Days 44 & 45 – February 23 & 24 – Ely, NV to Twin Falls, ID to Clarkston, WA

Tuesday was a short day and a destination day.  There were no sites to see on our way north so we just drove.  We got into Twin Falls at 3:30 so we had a restful afternoon.  I checked the credit card bad news, paid a couple of bills, sent a couple of emails, and sorted my few photos from the day.

We drove almost in a straight line all day.  I think there were about three curves and one corner.  Speed limit was 70 mph and there was light traffic.  We drove through a long flat valley with various mountain peaks off to the sides.

At 1:30ish we pulled into the Salmon Falls Rest Area and had lunch.  The light was nice on the pond and creek so we wandered around for awhile stretching our legs and taking some photos.

And that was as good as it got.

Wednesday was a repeat of Tuesday only longer. We left Twin Falls at 9:30 Mountain Time and drove north and slightly west all day, arriving in Clarkston,Washington at 5 PM Pacific Time or 6 Mountain.

Before we left Twin Falls we drove over to see the Shoshone Falls. There are numerous dams on the river but they were nicely integrated between the huge rocks.  The falls drop 220′ into the Snake River.  The viewing area was part of a park that was donated to the city in 1932 by a couple for the purpose of public enjoyment.

If you walked along a pathway from the park you could see the spot where stuntman Evel Knievel attempted to jump the canyon on a rocket-powered motorcycle in 1974.  He failed, although the bike did make it across the canyon.  However prevailing winds blew it back almost to the other side again before dropping to earth.  Kneivel sustained only minor injuries.  We used to love to watch his stunts.
After that it was drive, drive, drive.  Through valleys, mountain canyons and up and over passes, along rivers and past rich farmland.   We pulled over to have lunch and take some photos of the pretty snow covered rocks in the river. McCall, Idaho is a ski resort area – Magic Mountain being one of them.  The roads were all bare and dry but they obviously had quite a lot of snow.  Several of the buildings were buried up to the door frame. We had been driving on Highway 55 and just before turning onto Highway 93, at the little community of New Meadows we crossed the 45th Parallel; putting us half-way between the North Pole and the Equator.

Much of the rest of our drive to Lewsiton/Clarkston was along the Salmon River; a very familar name to us as we have a Salmon River at home. The sun was sinking low as we entered Lewiston, Idaho and crossed the bridge over the Snake River into Clarkston, Washington to spend the night in the Best Western Hotel. This is my last blog for this trip.  Tomorrow we will continue to drive north and will enter BC again; on very familiar roads.  We will cross into either Creston or Osoyoos, whichever John decides and spend the night before driving home the next day.  Another adventure concluded.  I hope you enjoyed the journey as much as I did.  Stay tuned for the quiz.