Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Home Stretch

From the moment we arrived in our last camping spot of this trip, I knew we would love it.  It smelled heavenly.  It didn't take long to figure out the tree next to our spot was blooming and the sweet smell wrapped us  up in it's sweet aroma.
 

I left the door open to the trailer inviting the smell to join us until the evening chill settled in, requiring us to close it for the night. 



While I  generally don't like RV parks where trailers are all lined up in a row....I gladly make the exception here.  There were only two other guests for the night and with the river just feet away from our camp we enjoyed all the solitude one could ever want.  What a lovely spot for my  morning coffee.  I took my time getting ready for the day.  No pressure to go and see sights.... just take in the sights, sounds and SMELLS of this wonderful place.  Wonderful, home like bathrooms begged us each to take a long hot shower.

 I even made a big breakfast, which is rare on a travel day.



A Gazebo along the river provides a wonderful place for a night fire... or a place to get out of the weather.



The Swift Water RV Park near WhiteBird, Idaho is nestled at the bottom of two mountain grades with the river on a third side.  It is a narrow strip along the river but sheltered from the road noise and a great deal of the wind and weather from the surrounding mountains.  I'm sure this is an active place in the summer due to all the river activities but it was a peaceful respite for us this day.  There were several vintage trailers stored here for the winter and lucky owners are allowed to come and visit when the weather allows.




When leaving the RV Park you begin a rapid incline of an 8% grade for 8 miles.  This photo was taken from one of several pull outs.  Hoss handled the grade perfectly and hardly even flinched at the load of Lolita following dutiful behind us. 

See the road snaking up the center and to the right of the picture. 

After arriving at the top of the grade I happily found myself on yet another Scenic ByWay.
This curved to the left as we traveled through Nez Perce Tribal land.  Obviously my sightseeing time is done and it is purely a travel day with some investigating for future trips.  I definitely see a future weekend trip to follow the loop into Montana with closer investigation and visiting all the area sights. 
 Northwest Passage Scenic ByWay


We stop in Grangeville to visit some family friends and then are on our way again.

We turn off and travel along part of the Palouse Scenic Byway.  The Palouse is turning multi shades of green as the spring plants are showing their colors.

The Palouse Scenic Byway is one of my favorite drives close to home.  It is an everchanging agricultural area that is different every time we drive through.  But there was excitement worth pulling over for this trip.
 
Local crop dusters thrilling us with aerial acrobatics. 
 
 

 


The sky was positively glowing as we arrived back in town.


Home Again, Home Again

Until the trail calls .....



11 comments:

  1. What a nice RV Park for you last night. Can't wait to go to Parker Canyon Lake so I can sit and drink coffee in front of the Lake.

    Nice road home.

    ReplyDelete
  2. You are the one who always brings back my memories. I moved to Idaho in 1974, in a U Haul truck pulling my car, and Whitebird Hill and the Lewiston Hill both were still 2 lane corkscrew very steep roads. I'll never forget that trip or those roads. I still love to sit at the top of each of those hills and look at the old route, and sometimes drive it, at least at Lewiston where it is still open, or was a few years ago.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you are enjoying revisiting past memories while I am making new ones. I saw the old road off of White bird grade....YIKES did it look scary... I would like to explore it someday without trailer in tow. I would first want to know if it is still maintained and oh my yes it did look steep!

      Delete
  3. What fun to follow along with your trip, wonderful Pics!

    Maura

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a wonderful place to stop and "call home" for the evening. Somehow, I thought you were full-timing and didn't have a "home" anymore. Regardless, welcome home!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You remember correctly, I was full-timing and family needs brought me back to my home town. So for now I'm keeping life simple until I can be out full time again. I NEVER want to have to go through the down-sizing again. I'm spending as much free time as I can on the road exploring and living the life I want.

      Delete
  5. I'm glad you are home safe with such wonderful memories. You visited some beautiful places, and the best part is that you seem to appreciate everything around you. Thanks for taking us along! :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. That's a beautiful area you drove through. Glad your 8% grade was up and not down or at least I prefer mine that way. Hope those crop dusters weren't dusting those chemicals on you? I'd hate to breathe that stuff.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I should have called this blog "Heaven at the hole in the ground." No matter what way you go to White Bird you must both climb a huge grade and go down a huge grade. Then repeat the process to go home as there are multiple grades each direction. I'm sure it helps to keep the population down and tourists in moderation. Loved this place!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. A wonderful adventure! I'm sorry it has ended. Thanks for letting us "ride" along.

    ReplyDelete