Moving south into Utah

 First things first....as I sat here starting to write the blog, this is what I looked up and saw......

oh Dave.....

He always has to be the center of attention......

We enjoyed our few days stopover at Country Corners RV.    We relaxed one day and then did a bit of exploring the next.    There wasn't anythng I particularly wanted to see, but water is always a draw for us so we set off toward Cascade and/or McCall,  Idaho.    We knew we'd enjoy the journey because the roads I picked hugged the Palouse River.

We did have one unusual, and first for us, water encounter.   I recommend it, if the situation ever presents itself to you......

The farm fields in this part of Idaho are all irrigated by huge, rolling watering thingys.   You've all seen them.     As we approached one we noticed that it was poorly adjusted and a very strong stream of water was missing the field and raining down on the road ahead.    Should we?   The Jeep was pretty dusty and dirty.....should we?

Yes, we should!    Dave slowed down and stopped under the powerful spray.    As it slowly moved, we slowly moved to stay under the shower - back and forth, back and forth.       We wonder what someone would have thought if they had seen us.    I don't think anyone did, but......      Rocky emerged and drove away clean as a whistle with a smile on his face.      Fun!

Around lunch time we stopped at  Wild Rose Park, at the bottom of the Black Canyon Diversion Dam. for a quick bite and a little leg stretch.      The river was racing by below us so we didn't let Lewis have a swim there, we knew we'd find a better spot ahead.

We did.    A few miles away we found a wide, calm spot with a level entry so we all waded in.  You know how hot it was.   

We had fun for about a half hour, throwing and retrieving, throwing and retrieving, until a flotilla of women on SUPs appoached.   They were clearly heading for our spot to beach themselves,   so.....Time to go for us.

It was becoming smokey and the road was becoming narrow, curvy and the beginning of Labor Day weekend busy so we decided to go only as far as Banks...

.

A branch of the Payette River turned off of the main road right there,  so we decided to follow it a few miles before turning around and heading home.

We'd gone only a few miles when we saw something large and red in the middle of some pretty serious rapids.

There were a few people in a pull off and they were looking at the red thing also.     It turned out to be a large raft upturned and stuck fast on a rock.     No one seemed to be in a panic, so we assumed that whoever was "driving" it had gotten to shore safely and how to get the raft back was being "discussed" in a lively manner.

We decided to stay and see how it would go.     After several different strategies were employed to no avail,  a what looked like a pontoon/ kayak with three people aboard put in and made a run at it.   Two jumped off as they approached, one landing on the raft, the other on the nearby rock.    The retrieval was underway!

Long story short, the two of them managed to get a rope around the stuck raft and a group of bystanders walked upstream hauling on the other end of the rope til the raft pulled free.       I know, we're easily amused.     

Friday morning we left Caldwell and moved along to our next one night stopover at the Heyburn Riverside RV park.     Another of our favorite little parks.    It's small and green and spacious and friendly and.....it sits beside the Snake River!    We even were able to sit outside for happy hour, the grass was cool and our big tree gave us nice shade.

yes, we see you Lew......

 

  Saturday morning we continued south to our next stop, Salt Lake City, Utah.   The scenery along the interstate was fairly boring but the trip was uneventful and we arrived in time for dinner with our old friends, Jack and Marilyn.      

reminders of fire along the way

It was good to see them,  we have one more planned dinner before we leave SLC on Monday morning.   Next stop will be new to us and we're really looking forward to it!

As I publish today's blog, I can see that it must be meal time for "someone", who is resting comfortably across from me, all the while giving the the "eye".....