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We left the Winnemucca RV Park via US 95 north on June 6, crossing the southeast corner of Oregon before entering Idaho. We had intended to spend that night in Jordan Valley, Oregon but when we got there, it was truly desolate territory. So we trekked on until we reached Meridian, a suburb of Boise. We spent the night at The Playground RV Park (not a destination park!) then drove to Emmett on Thursday. Our reason for going to Emmett was to spend some time with Bob and Netty Kaskel, friends we made during our Mexico caravan trip. It had been 3½ months since we had last seen them so it was wonderful to be together again. Bob and Netty own a fruit farm in Emmett and are pillars of this small community, Bob having served as Fire Commissioner for years and Netty as President of the Chamber of Commerce. Unfortunately, we were a week too early for the annual Emmett Cherry Festival but we had a wonderful dinner and visit On Friday morning we packed up to join two other couples (friends of Netty and Bob) at the Arrowhead RV Park on the Payette River in Cascade. We were told that one of the guys we would meet was from the South, but they didn’t know the state. We looked forward to hearing another Southern accent!

The drive from Emmett to Cascade was spectacular as we headed north toward the Salmon River Mountains and the Payette National Forest, following cascading creeks and rivers along the way. The other two couples, Steve and Ann Bliss and John and Becky Harmon, joined us Friday night. John Harmon was from the South alright. Not only was he from my home state of Tennessee, he graduated from high school in Munford, where I spent my first 11 years! Now THAT is bizarre since most people never even heard of Munford! It is a small, small world. And he did, indeed, have a Southern accent and we enjoyed a weekend of sharing Southern sayings, memories and traditions. I even shared my Moon Pies with him!

First thing Saturday morning, we visited the area flea market and what fun we had! Jerry bought tools, I bought trinkets and we found a signmaker who could make us a name plate for Bubba and a sign to post at Watson Lake, Yukon at the Sign Forest - more about that in a future segment. I might note that the hours of daylight are unusual here. Located on the western edge of the Mountain Time Zone, the daylight hours extend until 11:00 at night! That’s foreign to us Southerners and it makes it difficult to go to bed at a reasonable hour.

The Blisses, the Harmons and the Kaskels had all brought their ATVs along and Bob and Netty had brought an extra one for us so we spent Saturday afternoon four-wheeling in the high mountains around the western side of Lake Cascade. It was absolutely beautiful and it felt great to be riding in Idaho’s fresh, clean air – made us wish we had brought one of our four-wheelers along! The group was an exceptionally congenial one and we felt blessed to have been able to meet them and share the weekend with them. We had great food and great fellowship around a roaring fire each evening. They made us feel so at home that we felt we had known them for years.

The Harmons and the Blisses packed up on Sunday morning to go back home and back to work. Our sympathies were with them! We convinced Bob and Netty to spend another night with us so we drove into McCall Sunday for lunch and a look around. McCall is a really neat little town in a beautiful setting on Payette Lake. Ponderosa State Park is there – a campground worth coming back to.

Monday morning, we said our tearful goodbyes to Bob and Netty and headed north following ID 55 then US 95 to Riggins located on the Salmon River. Along the way, we crossed the 45th parallel, halfway between the equator and the North Pole. We settled in for the night at the Canyon Pines RV Park, south of town, in a beautiful setting on the Little Salmon River. Our reason for stopping in Riggins was to take a raft trip on the Salmon. However, after we looked it over, we decided that the Salmon was a little too calm for us, and we would be floating alongside the highway, so we spent the afternoon exploring the Snake River’s Hell’s Canyon area. We really wanted to take a raft trip through the Canyon but were told that it was still too early in the season. They had jet-boat trips available but that was not the experience we wanted.

On Tuesday, April 12 we headed north again with the intent of spending the night at Winchester State Park. Unfortunately, the park wasn’t really suitable for Bubba so we backtracked a few miles and headed east on ID 62 to the town of Nezperce. There was a small campground there but it wasn’t very appealing so we turned north toward Orofino. About twelve miles before we reached US 12, the road turned to dirt but we were too far into the journey to turn back. Besides, we decided that we might as well practice for Alaska since we will encounter a number of unpaved roads there. We continued down a steep grade into the town of Orofino where we checked out a campground that we found to REALLY be undesirable. So we turned south on US 12 and finally found a suitable campground at Long Camp RV Park in Kamiah, on the Nez Perce Indian Reservation.

Wednesday morning, we continued on US 12 following the Lewis and Clark Trail through the Clearwater National Forest and over Lolo Pass. We chose this route on Netty and Bob’s recommendation and wow, was it incredible! The highway first followed the Clearwater River, then the Selway River, then the Lochsa Wild and Scenic River. This was one of the prettiest drives we have ever been on! We stopped at the Lolo Pass Visitor Center, elevation 5,233 feet, and learned more about Lewis and Clark’s exploration of this area. What a tough team they were!

We entered Montana as we began our descent from Lolo Pass and spent the night in Lolo Hot Springs at the Square Dance Center and RV Park. Luckily, it wasn’t Square Dance season –ha!

Traveling to Missoula the next morning, we followed I-90 into Coeur d’Alene where we had reservations for six nights at Blackwell Island RV Park. Carl and Cheryl joined us on Saturday.

Coeur d’Alene is a beautiful town of about 34,000 souls on the banks of the Coeur d’Alene Lake in Idaho’s panhandle. Known as one of the world’s most beautiful lakes, the area is a summer mecca for travelers from hotter climes and it is just across the state line from Spokane, WA. A number of RVers in our park spend the summer here every year. Coeur d’Alene is French for "heart of the awl", a name given to the Coeur d’Alene Indians by early French traders because of the natives’ sharp trading practices.

On Tuesday, Jerry and I toured the 128,000 square feet Buck Knife factory in Post Falls where they make 10-12,000 knives a day with about 300 employees. Jerry is a huge fan of Buck for a number of reasons. His fondness for the company was reinforced a couple of years ago when he broke a blade on one knife and the wood trim on another. He mailed his knives to Buck and they repaired both for FREE! He just had to see this place.

Buck Knives had its beginnings in Idaho in 1902 when H.H. Buck, a minister, began crafting knives to supplement his income. He increased production to meet the demands of World War II and moved the plant to El Cahone, CA. They remained there until 2005 when the cost of doing business in California outweighed the benefits. They moved to Post Falls where they immediately realized a savings of 1/3 in their utility bills. And, of course, the wage savings were significant, too. The tour was very interesting as we learned about all the steps needed to hand-make Buck knives before tempering the blades to strengthen the steel. Tempering involves heating the blades to 2,000 degrees then cooling them to -220 degrees. They repeat this process over and over until the desired hardness is reached. And, of course, the end purpose of the knife determines how much tempering is needed. For example, knives used by the military and law enforcement officers are tempered to be really hard. Buck is still a family-owned business with Chuck Buck serving as President. He is in his 70’s now and is preparing his grandson to take over the business. There is a special feeling here. There are no unions and no labor disputes. The atmosphere seems relaxed and comfortable with the workers smiling, laughing, and waving as we walked by. Interestingly, 50 families moved with the company from El Cahone to Post Falls and 48 of them are still there. How wonderful to see family businesses such as Buck survive and thrive in the "big is better" culture in which we live. You go, Chuck Buck!

We enjoyed a boat tour on Coeur d’Alene Lake where we learned that the lake is located 2,128 feet above sea level. It is 25 miles long with over 135 miles of shoreline. The average depth is 120 feet. The lake is fed by two rivers – the St. Joe and the Coeur d’Alene – and is drained by the Spokane River. The lake’s water level is controlled by a dam on the Spokane River at Post Falls. One of the interesting sights during the cruise was the Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course with its famous floating green – the only floating golf green in the world. We were told that this course has been selected by Golf Digest as America’s most beautiful resort golf course.

We left Coeur d’Alene, along with Carl and Cheryl, on Thursday, June 21 following US 95 north to Sandpoint where we parked the motorhomes, unhitched and spent the afternoon in town. Sandpoint is another beautiful little Idaho town on the northwestern shore of Lake Pend Oreille (pronounced Pon’-de-ray’). We had a lovely lunch and Cheryl and I spent several hours in Coldwater Creek’s original store buying new clothes for the road. Jerry came through once again by patiently waiting for us while Carl gave up and went back to the motorhome. What a trooper my husband is!

We spent Thursday and Friday nights at the Beyond Hope Resort on Lake Pend Oreille near the small village of Hope. The resort is located in the midst of a game preserve with white-tailed deer roaming freely throughout the campground. The resort also has a restaurant where we enjoyed a wonderful dinner on the night of our arrival.

On Saturday, we would cross the border into British Columbia. As we looked back at our time spent in Idaho, we had to admit that it was one of the most beautiful states we had visited. The thriving forests, the clear, free-flowing creeks and rivers, the crystal clear lakes, and the rugged mountains made us promise to come back again.

Until next time, happy trails to you . . . til we meet again!