Goodbye to Idaho and Hello Oregon

So much to share since my last entry.  First some pictures around Stanley, ID

 

August 1st: We left the campground around 9 am and drove 15 miles to a dirt road and then 10 miles on that dirt/gravel road to the trailhead. We have driven rugged roads before but nothing had prepared us for drive. The truck was in 1^stor 2nd gear for most of the 50 minutes it took to go the 10 miles. As we started the trail we hiked through a large burn area. The devastation in the Cloud Mountain National Forest was surreal. Some small trees are growing and there are so many beautiful wild flowers, now that sun reaches the under storage of the forest. It was a nice hike but nothing spectacular. Many people were on the trail which surprised us, considering the road one had to travel. The drive out did seem a little calmer but still very slow speed. If you want to know how slow we were driving,  a butterfly flew in Phil’s window and out my window!  Honest to God truth!

Once we got back to the RV Park, if you call it a park more like campers stuffed in a sardine can, there was a small trailer and tent packed in next to us. We made a snap decision to get credit for one night and pack up and leave. The ranger had told us about a spot, big parking lot, where campers can stay at no charge.  So we sat watching the Black Angus cows munch on the grass and the water flow on the Salmon River while it rained. Very pretty picture instead of the back of a café!

 

When we were hitching up to leave Phil had trouble raising one of the trailer legs.  He fiddled with it for about 15 minutes and finally got in to retract so we could leave.  My sister Diane in WI was able to get us names and numbers of RV service dealers in Boise, ID (no internet connection for us in the parking lot!).  If there was a time for this to happen, it was a good time as we had no specific plans for the next five days until we get to Mt Rainer.  

 

It was a 2 hour drive to Boise and luck was with us.  We did not have to replace the leg rather try a different procedure when hooking and unhooking.  15 minutes later, a handshake, and a $20 bill we were on the road again.  Phil and I had been looking at maps I had noticed this area on the border of ID and OR called Hell's Canyon.  I was able to research the route and it looked good and not too curvy or steep.  We stopped for gas and a customer heard me speaking to the clerk about road conditions.  She gave a thumbs up for the route we wanted ,so off we drove.

 

What a spectular 2 hour drive along the Snake River and Hell's Canyon. The Idaho Power has build two dams along the way so the Snake River is quite wide and is now a recreation area.  We had no idea where we were going to stay for the night but hoped to find a park and just pull over.  And yes that happened.  We saw a RV parked at a boat dock and we headed there too.  One is allowed to camp there.   It was just a parking lot but the views of the canyon walls one each side and the river in between made this a memory keeper! 

 

But the best memory is meeting Steve, Jennifer, and their 13 year old son Scott.  They live nearby  and have had a tough life.  Steve owned a mechanic shop, in an old building that was his dad's, and when a builder planned a new subdivision they wanted him to close his shop.  Eventually he was forced to and lost the business.  Then he sold cars until the economy tanked and lost that job.  Jennifer had also lost her job.  They lived in their small RV with their son for quite a few months, until a friend told him they could live rent free in an old house located in a gravel pit!  Yes, I said gravel pit, and that is where they now live.  Jennifer finally has a job attending to special needs kids while riding the school bus.  She is very proud of her relationship with these children and her ability to sense when they are having a bad day.  Steve now works for an asphalt company and together they are now slowly crawling there way back up to a somewhat normal life.  I wonder what the future will hold for this family.  I realize just how fortunate we were to have had good jobs and always a house to call home. 

 

When we drove into the canyon we were in Idaho and on the drive out we crossed into Oregon, beautiful Oregon.  I intended to write more and upload pictures but they are still in the camera and I'm too tired.  So that's all for now.