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| View through the windshield at Ennis RV Village |
July 2020 -
Montana and
Idaho
I picked Ennis,
Montana, for no particular reason
that I recall, except that it was in roughly the right area and within an easy
day’s drive of Salmon. Except it really wasn’t, because Google Maps includes
dirt roads in its directions. And, because it had a Montana state road number, MT 324, I didn’t
check it on Google Earth. Luckily, I had a premonition as soon as we turned onto
it. It was paved, but the first two vehicles that passed us coming the other
way gave me a funny look, like “really? Hmm, I hope you know what you’re
doing.” For once, I listened to the voices in my head and we turned around at
what might have been the last place that we could. Back at the crossroad, I
asked a local about route MT 324. She laughed and said it was an unpaved,
rock-strewn, pot-holed mess that got worse after it crossed into Montana. Avoiding that
shortcut added over a hundred miles to the easy day we had looked forward to.
Nonetheless, the country was spectacular and Covid eliminated any hint of
traffic.
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"Small" gold mining dredge in nearby
Nevada City |
Ennis claims to be the trout fly fishing capital of the
world, or maybe just the country, I forget. The storied Madison
River passes through town and fishing dominates the economy. It’s
a lovely small town that exist solely for tourists, fisher people or not. There
is also enough shopping and site seeing to keep non-fishers from going nuts for
a few days.
As much as we liked the town despite the Covid closures and
restrictions,
discovering the Ennis Village RV Park alone made the trip
worthwhile. We pulled into our site to discover a panoramic, 180 degree view of
more than 30 square miles of the Madison River
valley, all backed up by varicolored, snow capped mountains. Herds of fat cows
grazed on lush, tall grass. Deer and flocks
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| The neighbors come to visit |
of geese came out into the fields
to feed. One evening a pair of moose crossed the valley in full view. We sat in
the coach or on chairs at the edge of the ridge for hours every day watching
the show below us. This was the best view we have ever had in six years on the
road. Oh, yes, the park was terrific in every other way, too. And the dogs
loved it. Just a mile away is Deemo’s, the best meat market we have ever seen. The
local supermarket, Madison Foods, even has a great wine section. We plan to
return as soon as we can.
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| Lots of great "stuff" and colorful owners |
One more plus: no trains! It seems to be a rule that
commercial RV parks must be located on busy train tracks where long freights
blow for every driveway, or just to relieve the crew’s boredom. Ennis is miles away from any tracks. I slept better there than I can remember. The only
drawback I can think of is the wind. Every afternoon the winds build, usually
blowing a steady 20 mph, often gusting over 40. One afternoon gusts hit 60 mph,
causing damage to some campers who weren’t prepared.
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| Picture doesn't due Cliff Lake justice |
One of our neighbors (not above) encouraged us to visit Wade and Cliff Lakes, about 40 miles south of town. They were right. These are mountain lakes, absolutely crystal clear, set in lovely heavily wooded settings. There are small campgrounds that are impossible for us to get into and popular day-use areas where folks picnic, kayak and play in the chilly water. (see more lake pix below)
Ennis was a very tough act to follow, and Riverfront RV Park
in
Garrison, Montana certainly missed the mark. A
double-track freight line borders the park and a switching yard is not far away.
Every train going in either direction blows their horns for four crossings. That’s
16 bellows per train. I counted six trains in one hour one night. Poor electric power
and lots of mosquitoes didn’t help, either. I doubt we’ll be back, despite the
lovely setting, including acres of diligently mown grass and great staff folks.
There isn’t a lot to do in this part of
Montana, but the
Old
Montana Prison & Auto Museum in Deer Lodge is just a few miles away. I’ve
never seen these two wildly disparate subjects combined in one place, so we
went to find out. The prison museum was depressing and disquieting. After ten
minutes we were looking for the exit. The car section, though, was pretty neat.
If you go through the area, it’s worth a stop for an hour or two. The ice cream
stand next door serves
Umpqua
ice cream, a Northwest specialty. Don't miss it.
We enjoyed our golf foray in American
Falls and looked forward to another nice day. Deer Park Golf
Course looked like our kind of track: short, flat, wide open and cheap. Even
with those advantages, we still stunk up the place and came away dispirited and
humbled. We had forgotten that the golf gods are vicious and capricious. Maybe
new balls will help.
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| This was even better than it looks |
Garrison is about 45 miles from Helena, and Kayeanne wanted
sushi and chocolate for her birthday, so … road trip! The
sushi was great and the
chocolate was wonderful. The town
proved to be interesting, too. For those who nodded off during Social Studies,
Helena is the capital of
Montana. Many of the things we wanted to see
were closed for Covid, but the state capital building was open, so we looked
around.
Typical of many state capital buildings, it was built ~120
years ago of granite and brick with domes, gilding, fancy woodwork, granite floors, etc. None of that delivers any real value for the proletariat, but they never get to approve the budget, anyway. After all, the “public’s servants” need quarters befitting their somber duties.
The murals and statuary are what you’d expect in a late 19th century municipal edifice in the West. What
struck me, though, was the number and scale of items, some heroic in size, depicting
Native American peoples and themes. Given how many Indians were slaughtered by
the builders of this homage to democracy to drive them off their ancestral lands, it looked to me
like collective guilt or monumental cynicism. If I’m feeling generous, probably
both. Commissioning the decorations was certainly cheaper than actually buying the
land or paying reparations, but maybe I’m too cynical. Ok, rant off.
After a week in Garrison, I think we were both ready to start
heading west to Oregon. Kayeanne picked
the Blue Anchor RV Park in Osburn,
Idaho. She has offered no defense
of that choice, but she hit the jackpot: an old mobile home park that was
converted to an RV park, artfully situated between a main freight railroad and
Interstate 90. I could hit the freeway with a pitching wedge. The park really
had nothing to recommend it except its proximity to Wallace and Kellogg.
This part of
Idaho
was arguably the richest silver mining region of the country, if not the world. The
largest of seven mines in the area, the Sunshine Mine, produced 365
million
ounces of silver between 1904 and 2001, accounting for roughly 14% of total US silver
production. The mines drilled literally thousands of miles of tunnels and
reached depths over 5000 feet deep. Lead, zinc and copper were also produced in
great quantities. The fumes from the refining processes were so toxic
that the valley where Kellogg is located wouldn’t grow trees until the smelters
were shut down for several years. Starting in the ‘80’s,
Kellogg High School
students have replanted literally millions of trees. Thanks to them and others the area is
making a comeback.
In 1972, 91 miners died in an underground fire in the
Sunshine Mine. The
mining museum
in Kellogg does a good job explaining what happened. Not long after that,
the costs of complying with growing environmental regulations and a worldwide drop
in silver prices led to the end of mining in this area.
The Shoshone Golf Club
is a real test. It’s only a 9-hole course, but you WILL want a cart, and you
better bring several extra balls (the new ones didn't help). Yikes.
Wallace has been making a successful transition from mining
town to tourist destination for many years. We made a couple of trips just to
look around. It reminded me a little of
Ouray,
Colorado, another mountain mining
town. Several stores and restaurants were closed due to Covid, but enough
weren’t that we had a good time wandering around.
Muchacos
Tacos was quite good for lunch.
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| Watch the first step.... |
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| Do I look nervous? |
I never knew Kayeanne had a bucket list, but it turns out that
zip lining was near the top. Some of you may recall that on our second date almost
exactly 40 years ago, we jumped out of airplanes. That was her idea, too. Apparently
it was time to scare me silly again. I have to say that it was a gas, and over
too fast, but we still turned down the offer of another ride. Tempting fate is
not a good idea.
Our next stop was Hood Park Corp of Engineers Campground in Burbank, Washington, just
across the Snake River from Pasco and Kennewick. We just stayed
one night, but really enjoyed it. Lots of grass and shade for the dogs, and no
freeways or trains! We’d like to come back and spend time exploring the area.
It was an easy drive from Hood
Park to Creekside Campground in
Sisters, Oregon.
Sisters is one of our favorite places to visit. A number of Covid closures and
the Governor’s new mask mandate limited what we could do, but we enjoyed
walking the town, again. Creekside Campground is a little tight for Ripley, in fact
there are only a couple of spaces that we fit and were lucky that one was
available. No utilities, but that’s not an issue for two nights. The dogs loved
it, too, lots of grass and trees.
On August 1st , we pulled into Thompson’s Mills State Park
to volunteer for two months. (Note to self: do not take the coach on Rt 20
between Sisters and Sweet Home again. I don’t shy away from most roads, but
this is one. It is way, way too tight and much too long. Take Rt 126 through Eugene,
instead.)
I haven’t been doing a lot of reading this month, but Jim
Lynch’s Border Songs stood out.
New wines this month include 19 Crimes Pinot Noir
and A to Z Oregon Rosé Wine.
More soon,
Bob
More pictures:
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| Sunset at Ennis |
Landing is an acquired skill....
