Touring Boise

We drove into Boise on Tuesday and found the Visitor's Center and picked up information on things to see.   We have been to:

1.   Idaho Historical Museum where we spent 3 hours reading and looking at the exhibits on the state of Idaho.

2.  The Basque Museum - In the old section of town is a one-story building which tells the story of the immigration of the Basque people to the United States.   It was very interesting, as I knew nothing about that nationality at all.   The most interesting thing was to read about the famous people who are of Basque nationality:   Ignatius Loyola, Francis Xavier, Ravel (composer of Bollero),  Ted Williams.   I enjoyed watching a video of a 105 year old lady who told of her coming to the United States and settling in Idaho.   She spoke in the Basque language, so it was translated on the screen.   

The Capitol Dome, as seen from the Rotunda

Idaho State Capitol building

3.  The Capitol Building - the Territorial Capitol was built in 1885, but because of crowding (and no indoor plumbing) a new capitol was built in 1912.  It was remodeled during the 1950's and 1970's.   In 2005 the building was restored.  It is unusual in that atrium wings were added on both the east and west side of the building....underground!   It adds space for committee hearing rooms and offices.   The building is heated with geothermal energy.

4.  The Old Idaho Penitentiary 1870-1973.     The pen was started in 1870 and over the course of the prison's open period there were 10 executions - all by hanging.   We were able to tour the 1899, 1921 and 1954 cell blocks, the Women's Ward, and see the "cooler" and the solitary confinement building.

5.  The Black History Museum which traced the achievements of the black citizens of Idaho and the fight for integration and equality.   The museum features artwork and sculptures of local artists as well.  

The downtown area of Boise is very easy to navigate, and there is plentiful parking.   On Saturday, our last full day here the smoke from the fires in the area had become so think you were unable to see the tops of the buildings downtown, and the air was heavy with smoke.   We will leave tomorrow (Sunday) for Jerome/Twin Falls KOA which is about 2 hours SE of Boise on I-84.   

The Trip to Boise - August 20, 2012

We left Coeur D'Alene about 8:30 on Monday and started our trek down ID 95 (a major state highway).   The scenery was really neat -- Lake Coeur d'Alene, then fields of wheat, the town of Moscow.   From there things deteriorated considerably!   To get to the next large town we had to descend a 7 mile, 7% grade "hill".    I prayed all the way down!!!!    When we got to the bottom, we had decided to get fuel in Lewiston as the next big town was miles away, and access to fuel was doubtful.   When we stopped at the gas station, Jack said that standing 4 ft. away from the trailer, he could feel the heat from the brakes.  

Hell's Canyon

More Hell's Canyon

After fueling, we entered the Indian Reservation and drove miles without seeing much besides farm land.   Suddenly we were in a wilderness area called Hell's Canyon.  It seemed like we drove for hours in this wilderness.   Oh no!   Another 7 mile, 7% grade hill (with the promise it would get steeper in 3 miles).   OMG!  Once we were through that, our next decision was in New Meadow -- some campers at Wolf's Lodge suggested we take ID 55 into Boise instead of staying on 95.   Looking at the map, it was a scenic loop - lots of curves and hills.   Opted to stay on ID 95.   It's a good thing we did.   There is a large forest fire in that area, and ID 55 was closed in some areas due to heavy smoke.   We didn't  pull into Meridian, ID until 6:20 Mountain Time.   Our campground is 8 miles outside Boise, ID.   Very nice....and right across the street from McDonald's, the DQ, Subway, a grocery store and a Home Depot.   Something for everyone!

Pictures - Coeur d'Alene

At Coeur d"Alene Resort

Boat Slips at the resort

Our guide, Bob Singletary at Ft. Sherman Chapel

In front of the Ft. Sherman Chapel

Mission of Most Sacred Heart - Oldest standing building in  Idaho

Main Altar of the Mission church

We did it!   We've camped in all 48 lower states!!

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho August 16 - 20, 2012

The trip to our campground took only about an hour.   We are camping about 8 miles east of Coeur d'Alene at the Wolf Lodge Campground.   We were fortunate that we were able to upgrade to a full hookup site.   The only drawback to this campground -- NO TV!   It's in a valley and the mountains on all sides block the signal.   Thank heavens for strong radio stations and Red Box!

Since we arrived in early afternoon we set up and then drove into town and walked the shopping area and then the 3/4 mile floating board walk at the Coeur d'Alene Resort.   It was built in 1986, and is the world's longest floating boardwalk.  We saw an advertisement for a tour of Ft. Stevens and so stopped at the Museum to buy tickets.  

Our tour on Friday was at 11 a.m., and our tour guide was the local historian Bob Singletary who was dressed in a Civil War uniform and took us along the lake to the remains of Ft. Stevens.   The fort was built at the request of William Sherman, and was built about the same time as Ft. Spokane in WA.   Mr. Singletary took on the persona of the fort commander, and spoke as though we were visiting during the time it was inhabited.   We were able to go into the Single Officer's barracks, the chapel and saw the brick magazine.   The rest of the fort has been acquired by the Lewis and Clark College, and so those are the only remaining buildings.    Since Jack is a history buff, the two of them carried on a lively conversation and the tour was truly interesting and enjoyable.   After the tour we stayed at the Museum and toured it.  

Saturday we drove to Wallace, ID about 50 miles east of our campground to see the historic town.  The historic buildings in town were saved from destruction by quick thinking residents when the I-90 interstate wanted to demolish several blocks of historic buildings to build I-90.   The town sued on environmental grounds, and the I90 was built on an overpass on the edge of town.   About 900 people live in the town, which is called the Silver Capital of the World because of the many silver mines and gold mines in the area.   They also had a rich history of logging.   The 1910 fire destroyed several blocks.   The Union Pacific and Northern Pacific both came though the valley, but by the 1980's both were gone.   The Northern Pacific station has been moved from it's original location to downtown, and has a railroad museum inside.   Two other museums are also in town :  the Bordello museum and the Mining Museum.   There is also a tour of an old Silver Mine available.   When we arrived we learned that it was the Huckleberry Festival downtown, so we toured the booths and enjoyed huckleberry ice cream  (huckleberries look like wild blueberries).   The ice cream was great!

Sunday we drove 17 miles to the Old Mission near Cataldo, ID.   The State Park has Idaho's Oldest Standing Building - a missionary church and priest's residence with a visitor's center.   The church was constructed in 1850-53 by catholic missionaries of the Society of Jesus and the Coeur d'Alene Indians.   The building was designed by Father Anthony Ravalli, SJ who studied in Italy.   In 1887 the Indians were relocated near DeSmet, ID and a new mission was erected.   The Cataldo Mission served as a seminary for brothers of the SJ, since the Indians had been relocated.   Every August 15 the Couer d'Alene Indians come back to the Mission on the feast of the Assumption and hold an outdoor Mass and celebration.   The Visitor's Center has a permanent exhibition which tells the story of the "Blackrobes" and Coeur d'Alene Tribe.  

Monday we'll move to Boise, ID.

Spokane, WA August 10 - 16, 2012

We left the wheat fields of Wilbur and headed further east to Spokane.   Our actual campground was in Mead, a few miles from north Spokane.   The campground was very nice - paved sites with brick patios.    We ventured into Spokane after supper, and headed for a mall I'd seen on our way through town so I could go to Penney's and hopefully get a haircut.   Success!

Our first venture into sightseeing was actually on Sunday when we went into downtown to visit the Riverfront Park, site of the 1974 World's Fair.   The idea started in the late 1960's when 17 acres of railroad land along the Spokane River was acquired. The construction on Expo '74 began in 1972 with the construction of the largest building, the $11,500,000 US Pavilion which now houses an IMAX theater.   The expo focused on the environment, and Spokane was the smallest city to host an international exposition.    As you walk through the park, there are plaques indicating where the various  countries had built their pavilions.   The park is beautiful and has walking/bike paths throughout.   We rode the gondolas over the Spokane River Falls and then decided to walk the park.   The flowers and sculptures are beautiful!   Two of my favorites are the "garbage goat" who will eat your paper garbage (cups, straws, etc.), and the Big Red Wagon which has a slide as the tongue.   We enjoyed the Looff Carousel (built in 1904-07 as a wedding gift for his daughter).  After walking the majority of the park, we took a trolley tour but the audio was so poor we could not hear what the gentleman was telling us.   After 3 1/2 hours, we left the park.   Our next stop was the Visitor's Center where a charming lady gave us TONS of brochures on things to see in Spokane and also in Idaho.  

Monday found us at Gonzaga University looking for the boyhood home of Bing Crosby.   Not only did we go into his home, we also went to the library building he built on campus (now the Student Center) and visited the Crosby Room inside.   Jack took my picture by the bronze statue of Bing which sits in front of Crosby Hall.   We also visited the St. Aloysius church which was next to the Admin building.  
It was still early, so we drove north to a tractor museum in Deer Creek.   It's called "the Red Shed" and the owners farm and have their collection of goodies in one of their machine sheds.   The owner has the largest historical collection of Ironstone dishes in the northwest.   Besides the tractors, there was also a 1950's kitchen, 1940's bedroom, a 1920's kitchen and a Queen Victoria area.   There was also an extensive collection of antique and horse drawn equipment.   It was the perfect museum -- Jack and the owner talked farming while I poked around the female interests.  

Tuesday we drove to Manito Park, a 90 acre facility (FREE) with 5 distinct gardens:  the lilac garden, which because of the time of the year is not blooming;  the Rose Hill which we could see from the fence, but because of fertilizing and spraying were unable to go in;  the quiet Nishinomaya Tsutakawa Japanese Garden, the Perennial Garden and my favorite of them all, the formal English Duncan Garden which had two fountains, a gazebo and beautiful flowers.   The park also has a small outdoor restaurant where we enjoyed lunch and rested in the shade of the trees.  

August 15 we stayed in camp to take care of housekeeping chores and make reservations for our next campgrounds in Idaho.   August 16 was a travel day into Couer d'Alene, Idaho about 50 miles from our Mead campground.

Wilbur, Grand Coulee Dam, Fort Spokane

Ellensburg was a college town of 15,000+ and Wilbur is a farming town of 800.   Our campground was called Country Lane Campground and RV Park.   The campground had perhaps 25 sites, but what it lacked in size and amenities, it more than made up for with heart.   The owners, Bob and Linda bought the park 4 years ago and have been working hard to upgrade it.   Aside from being the most friendly and accommodating people, they spoiled us!   They had a unique offering in their campground....RV Room Service!   They had a menu for breakfast and supper, and Linda would prepare it and Bob would deliver it!   We had huge cinnamon rolls one morning and bacon and eggs another.   

Wilbur is in the heart of the wheat-growing area.   The fields were huge!   As far as you could see was wheat.   The town is about 20 miles from Grand Coulee Dam, the main purpose of our staying there.   We drove over and took the free dam tour.   We had to go through a scanner, just like in the airport, and we had  an escort as well as a tour guide on our bus.   Our destination was the pump room where we were met by a guard armed with an automatic rifle in addition to our escort and tour guide.   A bit unsettling.   From the pump room we went out on the spillway and took pictures before everyone climbed back on the bus and headed back to the car and headed to the Visitor's Center to learn more about the construction of the dam.

The cam was started in 1933 and took 9 years to complete.  It is 550 feet above bedrock (as tall as the washington Monument) and is 500 feet wide at the base.  There is enough cement in the dam to build two standard six-foot wide sidewalks around the world at the equator.   We learned that 12 towns were destroyed with the building of the reservoir (Roosevelt Lake), and salmon fishing was diverted to tributeries of the Columbia river.   This disrupted the farming in the area and caused the Indians to have to move to other areas to fish.   The dam played a key role in the WWII, as  it furnished electricity for the region to build the ships and planes needed in the war, and now the electricity is used for peaceful means and the waters provide the life-giving water needed for irrigation of the crops, and supplies the towns with their needs.  It irrigates more than 600,000 acres of rich farmland annually.   One of the pump-generators can pump 1,948 cubic feet of water PER SECOND.    One unit can fill the water needs of a city the size of Chicago.

That evening we drove back to the dam to watch the laser light show which is a 30-minute history of the dam done in laser illustrations against the spillway.   

The following day we drove to Fort Spokane.   Out of 42 buildings, only 3 remain.   The fort was built to keep peace between the farmers, miners, and the Indians who lived along the Columbia river.   IT was built where the Spokane River joins the Columbia on a bluff overlooking the river.   When the fort was closed, the buildings were used for an Indian school.   In our infinite wisdom, we removed Indian children at the age of 5 and forced them to come to Indian residential schools where they were forced to wear white people clothes and learn English.   The purpose was to integrate them into the white world as it was felt that the Indian way of life was dying, and this would provide them with the tools to exist in a white world.   After about 5 years the Indians were able to get schools on their reservations, so the children could live at home while attending school.   That left the fort with empty buildings again.    It was decided to use the buildings as a TB sanitarium for the Indians.   The fort was finally closed in 1929.   The wood from the buildings was used to build homes in the area.   The only buildings remaining are a mule stable, the guardhouse, the arsenal, and foundations of many of the other buildings.   There is a walking tour which explains the use of the various buildings.  It was a good history lesson.   

On Friday we left Wilbur and headed to Mead, about six miles from Spokane.   

Ellensburg, WA Aug. 3-7, 2012

We drove 164 miles from Burlington to Ellensburg on the eastern side of the Cascade mountains.   By doing so, we left the cool breezes of the Pacific ocean and discovered the heat that the rest of the country has been suffering.   What a shock!   Aside from needing a jacket in some stores/restaurants, we won't be wearing them much.   There are 5 Airstreams in camp -- feels like a rally!

Saturday was Farmer's Market day in Ellensburg, so we joined the crowd and bought cherries and apricots. We stopped at the County Museum and spent 2 hours learning about the area.  From what we learned there, we ventured 15 miles to Thorp to tour the historic Thorp grist mill.

Sunday found us driving 65 miles to Leavenworth, advertised as a Bavarian village.   The town is beautifully done - window boxes overflowing with flowers, and streets with German names.   The town was actually a mining and lumbering town and the railroad came in and the town grew.   Unfortunately in the 1950's the town started to die -- the kids left for college and didn't come back, the mining, lumbering, and railroad were no longer a part of the town, and the residents were looking for something to save the town.   There was a vote -- turn it into a German settlement or a Swedish settlement.   The German won out, and a man was hired to help remodel the buildings to look like a town in Germany.   The people learned the German dances, and set themselves up as a tourist destination with alpine sports in the winter and several celebrations during the year.   It worked!   The day we were there, the town was packed!   We drove around the town for 20 minutes before we found a parking spot.   While we were there we toured their museum and learned about the town.    It drive over was beautiful -- we passed through flat farmland and mountain passes.   We shared the road with a bicycle ride that had about 200 cyclists chugging up the hills.

  Monday was a stay-at-home day to wash clothes and relax.  On August 7 we drove "up the road" to  Wilbur, WA.

Pictures from Washington - 1

Admiral Light at Ft. Casey State Park on Whidbey  Island

Wild flowers at Mt. Rainier National Park

At Diablo Lake Dam - North Cascades National Park

More North Cascades Mountains

Diablow Lake Overlook with Mt. Prophet in background

Huge Falls in North Cascades National Park

Wow!  Boeing's 787 is HUGE!

Leavenworth Bavarian Village  - 2

Leavenworth Bavarian Village - 1

Paradise Visitor Center at Mt. Rainier National Park

Mt. St. Helens

Burlington, WA July 29 - Aug. 3, 2012

July 29 was travel day, and we left the Kent KOA at 10:30 and arrived at the Burlington KOA at 12:30.   Ahhh, grass, large campsites, cable and wi-fi!   We liked it so much, we went back to the office to see about extending until August 4.   Nope.   So, we spent the afternoon searching for our next two campgrounds!   This campground is a favorite of Canadians, so the campground was more Canadian than American!    Most of the campers were from British Columbia and Alberta.  

Our first destination was the historic area called Fairhaven in south Bellingham, WA.   The area is a beautiful tourist site with historic old buildings that have been converted into tea rooms, boutiques, book stores and other locally owned one-of-a kind shops.  Definitely NOT Jack's favorite things to do.   We enjoyed the ride over and walking through the district.  

LaConner , WA was our destination the following day.   Our first stop after breakfast was the Visitor's Center in Burlington where we picked up ideas for the rest of our stay.   LaConner has the Skagit County Historical Museum and is about a 45 minute drive from Burlington on the Puget Sound.   The museum was really interesting, and the receptionist plied us with questions about MN after Jack told her we "live in NC, but we're originally from MN".   It seems her grandmother was born in LeCenter and lived in Waseca.   She asked tons of questions about the area.   We went downtown and ate fish n' chips at a restaurant on the waterfront.   From our table we could watch the boats going in and out of the inlet.   One of the most interesting exhibits was about Edward R. Morrow.   We agreed that this little town was much more to our liking than Fairhaven.

Off to North Cascades National Park on August 1.   It's about 60 miles from Burlington to the Visitor Center.   We met a ranger who is from Clayton NC - right down the road from Raleigh.   He gave us some great tips on hikes to take and things to be sure to stop and see.   We took his advice and had a wonderful time.   We didn't start back to camp until almost 4 p.m.    The mountains up here are much more rugged than the others we've seen, and the park is huge.   It's a FREE park, as hwy 20 winds through it.  

Whidbey's Island was another gem.   To get there we crossed Deception Pass on the high bridge.   The bridge is itself a tourist destination.   The Whidbey's Island town of Coupeville has a museum so of course we visited it.   We walked the downtown area and then headed out to Fort Casey State Park, which has the WWI and II gun mounts and battery which has 2 10-in guns and a couple of 6 inch guns still in place.   It reminded me of Fort Stevens in Hammond, OR.  We also stopped at the Admiralty Head lighthouse which is within walking distance of Fort Casey.   The light house is being restored, but at this point lacks the light.   The light keepers house is an interpretive center and was quite interesting.

August 3 is moving day - We've enjoyed a month of temps in the 60's and low 70's, but Ellensburg, WA is on the east side of the Cascade mountains, and we hear that we'll "enjoy" temps in the high 90's.  

Seattle/Tacoma, WA July 23 - 28, 2012

We left Cascade Locks on July 23 and headed north up I-5 toward Seattle/Tacoma area.   On the way we made a short side trip to the Mount St. Helen's Visitor's Center at Castle Rock, WA.   We were over 50 miles from the mountain, so all I could do is get my passport stamped and buy postcards and a magnet.   Then back on the road toward Seattle.

Our destination was the Seattle/Tacoma KOA in Kent, WA.   We were so packed in that campground that  peas in a pod have more room than we did!   Our $50.00 site came with the bare essentials - water, electricity and sewer hook up.   No cable or wi-fi.    Bummer.   We called Jack's cousin Ron at 5, and by 6:30 he and Linda were at the campground with a bag of Rainier cherries and street maps of Tacoma and Seattle.   We spent Tuesday and Wednesday visiting with Ron and Linda and they very graciously gave us a tour of Tacoma and on Wednesday there was a mini reunion of Jack's first cousins (Ron's brother and sister and their spouses) at Ron and Linda's lake home near Olympia, WA.   Beautiful!

On July 26 we woke to heavy clouds, but had planned to go to Mt. Rainier National Park, so packed up and headed the 60+ miles hoping to at least get a glimpse of the Mountain!   As we got closer, the sky cleared and it turned into a beautiful day after all.   We went as far as the Paradise Visitor's Center where we saw a movie and exhibits and enjoyed the alpine flowers and the views of the mountain's glaciers.   We took pictures of waterfalls, glacial rivers, and ate lunch at the Visitor's Center.

July 27 we drove up to the Boeing airplane factory for an 11 a.m. tour.   After a 6 minute "propaganda" film on Boeing airplanes (If it isn't a Boeing, I ain't going) we boarded two tour buses and headed out to the hangars to watch them building planes.   It was a 1/3 mile fast hike to the elevators taking us to the first gallery to watch the building of the 747's, and 777's and then back down the elevators and another 1/3 mile hike to the buses for the trip to see the very newest Boeing planes being built, the huge 787's.   The lighting is changed, the overhead compartments are larger, and the improved circulation systems ensure that you don't leave the plane with your neighbor's illnesses.    The very first US carrier to buy a 787 is United Airlines.   We also saw several new planes take off on their initial inspection flights.   Exciting!

Our next adventure was back in Tacoma, where we toured the huge LeMay car museum.   Donnie Pearce, I was thinking of you on this one!   Four floors plus 8 ramps of cars, trucks, muscle cars, roadsters, English cars, custom made limos and motorcycles!    If that wasn't enough, there were more outside that were there for a local car show!   They had a Delaurian gull wing and a Tucker car on display - first I'd seen.   For entertainment there was a barbershop quartet on the main concourse, and on the lowest level a very loud rock band!   My poor eardrums!

Next stop, Burlington WA!