Wednesday August 3

Canyon Pines RV Park

Polluck,ID

9AM.  67°  clear

Breakfast at Country Coffee Cabin in Midvale, ID.

We continue south on Rt95 to Weiser looking for US Bureau of Land Management property and Jonathan Rd. We end up on a 12 mile long gravel road that had more ripple than ruffle potato chips. Along this road was our first sighting of the Snake River. No sign of Evel Knievel but Hell's Canyon was further north.

We pass through Weiser Dunes and arrive at a dead end in Steck State Park. It's 96° so we stop to walk along the river looking for what else ROCKS.

We're in Idaho; that's Oregon on the other side of the Snake River. After returning to paved roads we take a wrong turn getting on Rt 201 and end up in Payette, Oregon for a few miles until Rt 201 merges with Rt 84.  The tire pressure sensor on the trailer sounds. We have a flat on the driver side front trailer tire. We pull off at a highway gas station and replace the flat with the spare and continue on. Within a few miles the alarm sounds again and the rear tire on the passenger side is loosing air.our next stop is at the Les Schwab Tire Center in Nampa, ID. One new tire and one plug.

Back on Rt 84 and drove to Mountain Home, ID where we stayed at Gem State RV Park. The Park was closed for the night so we found a site hooked up and had dinner Spam Fettuccine Alfredo. 

Tuesday August 2

Wolf Lodge RV Park

7:30AM  67°  Clear

Today we head south on Rt 95 along the Salmon River.  Lewiston, ID is supposed to be an area to find agate & jasper.

We stop for lunch at McDonald's and then visit the Nes Perce Historic Park. We watch a cultural video on the Nez Perce nation and walk around the museum.

This a huge canoe carved from one log.

The first RV Park we stopped at there was no office and no one around so after driving through we continued south to Polluck, ID and stayed at Canyon Pines RV Park.

Monday August 1

6 AM 🤪

 

This morning we are headed to Garnet Creek collection area in the Saint Joe National Forest. I found this on the National Parks app but could only get one ticket but there are always no-shows. It's a 2 hour drive ( Wolf Creek was the closest campground with an available site). 

When we arrive at the parking lot there is nothing. No signs no trails, nothing. We drive further up the gravel road but there's nothing except the parking lot. I walk back down the road and find a sign pointing up a side road. It's a 1/2 mile hike up hill with a sign stating "No Ticket,  Don't Come". We continue on. 

We find a small operation with a couple of rangers, a dirt pile, a sifting area and a sluice. I show my ticket and try to get them to let Bob partake. But no way. He can watch but not dig or sift.

Did you notice she didn't mention sluice?😁

I'm given 2 - 3 gallon buckets and head to the digging area, then sifting what I've dug and head to the sluice. There is plenty of room so Bob sits to "watch". Well 1/2 of the bucket ends to in front of Bob, nobody says anything so for the next 3 hours I dig, sift, and Bob sits at the sluice and washing the material. AND we find 16 Oz of garnets under my 3 hours Idaho Mining Permit.

As I'm weighing out the ranger said that she was sorry that Bob couldn't be involved and told me of a place outside the Park that had fossil and Garnet collecting for a fee. So we head...

But itunch time. Google maps says there's a place just down the road J&E Stop in Clarkia, ID.

We met Eva. She asked " What do you want.". Food , " I just returned from shopping", How about drinks, "There's a cooler out front "   Very customer friendly.

She sits that counter and takes a phone call then talks to a local guy who came in. I guess she figured we weren't leaves so she cooks a couple of cheeseburgers  

I ask her if there is anything to see in the area, " No  why".

Eva lightened up a little. She and her husband retired to Clarkia from Seattle where they owned 3 restaurants.  We ask about this fossil/ Garnet place. Turns out it's a motorcycle race track. "Just go and start digging and someone will catchup with you."

We find the place and there is no one around. The fossil bed is actually a ledge. The fossils are on dried clay that just crumble.  We move on to a set of tables under a tent. Bob's nervous that there's no one around but I start sorting stones on the table. A woman comes out of the house and explains that this is her brother's operation but he away after yesterday's motorcycle races. After about an hour we've found some large garnets and she charges us $20. 😁

We head back to to Wolf Lodge .

We light dinner of surf n turf 🤣🤣

Sunday July 31

Riverbend RV Park 

Twisp, WA

8AM  76°F.  Clear

Today we're heading south to Pateros, WA in order to bypass Okanogan Pass then east to the Grand Coulee Dam.

During one of the glacial events a lobe of a glacier in Montana created a dam that created a huge glacial lake the size close to one of the current day great lakes 2000ft deep. When the glaciers receded the lake emptied in 48 hrs and carved a path from Montana to the Pacific ocean.

The coulees (eroded valleys) are today's evidence and the Columbia River.

During the 1940s the country was into building dams. The first one we come to this morning is the Chief Joseph Dam Powerhouse. 

The dam construction was started in 1949 and opened in 1955. It was expanded in the 1970s. It hydroelectric generation is the 3rd greatest in the USA. That's the good news. The bad news is that this dam blocks the salmon from their migration: no fish ladders. The dam was originally named the Foster Creek Project and Powerhouse in 1946 and renamed in 1948 in honor of Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce nation who was exiled to a reservation. 

On to the Grand Coulee Dam. Along the way on Rt17 there are large basalt rock left by the ice age flood that scoured the area.

The Grand Coulee dam when built in 1941 it was the largest concrete structure in the world. The sign says it still is (?).

The temp is 96° so we bake for a few minutes and move on. We stop at the Billy Burger drive-in in Wilbur, WA for lunch.

We stop for the night at Wolf Lodge RV Park in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho.

In the evening we meet Delmara & Tom who stopped to talk Airstreams. It seems that not many people are aware that Airstream made trailers with a slide-out. They only did for about 5 years in the early 2000s. They are full timers traveling with their 3 kids. They restored their Airstream over a several year period. We never got a chance to see their work but it was fun talking to them about everything they went through getting back on the road.

Saturday July 30

Riverbend RV Park 

Twisp, WA

9AM

Local landmark in downtown Twisp.

We had seem a reference to a guy that travels around Washington, collects rocks, and comes to the Twisp Town Market Day every Saturday.  It's Saturday 😉.

First we stop at the Cinnamon Twisp Bakery for breakfast.

At the Market Day we meet Mike Melton, the rock guy. A fountain of knowledge about absolutely no organized thoughts. He was so excited to share locations that he'd move on to another location before finishing the last. At times I tried to slow him down. He'd stop for a breath and immediately launch into more locations.

His directions also required local historical knowledge like the last after the old bridge that got washed out near Aunt Sue's 🤪.

We decided we had enough info and headed.

We both remember one place off Rt97 so we went back over Okanogan Pass and follow what we'd remembered of this directions. The next 80 miles we spent on US National Forest fire roads, Indian Reservations and just wandering with occasional Google maps. At one point we passed a sign to a town and maps concurred. It wasn't as finished a road as the one we were on but a sign and google...45 minutes later we came to a washout. Yup the road was gone! 

We spent some time collecting rocks in the stream then backtracked. We eventually emerged from the forest and headed back to Twisp.

But we passed the 12 Tribes Casino and decided, given that we had spent a good part of the day using reservation fire roads, we'd stop and make a small donation 🤣🤣.

Friday July 29

Riverbend RV Park 

Twisp, WA

9AM

Laundry morning...

For lunch we head to Winthrop. Turns out to be a tourist town made up to look like a old western town. 3 Fingered Jack's is our choice. Very slow service and lots of kids.

It seems Jack was a chef at the restaurant and manager to cut two of his fingers off. I guess the word got around and he became an attraction. 

There were a number of carvred figures around town.

After lunch we wandered around town briefly before heading into the mountains: Ordell Creek National Forest on the recommendation of the campground owner interesting afternoon but few rocks. There had been a wild fire in the area a few years back.

Had dinner at Tappi in Twisp. Sat at the bar and watched John (owner) cook in a fruitwood fired brick oven. Excellent pizza.

Thursday July 28

Kamloops Municipal RV Park 

Kamloops,BC

8:30AM. 78°F.  Clear

We start the day stopping on a heavily travelled road at Monte Lake, BC to search a roadside ledge for agates. Found a number of good samples before heading further south.

 We have lunch at McDonald's in Vernon, BC before making the push to the border crossing.  The traffic is verrrrrrry slow.

Crossed the US border at about 3 PM in Oroville, Washington. Almost immediately we got cell service back; found a campground about an hour away. Called and made a reservation  at Riverbend RV campground in Twisp, WA. What the phone didn't say was there is a mountain range between us and Twisp. The Okanogan Pass rises 1500ft in about 10 miles. The trip up is slow but the trip back down is a thrill. Another no guard rail road along valley drop offs. We pull into Riverbend RV at about 6 PM. 

When we drove thru Twisp we saw them rolling in the sidewalks a we quickly unhitch and head into town to fund a place to eat: La Fonda Yucatan.

Back at the Park we meet another Airstreamer who had never seen an Airstream with a slide-out. ( they were only made between 2001-2005 ).

We end the evening by heading to the river to checkout the rocks. Turns out to be yet another mosquitoe feeding area. We don't last long..

Wednesday July 27

BEE LAZEE RV

Prince George, BC

9AM. 71°F  clear

Heading south on Rt 16 to Kamloops, BC.

The further south we go the hotter it's getting and the signs are getting confusing 😕. "Two Mile Lake, two kilometer" seems wrong. The other thing is the town names:

70 Mile House

100 Mile House

150

 Mile House

Actually these were stops along the Gold Waggon Road in 1860s Gold Rush. 

Lunch at Subway. Interesting carved wood sign of a hamburger. No burger joint just a Subway. Another historic site 🤣.

Green field have turned to burnt grasses by the time we get to Cache Creek, BC.

We stop at Kamloops Municipal RV Park and head out to explore the area.

As we've found out collecting rocks isn't so easy when you get close to people.There is a lot of barbed wire and No Trespassing signs but we have fun getting lost. 

The temp at 6 PM is 106°F 😩. Sure glad we fixed the A/C. It so hot even the Mt Goats are looking to run under the sprinklers.

Tuesday July 26

Kitwanga River RV Park 

Kitwanga, BC

8:30AM  63°F  Sunny 

Not a good start we're out of coffee 😩!

At the junction of Rts 16 & 37 we top off the gas, debug the windshield and have breakfast at the gas station Cafe.

The Seven Sister peaks are spectacular but there's  no pull off to take photos. The Coastal mountains are in the rear view mirror ; back in farming country.

The trash receptacles have been spruced up along this highway!

Groceries at Burns Lake. Heading towards Prince George and Rt 97. We pass through  Vanderhoof the geographical center of British Columbia (trip high light 🤣).

Stopped for the night at Bee Lazee RV Park in Prince George.  No bathrooms, no showers, no laundry 😩. Owner said she can't find help to clean and "I'm to old to bother"... Should be de.listed from Good Sam's...

Burgers on the grill for dinner.

Monday July 25

Dease Lake Lions Tarzilla RV Park

8AM. 54°F  partly cloudy 

We continue down the Cassier HW...stopped at a rest area to cook breakfast... and conti used our drive between the Coastal Mountain Range and the Skeena Mountains.

We stop in Kitwanga, BC for the night at the Kitwanga River RV Park.  We get an overflow site near the barn so we could plag-in to electric. We borrowed a step ladder to access the air conditioner unit on top of the trailer. A bolt securing the fan had been jarred loose by the rough gravel roads. Bob was able to fix it just as the temp went from the 50's to the 100's.🤪😁The Cassier Hw is much better than the Alaskan HW only a few unannounced holes and bumps.

Sunday July 24

Six Mile River Lodge

Tagish, YT

8AM. 50°F. Raining

9819 miles travelled 

Today we start our trip back south. Watson Lake, YT then down Cassier Hw ({Rt37).

Breakfast at a gas station Cafe Johnson's Crossing, Teslin River, Teslin Yukon Territory. This morning will be our last time in the Yukon. To our south is a wild fire area that is mostly out but still smoldering. We're leaving the Alaska Highway and taking the Cassier Hw which will eventually bring us into Washington state east of Seattle.

Smoke is increasing, no sign of flames but given the amount of smoke it's not far off.

Our next stop is Jade City. Not actually a city but a jade mining store. If you've seen their TV series, this is the place. None of the owners are around today. We spend about an hour drooling over the jade.

There's a young lady sitting at a table working on a laptop.  I assume she's working for the place and start talking to her. Turns out Lissa (Melissa) is a research scientist with the US Forest Service who is stranded at Jade City. The gravel road claimed the oil pan on her car. I think said she had been there 6 days waiting for a new oil pan. ( to be delivered tomorrow and the Jade City people will help her install it...). Lissa is on her way from Alaska to California to a new supervisor job. Her research is tree hydrology; loves working in the canopy of large tree species.

we continue on. BTW: We did buy some rough jade.

Shortly after leaving Jade City we're reminded that we're still in the wilderness of norther British Columbia. 

We just make it Dease Lake before running out of gas. There's gas but no restaurants open so we buy hot dogs and rolls at the gas station store. We stay at the Dease Lakes Lions International RV Park and have hot dogs 😁.

Saturday July 23

Garden City RV Park 

Skagway, AK 

8:30?AM.  56°F  Raining 

Leaving Skagway  and heading to Six Mile River Lodge in Tagish, BC for fishing and a one night stay.

We again stop at the BC bordered and the same ranger that told us that there was nothing in Altin was on duty. He of course remembered us. We told him he was right. He just laughed.

We arrive at the Lodge at noon and get the trailer parked and dig out the fishing equipment.im unsure if the gear we have is strong enough to handle the lake trout  27+ inches but we're here. Turns out Six Mile River is not wade-able so we have to fish from the bridge. The process of fishing here is interesting.  If you hook a fish you walk a couple hundred feet off the bridge and land the fish from a boat ramp.

As I feared our equipment isn't heavy enough. The water is moving and our hooks are just skipping on the surface. Even with added waits the same.

The old guy is fishing with a boat rod and lands a 27" Lake trout and heads home. We continue for awhile but finally give up and head back to the trailer...😩

The view from the bridge. Oh I forgot to mention that once we left Skagway the skies cleared.

After dinner sat out side the Lodgr to access wifi to try catching up on the blog. Neither the wifi nor I lasted very long. Saw a sitting area overlooking the river and headed there to feed the mosquitoes for awhile. When I got there a couple was already there. They had just returned from  a 14 day kayak trip in Atlin. They were from Bern, Switzerland. 

Friday July 22

Garden City RV Park 

Skagway, AK

8:30 AM. 59°F. Raining 

We've decided to take a side trip to Atlin, BC just because it's there. When we get to the Canadian border the border guard asks where we're headed: "Atlin", we say. His immediate response is "Why, there's nothing there".🤣

Back in BCfor the day.

The bypass road to Atlin is in Carcross and just before getting there a brown bear with cubs is right on the side of the road. I could get Bob to pose with them so...

There was one brown cub and one black???

We stopped in Carcross ( a First Nation community) for lunch.

Very rustic.

 The drive to Alin was a very quiet drive. We lost XM radio again or still and there is absolutely no other vehicles. This for you military jargon buffs. We passed a campground  called Snafu then a few miles down the road a campground named Tarfu. I kept looking but never found Fubar. Oh well.

There are a few private mines in Atlin and if your into backcountry kayaking this is the place.

The river was moving a little too fast for looking from pebbles . The area had several mines all posted. So we headed back.

On the way back to Skagway we find a place to eat called Six Mile River Resort. Nice place on the banks of you guessed it Six Mile River in Tagish, BC.

it's a Lodge with cabins but the kitchen was open to the public. So we asked what the speciality of the house was: Pizza! 🤣

We sat the bar and watched Mitch (the owner)  make our pie. This was the best pizza we've had on this trip!!!

Bob ate half before I could get my phone out to take the picture. 😉🤣

Mitch and Doug Dupont (owners) are open until September then close and head to their private resort in the jungles of Panama called Panayukana.May have to check this one out some cold winter day.

In talking to Doug we find out that they have RV sites on the property. So we tomorrow will be a short drive day and fishing on Six Mile River.