Idaho

Our first stop in Idaho was Coeur d'Alene. The weather was cold and rainy, so unfortunately, we didn't see the best of the lake. Around the lake are many million and multimillion dollar homes, a lot of them log mansions and cabins.

Our second day in the area, we went to the 7 Stars Alpaca Ranch. The couple who own the ranch are originally from Alaska. They were looking for a retirement place where it was warmer with less work. It seemed to me that it still was way too much work for me. They own about 40 acres and in addition to @20 alpacas, they have 2 llamas, a small herd of cattle, several sheep and goats, chickens, cats, and dogs. All of them with the exception of the cattle are kept together in the same pen(s).

Upon arrival we were greeted with coffee and cookies. We sat in large garage where we learned about alpacas. They are @160 pounds, They are sheared in the spring (as are all the other fleece animals on the farm), and live for @20 years. There are also two types of alpacas who produce two types of fleece, one called Surya which has long strands of fleece and the other which has a puffy coat. They are quite gentle until they feel threatened when another animal or human enters their space and when that happens they spit. The lamas, which look quite similar, are twice as large. Both are in the same family as camels.

After the food and talk, we had the opportunity to walk in the barn, out into the pens, and feed the animals. Of course we watched them to see if they were threatened by us (ears back, extended neck, etc.) because we didn't want to experience the spitting. The owner calls all the animals with a high voice, whether it is "paca, paca," or "here chick, chick, chick." Even the wild turkeys that visit the ranch come when called!

Surya Alpaca

Alpacas and lamas

Alpaca and cat

Lake Coeur d'Alene

After we left Coeur d'Alene (Heart of the Anvil) Don't Ask Me Why??? we drove back into Montana, through the lovely Bitterroot valley and back over some mountains to North Fork, Idaho, for the purpose of rafting down the Salmon River. Since it was considered late in the season, our guide, Chris, took the two of us down class 2 and 3 rapids for @13 miles. The country is truly a wilderness. A portion of the state, called the Frank Church Wilderness, is not allowed to have any roads. The only way to enter the wilderness is by hiking or boating. We learned that next week is the beginning of hunting season and the Cutthroat Trout season. These trout have a similar behavior to salmon. They live in the Pacific but return to their original river to spawn and reproduce. The town, itself, is tiny with only a few buildings. Everyone knows everyone else including a 90 year old man who lives in a log cabin along the Salmon in the site of a defunct gold mine. We walked into the mine and watched our guide pan for gold. We even saw a few gold chips! The landscape was rugged and gorgeous. A gem to be discovered!

A mountain sheep?

Miner's cabin

Eugene/Bend, Oregon

We returned to Oregon to check out Eugene and Bend. Eugene is a city of @ 190,000 people. It is a college town, the location of the University of Oregon. It has a quaint downtown with 1920's and 30's arts and crafts bungalows right off the main street. Around the university are lots of cute shops and restaurants. There is a lot of culture and theatre and even a Reconstructionist Synagogue. On the outskirts of town we accidentally discovered  my favorite store, a Native American run shop that smokes salmon in many flavors;  my favorites were garlic/pepper and soy/brown sugar.

Eugene is located in the southern end of the Willamette Valley, one of the best wine producing regions in the country. We didn't stop for a tasting since we have more than enough wine in the RV, but drove around the area including a town with a reservoir and several covered bridges.

When you leave Eugene to journey to Bend you cross the Eastern Cascade mountains. This was one of the prettiest trips we've taken all season. The leaves on the  mountains were turning, the mountains were gorgeous and the streams and waterfalls, magnificent.

Bend is a town of approximately 90,000 souls, located at the junction between the cascades and the high desert. It is a great city for outdoor sports including skiing, mountain climbing, hiking, biking, and rafting. Approximately 30 minutes north is an old caldera called Smith Rock State Park. Daring individuals climb sheer mountain faces and highline, basically tightrope walk between peaks while tethered to the line just in case they fall (which everyone does).

The town is located along the Deschanes River, which meanders through town. People raft, float, and paddleboard on the river along with Ducks, dogs and other waterfowl. There are an abundance of public parks and 8 dog parks in this small city, along with quaint shops and a renovated mill district which has many upscale mall stores. It was quite impressive, but real estate seemed quite high.

Color in the Eastern Cascades

Water sports in Bend

Smith Rock

Highlining

More Highlining

Washington State

Even though Washington has beautiful countryside, where the mountain tops are bathed in mist and the pines wear a coat of moss, it came in 2nd to Oregon. One thing that bothered me was what seemed like indiscriminate logging. Forests were sheared down to the tree stump right next to national forests and parks. I know that they will be replanted, but it will take 20 plus years to return the forest to their former grandeur. By then, the trees next to them will be removed.

The  beaches were rugged, like Oregon's, but a little inaccessible, where in Oregon you drive route 101 right alongside the coast. This is not a place to luxuriate along the ocean, but a locale to  surf and stroll along the crashing waves and look at and possibly collect driftwood.

Olympic Mt. Natl Park-mountains in distance

Ruby Beach

Empress Hotel Victoria

Butchart Gardens

Butchart

Mt. Ranier covered by ice and clouds

Lake Diablo North Cascades

Fire Damage--North Cascades

During our several weeks here the weather was cold and windy. Temperatures in the day were in the low 60's and in the 40's at night. We had rain almost every day, but that is what makes the vegetation so lush.

Washington has 3 national parks, Olympic, Ranier, and North Cascades. All are mountainous, and yet all are different. Olympic National Park is huge, taking up most of the Olympic peninsula. It reaches to the coast on the west and north while it's centerpiece is @10,000 foot high, Mt. Olympus. You can take a winding road that climbs through the clouds to see the top of the world--the tops of part of the Cascade Mountain range. Ranier is built around Mt. Ranier which at 14, 4000 feet is the largest in the contiguous 48 states. The funny thing is that it's hard to see and when you do see it, it is lost in the clouds and snow. While at Ranier we experienced the first snow of the season at @6,000 feet.  The North Cascades were the most beautiful to me. These huge mountains, which are young and still growing, are punctuated by seafoam green, glacial lakes and rivers, while the waterfalls are in abundance as well.

I ate some delicious salmon in Washington; fresh from the water and red in color. I learned from talking to a fisherman, a friend of my friend, Josie MacGillivray, that there are 5 types of salmon. According to him, this is the best season for the best-tasting salmon. I ate broiled salmon, salmon egg rolls, and alder smoked salmon that I bought from a Native American in a village on the farthest NW point of the US.

I ventured myself into Canada to go to Vancouver Island to see my friend, Josie, who lives in Victoria. We had a lot of fun girl-talk, ate (a lot of salmon), and slept in a trailer in a fish camp along the Juan de Fuca Bay. I took some time to see Butchart Gardens; 55 acres of gorgeous flowers, and venture around downtown Victoria. Emma, Josie's daughter, even gave me a much needed hair cut.