Friday, September 2, 2016

Monday, August 29, 2016 Trading the cush of North Fork for the tush of Victor


Monday, August 29, 2016
I want some loving.  I don't care that it is dark and you are sleeping.  You are my humans and you must pet me.  You are so easily manipulated.
This morning we are faced with leaving this paradise.  Spouse went fishing and I did my walk in this land of inspiration.  If I could paint this, it would look fake.  Of course, everything I paint looks fake.  Ok, so if somebody with talent could paint this, it would still look fake!  But alas, it is time to move on.  It is probably a good thing, since today starts the bighorn sheep season, and the guy that came in last night is on the hunt.  Only the males can be taken.  Maybe that explains why we saw only females the other day, but I can't imagine taking one of these beautiful creatures.  The meat is not anything special, so it is only for the trophy, which just doesn't sit well with me.  But I am not a hunter so I just don't understand.  Hell, I can't even put live bait on my fishing hook...

We head south down 93 to Salmon.  After a grocery shop, we start south on 28, leaving the Salmon-Challis National Forest.  We are in a valley flanked with cerritos on the inside, then rugged mountains beyond.  And of course, there is the riparian corridor.  The Lemhi River meanders around the valley.  There are alfalfa farms and horse meadows.  After about 70 miles, the cerritos fade away and we are driving in a high desert prairie.  My turn to drive, Spouse will navigate.  Poor guy, it took him forever to figure out where we were.  I was vibrating in place.  But, we all got on the same page... eventually... after about 40 miles...
Now, I could drag this out and make it some kind of adventure, but bottom line, we took 28 to 33 east, to I15 south, to  48 east (thank you GPS Samantha for taking us on this stupid road.  Yes, it may be the shortest route, but DEFINITELY not the quickest!), then to 26 east.  For all intents and purposes, we could have just as easily been in Iowa as Idaho.  Flat farmland, with a creek here and there.  It is pretty, but relatively non-descript. 
When we get to 26, we head east.  We start coming back into mountain territory as we approach Swan Valley.  There is a forest fire with several burn spots going in the Targhee forest.  Then turning north on 31, we head towards Victor.  Lots of fire activity going on, but so far, our road is still open.  We are on a gentle mountain road curving through the forest.  We have been here in the winter to ski Grand Targhee, but it looks a lot different without the snow.  That snow would sure come in handy for the wildfires, but at 85 degrees, I don't think that is going to happen!  We were hoping to find a small campground, but alas, it is after 4 and we stop at an RV park in Victor.  It is pretty, but too close of quarters for my taste. 
We follow a man in a golf cart into our site.  He has to direct us in so we don't take up too much room.  The people next to us bring in their shade awning so we will fit.  When we open our sliders, we are practically in our neighbor's living room.  Please don't bring someone else in next to us...
It is only for one night so I guess I will get over it.  And talk about a slow internet...  I was spoiled up in North Folk!  We are campers that happen to have an RV.  This is an RV park where this is what people do.  They like being in close quarters and they like big rigs.  I doubt any of these people have EVER been in a campground off the grid.  We talked to one couple with a 41 foot rig and the wife would NEVER consider an RV park without full services.  They will certainly miss out on some beautiful experiences.  Oh well, to each their own.
The smoke from the fire is on the horizon, as are the helicopters with the big water buckets making run after run. 
Rudy wants to explore.  He actually made a verbal cry to go outside!  Normally, he mimes it!
Note to Spouse:  Low fat does not translate to being healthy! 
Tomorrow, we will head into Jackson, and most likely park ourselves in the Grand Tetons through the holiday weekend.

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