Author: lori977987136

Due to new incompatibility between my previously-used blog site and my iPad, I’ll need to post to this plain Blogspot site for this trip. My apologies for the change.

Today was the day of our drive home. It was a sunny and warm day in Kennewick. After our free Super 8 hotel breakfast, we packed up and headed out.

First, we stopped for some sightseeing and birding at Sacajawea State Park at the confluence of the Snake and Columbia rivers in Kennewick. After spotting some white pelicans and other good birds, we went inside the visitor center and toured through the Sacajawea, Lewis and Clark exhibits there. Then we drove around a while in Paso and Kennewick to get a feel for the cities.

Sometime around noon we started the drive home. It was a busy Sunday coming over Snoqualmie Pass on I-90, with lots of cars and construction clogging up the road and making it stop-and-go driving. But our audio book made it bearable. After a long afternoon of driving, we were happy to see Issaquah again about 6 p.m. But it was a great trip showing us amazing western sights and providing many good memories.

Our Boise morning was sunny and clear, and we had plans to see some sights before leaving the city. After our Best Western free breakfast, we packed up the car and drove to downtown Boise. Several streets around the capitol building were blocked off for some event, but we still got a feel for the downtown by driving around. We also stopped at the green and peaceful Julia Davis park in the downtown area.

Then we drove to the Idaho Botanical Garden, not far from downtown and immediately next to the old state penitentiary. It was a beautiful 15-acre garden with many different parts, including a walk showing the plants that Lewis and Clark documented in their journals in the Idaho area. The garden was a great place for bird watching too, and Linda and I were glad we brought our binoculars. We spent 3 hours there, until about noon.

After that, we went a few miles out of town to the Peregrine Fund’s World Raptor Center, which has played an important role in the captive breeding, release and recovery of the California condor and peregrine falcons. They had many docents showing and talking about the birds, and the grounds were very pleasantly green and shady. We looked at the birds, listened to a couple of talks about the birds, and then brought our picnic lunch and ate on the grounds.

We finally left Boise about 3 p.m. and then drove 4.5 boring hours on I-84 through Idaho and Oregon to Kennewick. The only highlight was going over the Blue Mountains, which neither of us had been through before. Thank goodness for our Ivan Doig novel on CD, which entertained us on the trip.

We reached our Super 8 motel about 6:30 Pacific Time (after leaving Mountain Time in eastern Oregon), unloaded our stuff, and Linda fixed our final dinner of the trip.

Today was mostly a day of driving, out of Jackson and to Boise. But we stopped along the way at Craters of the Moon National Monument in southern Idaho. The lava flows from thousands of years ago form an other-worldly landscape. We enjoyed the interpretive displays at the visitor center and then drove a 7-mile loop within the park, stopping to eat a picnic lunch and walk on the pathways. The weather was cool, somewhat windy, and spitting a little rain. But not enough to keep us in the car.

Getting there and to Boise took us through the flat Snake River valley in Idaho, over the long, straight roads of Highway 20 for many miles. To relieve the boredom of our long drives, we’ve been listening to novels on CD in the car. It has made the miles go by quickly.

Thursday morning dawned mostly sunny and in the 50s, with temperatures forecast to be in the mid-70s. We had a special activity planned for the day: rafting on the Snake River in Grand Teton National Park. We had reserved spaces on a 9:30 a.m. trip with a rafting company named Solitude, one of a few companies allowed to run scenic river rafting trips in the park. So we ate breakfast in our room and then prepared for the trip, bringing layers of clothes, sunscreen, binoculars, etc.

We drove about 30 minutes north to Moose Junction and parked in the specially-designated lot for rafters, waiting with 20 other people. Three Solitude vans, each pulling a trailer with a raft, drove up promptly at 9:30. Linda and I were designated to ride in Mike’s van with two other families (12 passengers total). He was our guide and boat oarsman too.

Mike and the other two van drivers took us about 10 minutes away to Deadman’s Bar, the put-in place on the river. We got a short safety talk, put on our life vests, and the rafts were launched. We walked across the boat trailer to easily walk into the raft, staying totally dry. Then we were off!

For the next 90 minutes or so, we went down the river for 10 miles. Mike guided us with his long oars while telling us various facts about the Snake River and Jackson Hole. It was great! The temperature was perfect, the narrative was interesting and funny, and Mike skillfully guided the boat. We saw an elk, some American avocet (birds), and learned a lot about the human and natural history of the area. At the end of 10 miles, we were back where our cars were parked.

After the rafting trip, Linda and I stopped to see the visitor center at Moose Junction and ate our picnic lunch at a table in the shade next to its parking lot. Then we saw Jenny Lake, visited Jenny Lake Lodge, and stopped at a few other places in the park. We were tired and returned to the hotel by about 4:30. We finished off the great day with another delicious meal by Linda.