Monday, September 8, 2025 Hell's Canyon

 

Monday, September 8, 2025 Hell’s Canyon

My humans let me out to roam today.  They were right there so I couldn’t go too far.  It was fun sniffing things.  I caught some little flying thing.  I got to roll.  It was fun to hang out with my humans.

It was kind of warm last night. Fortunately, it did cool down overnight, enough so that I had to grab a light blanket.  Spouse got his fishing gear out, and went for some early angling.  I went for my walk. 

We are in the middle of nowhere.  But there is a post for a WI-Fi hot spot! As long as you are within 50 feet from the post!

I walked along the road, which follows the Snake River.  I was out for about an hour, and only two cars passed by.  Wild huckleberries lined the river side of the road.  Too bad they were all shriveled up.  A deer bounded across my path.  There were turkey vultures in a tree sunning themselves.  There were ospreys.  Oh!  There is another deer.  It was a beautiful walk, even though it was along the road.

There really is a deer in this picture!

Spouse caught 7 fish, so he was totally stoked!  He threw them all back.

Back at camp, we got to talking to our only neighbors, then got Artie ready to roll.  Artie rolled all of about 10 miles to the town of Oxbow.  We saw an RV park – with electricity!!  We decided to hookup and disconnect to go exploring.

Spouse wrestled with this decision, as he knew we would find a better RV spot (RV park or boondocking spot).  Free of Artie, we got on the Idaho side of the river and headed north.  Yes, there was another RV park, right on the river.  Spouse agonized, but the spaces were small, and there was a lot less shade.  We saw a couple of pullouts, but nothing that would have been suitable.  Then there was the sign that said ‘no oversized vehicles as there is no turnaround’.  That kind of sealed the deal…  Spouse was finally ok with where we are bunking! 

The road is small, and it hugs the mountainside, which follows the curve of the river.  The water is glassy… oh so glassy!  We stopped at one spot so Spouse could throw in a line.  No hits, not surprising as it is midday.  The road is 23 miles long, and ends at the Hell’s Canyon Dam Visitor Center.  There isn’t a whole lot of anything on the road.  A couple of barren campspots.  Crossing over the dam, the water is flowing freely.  There are rapids and boats that will take you down the river for adventure.  Except for today… and tomorrow… and probably this week.  We took a wee hike to a viewpoint.  There is hardly anybody here.  This will be changing as hunting season starts this weekend…

But, we enjoy our solitude.  We saw one other car on the way back to Artie.

Today, I measured the cracks in our windshield…  roughly 16 inches… I think they are growing, but slowly.  We should be able to make it home before we fix it… we hope!