaped the plow and is used mostly for ranching.  It is representative of the immense prairies that used to run from west of the Rockies all the way into Canada.  We knew it was big, but we were unprepared for its immenseness.  We drove miles and miles through it and could see beautiful undulating prairie as far as we could see in all directions.  

And it was great right up until we got the flat tire.  No cell coverage and we had seen one car the whole day.  The road is gravel and sharp stones, and fairly soft, and of course we are on a hill, not the best place to change a tire.  Oh well, you gotta do what you gotta do:)  First I wanted to see why.  I should mention we carry an air compressor, and more recently a tire plug kit.  We have had a couple experiences lately that indicated it would be a VERY good idea to have a patch kit.  We hooked up the compressor to the tire and pumped away until we found the leak.  It looked like a cut about an inch and a half long but it felt like the air was coming out one small area like a puncture.  Oh, I should mention we are 30 miles from the nearest town, Enterprise, 20 more miles of gravel and 10 paved...  I figure what do we have to lose so I plug the hole, seems like it may have worked, so we wait for the compressor.  It's only a 12 volt small unit so it takes quite awhile for it to pump up our fairly big tires.  While we wait we get the spare out from under the truck just in case, and.....we see a car coming.  Believe it or not it is the Oregon State Patrol, they stop and see what they can do.  Asked if we wanted them to call AAA.  We said we may have fixed it temporarily and ask if there is a tire shop in Enterprise?  Yes.  The tire is now holding air and I say we gotta go.  They agree and head out in front of us on this 35 mph posted road at about 50 or so, we follow, and amazingly it seems to be holding air.  After about 7 miles they pull over, ask how we are doing, fine we say, and they say go ahead of us, so off we fly at 50-60 racing against hope that the tire will hold until the tire shop.  We joke that they let us in front so they could arrest for speeding 20-25 over the limit:)  We made it!!  But when they inspected the tire they said it was a miracle the plug held as the cut was about 2 inches long and the tire was trash.  Luckily they had an identical used tire that actually was better than our others which I bought and they mounted, then they asked why we were using such "flimsy" tires off road on their sharp rock roads?  We didn't really have an answer, we never had a problem before?   Turns out our OEM tires are only 4 ply and are fine for the road but pressed when off road on rocky terrain, which we knew but were lucky.  We have decided that when we get back to Oregon on our loop around, we will buy new tires all the way around that are a bit more stout but still retain a smooth ride on the highway, there's no sales tax in OR, that's why.

The next day we went on a super 3+ mile hike into the Eagle Cap Wilderness up Hurricane Creek.  It was a delightful hike, quiet, only a few people, through the pine forest on a pine needle carpeted path, breaking out now and then to wonderful views of mountains and waterfalls, and best of all fairly level.

The intrepid hiker negotiating the log bridge

Climbing along the creek

Quiet and peaceful

My wonderful and cute hiking companion:)

After our hike we went into the little town of Joseph, a really cute, nice town to have lunch.  We sat outside on a beautiful day and had a delicious lunch at Ember's Brew House.

Then we drove south to the Hell's Canyon Overlook, only 45 miles away.  One overlook we wanted to go to, the Hat Point Lookout where you can see the Snake River way at the bottom was closed for a week for logging.  But it was a nice and scenic ride over.  First we went by the Wallowa Lake near Joseph.

Wallowa Lake

This overlook was impressive and gave another view of how big and deep Hell's Canyon is.

So now we are in Lewiston, ID, right on the Snake River for a couple days after our incredibly enjoyable time in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest.  It comes highly recommended!

Riggins, ID, and the Salmon River

We only had a couple days in Riggins, so we went exploring.  The town is definitely a river town, it looked like everything in town was related to the river in some way, either by name or service.  It's quite a bustling town for only 410 residents, but I'm sure at this time of year with all the rafting there are way, way more folks.  We drove through and up north a bit, we had come this way in 2014 when we went jet boating on the Snake River in Hell's Canyon out of White Bird, ID.  We were able to stop easily in the truck and saw many rafters going by.

Pretty sedate water here

The Salmon River has the distinction of being the longest free-flowing river within one state in the lower 48, 425 miles.  It is also known as "The River of no Return".  It flows through one of the deepest gorges on the continent.  Its granite walled canyon is one fifth of a mile deeper than the Grand Canyon, and for about 180 miles the canyon is over one mile deep!

We drove up a little forest road that followed along the river to the east or upstream for awhile.  It was a beautiful road with exceptional scenery.  We saw several deer and an elk.  

Full of rapids

And lots of calm water

As we progressed we noticed several signs indicating construction ahead, and caution about a bridge, both weight and length restrictions, and sure enough we came upon a flag person who said she could let us go through right now but realize there could be delay of up to 30 minutes coming back.  We were waffling, but she said it was very interesting to see how they supported a crane out over the river to do the construction of the new bridge.  So we said okay, now she didn't mention any description of the bridge:)  We came around a bend and there was the bridge, a narrow, old looking, single lane suspension bridge that didn't look like it could support a lawn mower let alone us, but it didn't matter, there was no way to turn around anyway!

The bridge

Looks nice, huh?

We made it across and as we cleared the bridge there was another flag person on the other side.  I asked what weight was the bridge rated for, and she said she didn't know but her family used to take log trucks across it!!  That would be a challenge as on each end of the bridge was a 90 degree turn that would be difficult to deal with even if the bridge did in fact hold you up.  They are replacing the bridge and needed a crane to do some of the work and they did in fact mount it out over the river.  I would have loved to see them get it in position!

Quite an accomplishment

We drove another 10-15 miles up the river before we turned around.  What beautiful country, we definitely have to come back, especially with our new, yet to be announced, endeavor.  We made our way back to town, had a great lunch cooked and served to us by gregarious Kate at the Kate's Cattleman's Family Restaurant.

We poked around in the rain for another day and in the midst of more rain made our way down south, over the Snake River and back north to Wallowa, OR to explore the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest for a few days.

Our rainy trip through gorgeous scenery