Sunday – 07 Sep 2008
And we’re back from the Great Idaho Expedition of 2008. We got in a little after 8:00 PM Sunday evening. It was a fun trip, but I have to admit that I’m glad to be back in the Land Behind the Zion Curtain, for reasons including (but not limited to):
- Heat
- Soap
- Indoor Plumbing
…though not necessarily in that order.
Pictures of the trip can be found here:
Be warned: I took over 500 pictures over the course of the past three days.
To make things a bit more manageable, some of the highlights’ pictures are noted in the text of the post.
As I noted Friday, we got under way rather early. I discovered this afternoon roughly where I knocked out on the way up to Stanley and Redfish Lake – about 45 miles outside of Pocatello, ID. To be honest, I’m kind of impressed that I made it that far before conducting the first intensive inner-eyelid study of the trip. We stopped in Pocatello to have breakfast. We ate at Perkins; I haven’t eaten in a Perkins in… a few years. After that, it was on to Blackfoot. We stopped there to take on a few supplies and gasoline and then we were on the road again.
We stopped a little south of Arco, ID to check out EBR-1, the world’s first electricity-generating nuclear power plant. (Pictures start at IMG_0004) They also had a couple of experimental atomic/nuclear engines on display. SaraRules and her father noted that there were radiation monitor tags on the engines, which apparently hadn’t been there the last time they stopped (a few years ago).
On through Arco and Moore and into Challis. There we took on “spudnuts,” doughnuts made with a potato flour, and gasoline. On to Stanley. We drove along the Salmon River (IMG_0074), through a couple of small… um… towns(?), I guess. After 40 minutes, or so, we made it to Stanley, which has a great view of the Sawtooth Mountains (IMG_0087).
We went on in to Redfish Lake, found our campground and set up the tents. (IMG_0104) After camp had been established, we headed back up to Sunbeam Village and the Yankee Fork River (IMG_0130), to check out SaraRules’ grandmother’s old cabin. While up there, we headed a little farther into the canyon and looked at the Yankee Fork Gold Dredge. (IMG_0133) That thing was massive… and was run by a three-man crew. We went another couple of miles into the canyon to check out the Custer mining town/settlement; SaraRules used to work here, as a girl, during the summers. (IMG_0195) The pictures starting around IMG_0220 are piles left from the Yankee Fork Dredge.
Back out of the canyon and back to Stanley. We had collected firewood while in Sunbeam Village, so I started building the campfire. A few minutes later, I lit the match and there was fire. (All of those years living in rural NC taught me something, you know…) And thank God, the angels and the heavens above for the fire because it was cold. Very cold, indeed. We cooked and ate dinner (chicken and vegetables) beneath the stars. LOTS of stars. While we ate, a doe walked past the campsite, no more than ten yards away. (IMG_0231) After dinner, we watched for satellites; we saw three or four of them before SaraRules and I sacked out for the night.
Bonne and Logan (SaraRules’ mother and brother) showed up sometime around midnight. I was only vaguely aware of this as I was “ever so slightly” preoccupied with sleeping.
If I had been cold Friday night, it was nothing to having to drag myself out of the sleeping bag Saturday morning to head to the bathroom. I literally held out as long as I could. When I got tired of feeling my eyeballs floating, I braved the cold. By the time I got back, SaraRules was getting ready to make the trek herself. I piled back into the tent and sleeping bag, were it was at least nominally warm. Someone started the morning fire – and coffee – while I was trying to decide if it was worth getting up again.
After breakfast, we got dressed and headed out so that SaraRules, Logan and Steve could get to the river and start fishing. The first attempt was at O’Brien (Day 2: IMG_0235). The bridge to the fishing site was closed, not just to vehicles, but to ALL users (IMG_0261 through 0275). Did that stop our intrepid fishers? What do you think? (Hint: No, it didn’t.) No one caught anything, so we moved on to the next spot, back up the Yankee Fork. While the fisher-folk hit the river, Bonne and I headed up to Bonanza City, another mining city. All that’s really left are the remnants of a few buildings and a couple of cemetaries. (IMG_0280)
When we left the Yankee Fork, SaraRules was ready to head back to the lake to do some swimming. Bonne thought this sounded like a good idea, as well… although Logan wanted to do some more fishing. The compromise: He would take one of the cars and go fishing while the rest of us hung out around the lake. Win-Win. SaraRules and Bonne took to the water, while Steve and I waded in a little ways and then decided that we were fine hanging out on the shore (starting at IMG_0341). We occupied a spot of beach between two weddings. Steve and I noticed a couple of guests for one wedding walking along the beach. The most noticeable thing about one of them was her dress… or apparent lack thereof. (IMG_0375) It looked like “The Dress That Wasn’t There.” But, to each his or her own, I guess.
Post-swimming, SaraRules, Steve and I walked over to the Redfish Lake Lodge and General Store. Redfish Lake experienced a microburst on 02 July 2008. It felled A LOT of trees. (starting with IMG_0382) Along the path, we crossed a bridge over an inlet to Redfish Lake. In the water near the bridge, we saw a trio of sockeye salmon, the “redfish” behind the name “Redfish Lake.” (IMG_0389) Continuing on, we passed a pavilion where the reception for one of the weddings was being held. We saw “The Dress” again – upon closer inspection, it seemed as though it had a “nude” underdress under the mesh piece. *shrug* We made it to the lodge (IMG_0393), the store and the marina. Back to the campsite for dinner (Bratwurst) and s’mores. Saturday evening was significantly warmer than Friday. Sure, long-sleeves were still in order, but it wasn’t necessarily a “huddle by the fire or die” kind of night. We watched for satellites again; I counted five before calling it a night.
Sunday morning was warm enough that the morning trip to the restroom didn’t feel like a trek across the frozen tundra. After breakfast we broke camp and headed out for a little more fishing before returning to Utah. We stopped at the Sunbeam Dam. (starting at Day 3: IMG_0414) We walked around and saw where the Yankee Fork River meets the Salmon River. (starting at IMG_0446) Back up the Yankee Fork for more fishing – Steve decided to sit out this round. (starting at IMG_0471) There was a Steller’s Jay in a tree near where we stopped. I managed to get “a few” pictures of it (IMG_0470, 0473 through 0475). I also started playing with different settings on my camera, so there are a lot of rather random pictures, starting around IMG_0492.
After everyone was all fished out, we headed down the road for a picnic before setting our sights on Utah. While eating, we met a family who had visited one of the hot springs on the area. We ate, we cleaned up, we got back on our way.
We stopped in Arco, ID (starting at IMG_0509) so that I could get some pictures of Arco Number Hill and the memorial of the USS Hawkbill (SSN-666), including its conning tower and an old torpedo casing. We stopped again, just before reaching EBR-1… and then… home again.
I don’t think that I’ve ever been so happy to take a shower as I was tonight.
Tomorrow starts the work-a-day week all over again.
But, for now, I’ll just be happy to sleep in a bed.
Namaste.
