Day 72 - Meridian, ID to Arco, ID - September 9, 2011

The day started early.  Jerry and Gail pulled out at 8 AM and headed over to the tire store for a little work.  Lon and Pam pulled out at 9 and filled up their propane tank.

                                After we all were all done and fueled we hit the road about 10:30.

                         The population was sparse but the scenery every changing and beautiful.  

        There was a lot of smoke and haze in the air from 2 forest fires they were struggling to contain.

We were on Goodale's Cutoff which was an old short cut to the Oregon Trail and part of the Peaks to Craters scenic drive.  

           As the name implies there were a lot of elevation changes.  We stopped for some vista views.

             Lon told Pam to "sit" for a photo op, Heidi heard "sit" and thought he was talking to her. Or was it the other way around?

                                                Gail has been picking up bad habits from JC.

                                                     Did we tell you about the butterflies?  

Our destination today was Craters of the Moon National Monument.  The Monument and Preserve encompass three major lava fields and about 400 square miles of sagebrush steppegrasslands to cover a total area of 1,117 square miles. All three lava fields lie along the Great Rift of Idaho, with some of the best examples of open rift cracks in the world, including the deepest known on Earth at 800 feet. There are excellent examples of almost every variety of basaltic lava as well as tree molds (cavities left by lava-incinerated trees), lava tubes (a type ofcave), and many other volcanic features.

                         Some people hiked up to the summit.  Can you tell which ones are us?

                                         These are lava "splats' which created a cone like shape.

                                   Some still had snow in them.  Can you name the silhouettes?

It was all pretty impressive.  We loaded up and headed to the Mountain View RV park in Arco, ID to stay for the night.  After a good dinner we needed a little exercise so we decided to get in a round of golf.

Gail could have scored better but Heidi kept "retrieving" her ball for her.  What do you expect - she's a Golden Retriever!!

After Jerry got two, holes in one - he wanted to play another round.  But there were no carts available.

                             Then Heidi took us for our walk and found goats bordering the park.  

Pam just happened to have some vegetables that she had hidden from US Customs when they crossed the border.  The goats destroyed the evidence.

                           Heidi did not care for Aunt Pam devoting her attention to other animals.

So we all went back to the coaches and reassured Heidi that she was still the best.  Tomorrow and for the  weekend, the crowning jewel of our national parks - Yellowstone.

Day 71 Moses Lake to Meridian, ID

Left Moses Lake this morning at our usual 9 ish.

This is the bridge going from Washington into Oregon over the Columbia River.

 The yellow grass, green pine trees and mountains make interesting scenery.  

Oregon was extremely hazy today. Might have been smoke. Not sure.

 Lunch time!

Made it to Boise/Meridian KOA for the night. Nice place.

Tomorrow The Cockerell's have to go buy a new tire for the coach.

As Byron said "What kind of fiasco is THAT going to turn in to?"

We'll see.



Day 70 Moses Lake

Lazy day in Moses Lake. Lon , Pam, & Gail went to Safeway. Gail and Pam went to the laundry mat. I took a nap and gave Heidi a B-A-T-H. Then Lon cooked Halibut, Pam cooked corn on the cob, and Gail made a spinach and strawberry salad. I made a drink.

"I just had a B-A-T-H and I am not happy."

It doesn't get much better then this.

"Uncle Lon, there is some fish over there!"

Then it got late.

Tomorrow, Meridian, Idaho.  Maybe.

Day 69 Bridgeport to Moses Lake, WA

Lazy morning in Bridgeport. Sure feels good to wake up in the USA. Apparently we imported some bug parts from Canada.

Pam made biscuits and sausage gravy for breakfast. Gail scrambled eggs.

Lon and I washed the windshields.

The road out of town is lined with wood carving of still rooted trees.

I guess we failed to do our homework. On the road to Moses Lake we, unexpectedly, came across Dry Falls.

As the name suggests, Dry Falls no longer carries water, but is the remnant of what was once the largest waterfall known to have existed on earth.  Viewing the 3.5 miles of sheer cliffs that drop 400 feet, it is easy to imagine the roar of water pouring over them.  (Niagara Falls by comparison, is one mile wide with a drop of 165 feet).

This what the area would have looked like 13,000 years ago.

This water moved at 60-65mph. It occurred at the end of the last ice age.

I guess it was a result of "global warming". To bad Al wasn't here to stop it.

Lon took pictures of it all.

Then on down this narrow road toward Moses Lake.

This guy shows up at 40-45mph with his W-I-D-E load.

I wonder if the moron that issued that permit has ever seen this road.

We landed at the Suncrest Resort in Moses Lake.

We sat around camp and drank beer the rest of the afternoon. Then Lon and Pam went to dinner at Lon's uncle and aunt's.

Tomorrow is a day off. Definitely.           

Day 68 Williams Lake BC to Bridgeport, WA

        Woke up this morning in Williams Lake, BC Canada. We packed up and headed for the USA.

Stopped  for fuel in Cache Creek for fuel. The gas station was like a Chinese fire drill. Labor Day in Canada and everyone needed fuel. Cars, boats, RV's, motorcycles and a double trailer fuel truck right in the center lane filling the in ground tanks. Haven't seen lines like that since the gas shortages in the 80's.

The we had to stop again near Spences Bridge to let a family of Curly Horn Sheep cross the road. There were 7 of them in the group.

A lot of vineyards and orchards in southern BC.

Overlooking Osoyoos, BC the last town in Canada. We cleared customs here. They made us both pull over and came onboard and checked the serial numbers on the guns and looked in the bathroom (?)  and fridge. Pam got busted ! They confiscated her tomatoes and limes, but they let her go since it was her first offense ( little do they know ).

The dam at Lake Pateros at Bridgeport, WA

At home in the USA.

Tomarrow, a late start and short drive to Moses Lake. Probably.