We try to keep our driving under 300 miles a day, so after leaving Winnemucca we headed north on US-95. I can't say there's much to see in Nevada or Eastern Oregon but a lot of high desert and scrub brush and not a lot of traffic. This particular day we only drove 225 miles to Marsing, Idaho, to Riverhaven RV Park on the Snake River. We haven't seen a lot of RV's on the road so we don't know if it's because of the economy or what but I'm not complaining because it makes it easy to get into campgrounds without reservations. We were the only over-nighters in the park although there were a few "permanents" who live there. We were greeted by very friendly people who directed us to our campsite and then told us someone would be around later to collect our fee.
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| McDermitt, Nevada - where the road changes color in the middle of the picture is the Oregon state line |
Somewhere in Oregon the time zone changed from Pacific Time to Mountain Time. When we got to Riverhaven RV Park in Marsing, Idaho, we changed all our clocks, not knowing that the next day we would be back in Pacific Time and would have to change them all back!
On a trip many years ago, we stayed at Owyhee State Park in Oregon. We always wondered how this unusual name came to be. As we were driving on US-95 there was a scenic overlook so we decided to check out the view and Lo and Behold! the explanation of the name Owyhee.
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| View from the scenic overlook |
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| The Snake River, Riverhaven RV Park, Marsing, Idaho |
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| Lee at Riverhaven RV Park, Marsing, Idaho |
After leaving Marsing, the terrain changed to farmland and rolling hills. What a welcome relief! It's summertime so that means road construction. One stretch of US-95 was being repaved but we had three miles of dirt road that was being watered by truck. By the time we got to White Bird, our poor Jeep (being towed behind our motorhome) was covered in thick, dry mud. At least the motorhome didn't look as bad.
White Bird, Idaho was home for two nights at Hells Canyon Jet Boat Trips and Lodging. A trip through Hells Canyon on a jet boat would have been fun but unfortunately the place where we stayed only did trips on the weekend and Lewiston, Idaho, was too far to go in the short amount of time we had so it'll have to wait for another trip.
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| The Salmon River, White Bird, Idaho |
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| The Salmon River, White Bird, Idaho |
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| Veteran's Memorial Park, White Bird, Idaho A VETERAN is someone who at some point in his/her life, wrote a blank check, payable to the "United States of America" for an amount of "Up to and including my life." |
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| Veteran's Memorial Park, White Bird, Idaho |
I chose to stay in White Bird because of the history of the area. The Nez Perce National Historical Park has sites in Idaho, as well in Washington, Oregon, and Montana.
The Nez Perce lived in this area peacefully, moving their camps with the seasons and in 1855, they signed a treaty with the U.S. government that created a reservation which included most of their homeland. But, when settlers and miners discovered gold on the reservation they insisted, and got, a new treaty in 1863 that reduced the size of the reservation to one-tenth the size. Some of the Nez Perce did not accept this treaty because they would lose their land. This led to the Nez Perce War of 1877. After the war, many of the survivors who did not accept the treaty were relocated to Indian Territory, which is now Oklahoma. Today there are some reservations where the Nez Perce live but so much of their lands were taken away and many live in towns and cities across the United States.
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| Tolo Lake |
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| Tolo Lake, in 1994, over 400 mammoth bones were found when the lake was dredged |
Saturday, August 3
On our way to Sandpoint, Idaho, we passed a lot of fields with mountains in the background. US-95 is a very scenic drive, at least in Idaho.
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We also visited other friends while in Sandpoint so had a lot of fun visiting and eating!
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| Lake Pend Oreille (pronounced Ponderay) |
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| At Bob and Debbi's house, Sandpoint |
We've been on the road for a week so it's time to do some laundry, house cleaning, etc. so we headed north to Bonners Ferry, only about 35 miles up the road, to an RV park with electricity so I could use our washer/dryer and vacuum. Dry camping is fine but going to a park with full hook-ups really spoils me! RV parks are far and few between this far north but we found one in town behind the Carriage House Inn and RV Park. Since it didn't have any size limitations listed in the camping brochure, I assumed it meant it was 'big rig' friendly. Well, we did fit, along with several big 5th wheels but we're packed in like sardines! It's a good thing my head isn't any bigger because on slide is only inches from our neighbor's!!! But, their internet is good! We will have to leave before our neighbor's do because they can't even hook up while we're here.
Bonners Ferry is on the Kootenai River and was founded in 1864 when Edward Bonner built a ferry to cross the river so miners could get to the gold fields in British Columbia. It wasn't formally established until 1893. It is also the ancestral home of the Kootenai Indians. In 1974, the Kootenai Tribe declared war on the United States government. Because they had never signed a treaty, they could do this. To settle the dispute, the U.S. government gave them a land grant of 10.5 acres. The Kootenai have now built a casino on their reservation.
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| Carriage House Inn & RV Park, Bonners Ferry, Idaho |
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| Carriage House Inn & RV Park |
Wednesday, August 7
Today's the day we cross the border to Creston, British Columbia, where we're having a Baja Reunion. Our friends we usually spend the winter with in Baja are getting together at Lister Park in Creston for the next five days. The timing couldn't have been better since we're on our way to the east coast and this was a great way to start our adventure.
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