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Published: September 25th 2017
THE BASICS
We drove north from Idaho Falls past the INL (Idaho Nuclear Labs) and EBR1 (Experimental Breeder Reactor One) to Arco, Idaho, and visited the Craters of the Moon National Monument, where we drove a seven-mile loop trail past a variety of lava formations. We had hoped to drive north in Idaho, into the mountains, but threats of snow and bad weather led to a decision to simply head west and hence to Boise, which is at the western end of the state. We enjoyed visiting the Saturday Farmers Market and the Basque Museum, which really celebrates that still prominent culture. The "old Pen", the federal territorial prison, was an excellent tour which would deter most from bad behavior choices. In the evening we had a lovely dinner outside in a fine restaurant in the Basque Block.
And thence into Oregon, in short hops staying at the small towns of Vale and Burns en route to Bend. In Bend, we walked around the older downtown area full of restaurants and shops, then drove to the Old Mill District, which I thought it ironic housed upscale modern chains. We had meant to explore more the next day, but John's struggles to secure storage for the RV and car in late October were hitting snags and when he finally succeeded, we took off toward Portland to sign papers. We reached a campground in White Salmon, WA, in the Columbia Gorge just across from Hood River, OR. We learned we could delay the signing for a couple of days, so thoroughly enjoyed touring in the Gorge. The Eagle Creek Fire had burned the area from Hood River along the Columbia River west toward Portland. We missed the heavy smoke by about a day, and even got to see all of Mount Hood, the top half of which is snow-covered. Eastbound traffic on I84 just reopened yesterday, after landslide danger lessened. And now, after signing the dad-gummed storage papers, we are in a Portland RV Park for a few days.
THE FLUFF
The terrain between Idaho Falls and Arco was primarily "sagebrush steppe", which doesn't lend itself to much agriculture. That's probably why it was chosen for nuclear labs. We missed getting to tour EBR1 because the tours had stopped for the year on Labor Day. A sign in Arco proclaimed it the "first city in the world lit by atomic power." (Because of an operator error, the power plant exploded, killing him and two other workers.) It was good that we visited the Craters of the Moon that day, because the next morning was very rainy. Most of the soil and rocks in that entire part of the state were black. As we drove through the Monument, the different types of lava formations were well-explained. There was one hill of lava pebbles, a steep steady climb of .2 miles, with a panoramic view from the top. Fortunately, the gravel was not slippery or it would have been a miserable climb. And a treacherous descent for the large group of middle school age kids who tore down it. (Deja vu...)
The southern route across Idaho was mostly that sagebrush steppe, and not a very interesting ride. We were very sad to miss heading north into the much more scenic mountains and forests, but the RV would not be much fun on snowy roads. So we will hope to return someday.
We found Boise to be a pleasant and interesting city. It was a sunny Saturday as we walked around downtown. There were many colorfully garbed African vendors at the Farmers Market. The Basque Museum emphasized how close-knit the Basques were when they came to this country, primarily as sheepherders. We then had a very good guide for our tour of the "Old Pen." Seeing the accommodations for the prisoners was indeed sobering. At crowded times, ten prisoners might be in a cell designed for two. The stories were also impressive; we saw the spot where the only prisoner whom they tried to hang had dropped, but the rope stretched and it took several minutes for him to die. (the guide called that "lynching").
The next night we stayed in Vale, Oregon. The campground was okay, although the manure odor from the adjacent farm was off-putting. And the "game cleaning station" was a new feature to us. Onward to Burns, Oregon, and the Pacific Time Zone. We drove beside a river, and the road wove along beside it. Then we came to hills and mountains, more high desert and sage, as well as ups and downs. Some places are named bluntly, e.g. Stinkingwater Creek. But the skies were huge, with blue patches, clouds, and wonderful variety.
From Burns to Bend, the drive was cold and windy. And there were hardly any towns. We stopped for coffee halfway, at the one store in Hampton, only to encounter a "closed" sign although there were cowboys busy with lots of cattle in stockyards just across the highway. So on we pushed to Brothers and its one store. This one had a sign "new cook" and we soon learned that she was also the owner of the operation, having bought it four months ago. She was very chatty (was she flirting with John, or vice versa?). She had grown up in Silicon Valley, had lived in Hawaii and a bunch of other places in the West. She is now very happy in this town, population 35. Her kids go to school many miles away, although her granddaughter attends kindergarten in town and is disappointed that she is the only kid who doesn't get to ride the bus to school. She said she would check on the storeowner in Hampton. Seven foot snow drifts are not uncommon in the winters there, and she said she had heard that if you didn't brush your car off every day, it might disappear for months.
Bend = all kinds of sports. Breweries. Wineries. We drove around in town, and it didn't quite enrapture us. We were planning to visit a museum and go for hikes the next day, but we changed gears quickly in order to ensure the storage facilities John had finally pinned down. Or so he thought, because en route toward Portland, he got a phone call that what he thought he had was not possible. That was pretty discouraging, because we were midway on a long day's drive. We drove on a large butte, then wound down the road and back up and down again. We finally arrived at White Salmon, WA, RV park. That evening, John finally got things worked out. Our vehicles will spend a few months in Sacramento, and we will fly home on October 24. John's patience and persistence are impressive. And we also got two days leeway to get to Portland to sign the papers at a storage company branch office.
Next morning, we drove up to the hillside town of White Salmon, Washington. For coffee, of course. And a view back across the Columbia River of the town of Hood River and beyond that, Mt. Hood, or its lower snow-covered area because clouds still encircled the top. We crossed the bridge back over the river and went first to the tourist info center. A nice lady gave us a beautifully colored map of the daily growth of the Eagle Creek fire during September. It is/was a huge fire, one of the largest this season. She said that even the day before, the smoke had blocked the view across the river to WA. We were so lucky to arrive when we did! She also told us a nice walking path into the town of Hood River, and we enjoyed that walk. Later that day, we walked a couple more miles on the trail to the Mosier Tunnels. Before I84 was built, mostly down closer to the Oregon side of the Columbia River, there was a route which ran up along the mountainside. The tunnels have been filled in, but the road is still there from both the east and west ends, and it is nicely paved, for hikers, bikers, and as we discovered, skateboarders.
Although the RV park manager said that a trip to The Dalles, OR, farther east along the river, would be unexciting, we went anyway. We drove along the Washington side of the river. There are railroad tracks, active, along both sides of the river, down fairly close to the water between the highway and river. At one time, there was serious competition to be first to complete a set of tracks. And we found an exciting spot in The Dalles, a Boulangerie et Patisserie named Petite Provence with the richest dark chocolate croissants.
Nearby we visited a very good museum which featured the geologic and human history of the Columbia Gorge. And later we drove around the "Fruit Loop," which is a 35 mile loop south of Hood River, down quite close to Mt. Hood, with lots of stops at orchard stands and wineries en route. At the first stop, we took advantage of the $1.00/ pound charge for fruit, choosing large pears and peaches.
Yesterday, Saturday, we drove to Portland on I84. We saw smoke and scorched hillsides. The exits from the highway were blocked. So visiting a dam or waterfalls was not possible. There was no eastbound traffic, and we saw workers shoring up areas which could allow rock landslides. Later in the day, the eastbound lanes were finally reopened after being closed for weeks. The detour had been "two sides of a triangle rather than the hypotenuse." It led south of Mt. Hood and added nearly 100 miles. We had seen so many trucks coming from the south into Hood River, because the detour ended there. Navigator Linda did a poor job of delivering us to the place where we had to sign the papers to secure the storage in October. And then another poor job getting us to our RV park, so we let ourselves take it easy for the rest of the sunny warm day. (Portland does not seem to be very proud of its traffic situations.)
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Joan Goodwin
non-member comment
As always we enjoyed the Blog. Would love to do what you are doing one day! 90 degrees here so enjoy the cool there.