Wow, I've got a little bit of catching up to do here. What a summer! This has been the best summer I can remember in many many years, even better than than the Ren Fair - don't throw anything at me my Ren Fair friends!!! Let me explain. Every year at the fair, there was some type of tension or problem or something that was somewhat unpleasant to the last fair being totally intolerable. The patrons were wonderful, the playing music was incredible, and 98% of the commeraderie was world class, but here at Dworshak, there were so few little irritations that they basically didn't even exist. We loved every minute of it. The mountains were phenomonial, and getting to drive through them to get to our maintenance sites was incredible. We saw deer - lots and lots of deer every time we went out. All of the rangers were top notch - I can't say enough! Thanks you guys, you all made it great! Our co-volunteers were great people, and we had a blast. The trips we took with Sally and Ross were a hoot, we laughed from the time we left the campsite until long after we got back. The pie, oh my, the pie at the Kooskie Cafe, and in Grangeville (sorry, I don't remember the name of the place - Sally, Help!) was Ooooooo so good, and then there was The Cakery/Bakery in Orofino. OOoooooooo. Yes, I'm typing with my stomach. Our pot lucks and Sally's Cooking, and Al's too for that matter, man could those two cook! Steve and Liz are great people, and I learned alot about Solar from Steve, and had a wonderful swim with Liz. The Boat rides, the "Starry Starry Night" event on Aug 25th with an astronomer and his 4 telescopes and us and our music and 126 people in attendance done on top of the dam with the lights off - Took me back to when I was a little girl out in my canoe at night with my guitar playing music to the ducks and just drinking in the heavens and listening to the water and the warm wind. I had the wonderful experience of working with Brittney and teaching beading and card weaving. Brit and I went hiking at Elk Creek Falls, and at the Old Growth Cedar Forest - North of Elk River.
John and I met so many wonderful people, and I even gave a dulcimer lesson just before we left. Found two great Trading Posts - The Eagles Nest in Orofino and the one in Lapwei supplied me with beautiful beads and the other necessities to create my headpiece (the little turtle was a birthday present, Thank you Sally! ) and earrings and other projects that may come later.
We attended the Caritas Choral - Nez Perce Promises in Lapwei, jet boated through Hells Canyon - I feel sad that many of the ranches we visited that day are now gone with the fires of August. The roadtrip to up to White Bird Pass and down through the Greer Grade, and the Cavendish Grade and up to Cour du Lain were fantastic. We saw 3 wolves in wheat fields in different places. The turkey visited us in the campground. We laid out on our hammock and air chair in the middle of the road (behind the locked gate) under the stars and watched the meteor shower - what a beautiful sky! Al showed me where to go to download ebooks to the computer and then to the tablet. Every time we were off we'd take a ride down to Lewiston/Clarkston to make phone calls (T-Mobile does not work anywhere from Lolo to just outside Lewiston on Hwy 12) and hit Walmart for groceries. The mountains are so different down there. I called them "naked" for there are no trees like up in Orofino and Asahaka. Outside of the canyon, up on top, it's farm fields as far as the eye can see. The things we saw growing were wheat, canola and garbanzo beans. After harvest in August, they burn off the fields. the smoke from that, and the forest fires made the air thick and at times the visibility was almost nothing. This was an unsettling experience for us, for we are not used to that in the midwest, but for the locals, it's just part of living here.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sunset-Rose-Cafe/289791082146#!/dworshakdam , corpslakes.usace.army.mil › Corps Lakes Gateway › Idaho Along with doing maintenance, 4 on and 4 off, I helped out in the visitor center a few times when Ross was having some health issues. I found I really enjoyed that too. I learned a great deal about the dam and the surrounding area. For example: the corp owns @ 30,000 acres which includes the 54 mile long Reservoir. The water at full pool is 650' deep at the dam. The dam is the tallest straight axis dam in the US and only 9" shorther than Hoover. Dworshak is 717' tall, 35 feet across on the top and 535' across at the bottom and 3300 feet long. It is composed of monolith blocks and the weight of them alone is what keeps it in place. There are 7 boat ramps, 100 mini camps, 3 day use areas, and 5 campgrounds (2 are State Park). As I understand it, up until Labor Day weekend this year, there had never been a drowning in over 40 years. If anyone is looking for a great place to volunteer, I can recommend Dworshak Dam and Reservoir with 5 stars. It was a fantastic experience!!!
We had been planning to wait until the 15th of Sept to head out, but it got so quiet and the clean up dwindled down so much after Labor Day that we decided to head out on the 10th instead. We got Sam into Dr. Wolverton (Vet) for a nail clipping and to pick up Revolution (anti-flea,tick,worm, mite stuff) for when we get down south, turned in our mailbox key at the post office, packed up and pulled out about 3pm.
We got very lucky. Saturday the smoke from the forest fires was funneling down the canyon into and through Orofino, but on Monday, the wind was out of the S-SW and didn't bother us until we were almost to Powell Ranger Station. Just West of there there was smoke coming from it seemed just about everywhere. You couldn't see any flames, but the mountains were on fire all around us. Fire is a natural thing, but seeing it is an experience. We stayed at "Square Dance Center and Campground" again on the way back. This is a 67 site campground. Electric and Water were $24 for the night. Full hookups are also available. The park is very clean and has beautiful Ponderosa Pine everywhere. I'd stay here again anytime. www.lolocampndance.com
Last night we stayed at the Old West RV Park http://oldwestrvpark.com/ in Reed Point, Montana. This is also a great little park, and it's a Passport America Park. It's right off the highway, easy access. Clean, friendly. The scenery for the past two days has been wonderful. So beautiful. Lunch was at the Sunset Rose Cafe in Ranchester, WY http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sunset-Rose-Cafe/289791082146 . I had a $6 hamburger which included lettuce, tomato, onion and pickle, chips, AND a slice of watermelon, pineapple and a quarter of an orange! It was fantastic. I was hungry for fruit and the addition of that on the plate without asking for it was GREAT! Tonight we're in Buffalo, WY at the Indian RV Park. We got a Good Sam 10% Discount and it was still $37.50 for 1 night. I'm appauled. Yeah, they have a pool, but it's too cold to use it. The shower was nice, but ...... Anyway, we were tired and couldn't go any farther. I've made reservations for the next 4 nights. 2 near Deadwood, and 2 near Crazy Horse Monument. We'll see about staying near the Badlands after that. We love this area. Happy Travels!
Brittney and the 3000 yr old cedar!
John and I met so many wonderful people, and I even gave a dulcimer lesson just before we left. Found two great Trading Posts - The Eagles Nest in Orofino and the one in Lapwei supplied me with beautiful beads and the other necessities to create my headpiece (the little turtle was a birthday present, Thank you Sally! ) and earrings and other projects that may come later.
my interpretation of the Clearwater River and the Mountains near Lapwai
We attended the Caritas Choral - Nez Perce Promises in Lapwei, jet boated through Hells Canyon - I feel sad that many of the ranches we visited that day are now gone with the fires of August. The roadtrip to up to White Bird Pass and down through the Greer Grade, and the Cavendish Grade and up to Cour du Lain were fantastic. We saw 3 wolves in wheat fields in different places. The turkey visited us in the campground. We laid out on our hammock and air chair in the middle of the road (behind the locked gate) under the stars and watched the meteor shower - what a beautiful sky! Al showed me where to go to download ebooks to the computer and then to the tablet. Every time we were off we'd take a ride down to Lewiston/Clarkston to make phone calls (T-Mobile does not work anywhere from Lolo to just outside Lewiston on Hwy 12) and hit Walmart for groceries. The mountains are so different down there. I called them "naked" for there are no trees like up in Orofino and Asahaka. Outside of the canyon, up on top, it's farm fields as far as the eye can see. The things we saw growing were wheat, canola and garbanzo beans. After harvest in August, they burn off the fields. the smoke from that, and the forest fires made the air thick and at times the visibility was almost nothing. This was an unsettling experience for us, for we are not used to that in the midwest, but for the locals, it's just part of living here.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sunset-Rose-Cafe/289791082146#!/dworshakdam , corpslakes.usace.army.mil › Corps Lakes Gateway › Idaho Along with doing maintenance, 4 on and 4 off, I helped out in the visitor center a few times when Ross was having some health issues. I found I really enjoyed that too. I learned a great deal about the dam and the surrounding area. For example: the corp owns @ 30,000 acres which includes the 54 mile long Reservoir. The water at full pool is 650' deep at the dam. The dam is the tallest straight axis dam in the US and only 9" shorther than Hoover. Dworshak is 717' tall, 35 feet across on the top and 535' across at the bottom and 3300 feet long. It is composed of monolith blocks and the weight of them alone is what keeps it in place. There are 7 boat ramps, 100 mini camps, 3 day use areas, and 5 campgrounds (2 are State Park). As I understand it, up until Labor Day weekend this year, there had never been a drowning in over 40 years. If anyone is looking for a great place to volunteer, I can recommend Dworshak Dam and Reservoir with 5 stars. It was a fantastic experience!!!
We had been planning to wait until the 15th of Sept to head out, but it got so quiet and the clean up dwindled down so much after Labor Day that we decided to head out on the 10th instead. We got Sam into Dr. Wolverton (Vet) for a nail clipping and to pick up Revolution (anti-flea,tick,worm, mite stuff) for when we get down south, turned in our mailbox key at the post office, packed up and pulled out about 3pm.
We got very lucky. Saturday the smoke from the forest fires was funneling down the canyon into and through Orofino, but on Monday, the wind was out of the S-SW and didn't bother us until we were almost to Powell Ranger Station. Just West of there there was smoke coming from it seemed just about everywhere. You couldn't see any flames, but the mountains were on fire all around us. Fire is a natural thing, but seeing it is an experience. We stayed at "Square Dance Center and Campground" again on the way back. This is a 67 site campground. Electric and Water were $24 for the night. Full hookups are also available. The park is very clean and has beautiful Ponderosa Pine everywhere. I'd stay here again anytime. www.lolocampndance.com
Last night we stayed at the Old West RV Park http://oldwestrvpark.com/ in Reed Point, Montana. This is also a great little park, and it's a Passport America Park. It's right off the highway, easy access. Clean, friendly. The scenery for the past two days has been wonderful. So beautiful. Lunch was at the Sunset Rose Cafe in Ranchester, WY http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sunset-Rose-Cafe/289791082146 . I had a $6 hamburger which included lettuce, tomato, onion and pickle, chips, AND a slice of watermelon, pineapple and a quarter of an orange! It was fantastic. I was hungry for fruit and the addition of that on the plate without asking for it was GREAT! Tonight we're in Buffalo, WY at the Indian RV Park. We got a Good Sam 10% Discount and it was still $37.50 for 1 night. I'm appauled. Yeah, they have a pool, but it's too cold to use it. The shower was nice, but ...... Anyway, we were tired and couldn't go any farther. I've made reservations for the next 4 nights. 2 near Deadwood, and 2 near Crazy Horse Monument. We'll see about staying near the Badlands after that. We love this area. Happy Travels!
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