Day 35 July 3 (35 miles)
We camped at Killgore Adventures in White Bird, Idaho on the Salmon River.
Today we took a jetboat ride through Hell's Canyon on the Snake River. In 2012 we visited the Zumwalt Prairie in NE Oregon. From there, we could only just see the top edge of the canyon. We'd heard that Hell's Canyon was even deeper than Grand Canyon, so we were looking forward to this day.
The first step is to drive over the hills between the Salmon and Snake rivers.
New Zealand has problems with many invasives. This is the flip side, New Zealand mudsnails are one of the invasives here, as outlined in this poster for boat owners displayed at the starting point for our tour, Pittsburg Landing site on the Snake River.
We took the Killgore 65-mile round trip "Wild River Tour", which started out calm enough.
Our first stop was at Kirkwood Historic Ranch.
Kirkwood was owned by the Jordan family from 1932 to 1943. Len Jorden became governor of Idaho and was later US Senator for 10.5 years. Grace Jordan wrote a book Home Below Hells Canyon about their time on the farm.
This is the Hanna Cabin, built by Carl Hanna in 1912 and moved from its original location 3/4 mile up the creek to become a blacksmith's shop by Len Jordan in 1932.
Rafters at Sturgeon Rock, named after the white sturgeon in the river that may get up to 600 pounds and 12 feet in length.
The river was flowing at 8500 cubic feet per second. It must look quite different when it gets up to 105,000 cubic feet per second.
Hat Point Lookout in Oregon -- start of the Class 3 rapids.
Hells Canyon Dam
We got off the boat for lunch and a swim at Hells Canyon Dam
The dam is the starting point for rafting trips through the canyon.
We stopped at Sheep Creek Ranch on the way back down the river.
Elk Antlers at Sheep Creek Ranch. Elk antlers get $15 to $20 per pound and are used to make things like rustic chandeliers for upmarket cabins and lodges.
In this photo you can see a trail on the canyon walls. This used to be the main access to the canyon and is still used by horse trekkers. Straight ahead is "Suicide Point", about 500 feet above the river. When mule and horse trains met going in opposite directions, there was a danger of falling off. Because the animals were tied together, the fall of one would lead to the deaths of all.
By mid-afternoon it was getting really hot. The driver would stop the jetboat in the middle of a rapids, let the bow dip into the water and then accelerate to spray the passengers in the front of the boat.
Shortly before the end of the trip, with temperatures pushing toward 100°F, we stopped for a swim.
After we got back to White Bird we decided to take Route 95 17 miles north to Grangeville.
It was the first days of Grangeville's Border Days, three days of street fair and rodeo. We were in time to get a burger from the Lions Club, but we missed the super egg toss. A successful toss requires a pair of contestents to throw a raw egg from one to the other and then back again. Over 3000 contestants start in this town of only 3500, but there can be only one winning pair. This year it was two locals, long-time competor Bryan Laufenberg and his cousin Kallan Shira. Check it out.
Day 36 July 4 (413 miles to Prineville, Oregon)
Still with no air conditioning in the car and a lot of driving to do. Got an early start, driving south on Route 95 parallel to the Salmon River.
By 11AM, the long distance views were distinctly hazy.
We've made it to eastern Oregon
Roadside stop commemorating Oregon Trail. Oddly, this part of Oregon is still on Mountain Time, while places further east in northern Idaho are on Pacific Time.
As we drove on into Oregon it got more and more hazy.
There are three large wildfires burning and camps of up to 1000 firefighters.
We had Eberhard ice cream cones in Dayville. The woman in the shop knew all about the fires.
Everywhere there are informative roadside stops with signs about local animals, history or, in this case, geology.
At 9.30pm we walked down the main street of Prineville OR. With all of the smoke in the air the sunset had rich reds and oranges.
Others were gathering on the main street to watch the 4th of July fireworks display that was set up on a bluff west of the town.
Rocket after rocket exploded and soon there were small bushfires on the bluff. Locals calmly informed us this happened every year and that the fire truck racing down the main street with lights flashing and sirens wailing was just a part of the entertainment.
All in all, a great end to Independence Day.
Day 37 July 5 (ca 60 miles to Culver OR)
It was only a short drive from Prineville to the KOA campground in Culver Oregon (north of Redmond and Bend). We arrived there in the morning, pitched our tent and headed for Cove Palisades State Park. There is a stark contrast between green, irrigated fields and the rich yellow-brown rangeland. Mt Jefferson is in the background of the photo below.
Waterfall at Cove Palisades State Park, about 5 miles from the KOA.
Lake Billy Chinook is surrounded by steep canyon walls and was formed when Portland General Electric Company's Round Butte Dam was constructed near the confluence of the Crooked, Deschutes and Metolius rivers between 1961 and 1964.
Another forest fire enhanced sunset from our campsite.
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