Garfield, WA to Riggins, ID

Monday, September 26

185 miles

I drove about 185 miles into Idaho and down to Riggins, ID, which is located on the Salmon River next to Highway 95. I went near Lewiston which is a city located on the Snake River. 

The view is from the beginning of a 7-mile descent down to the town & river. Much of my driving was uphill at 40 MPH with flashers blinking in a 65 MPH zone and then down the other side with a 6-8% grade, transmission in 3^rd gear, at 35 MPH, flashers blinking. It would not be wise to loose your brakes on one of these hills. I’ve yet to tire looking at the terrain. Much of it is wheat farms until I arrived at the river canyons. 

I stopped in the community of Winchester. It was the center of a feud between farmers & ranchers. They finally came together to get a post office. The name was decided by counting the guns that the farmers had ordered to see which brand they had purchased the most of. I talked to an older character (come to think of it, he might have been about my age) that was walking by. He happened to mention that it often gets to -20º in the winter. I decided to continue driving south.

A little later I entered Nez Perce country. That Indian tribe has quite a history with American settlers. Their most famous leader was Chief Joseph who after many victories, realized that he was never going to be able to stop the flow of immigrants & signed a peace treaty.

I could just picture the Americans arriving from the left, coming down the hill, to be ambushed by the Indians who were hiding behind some low hills at the bottom.

I spent Monday night in Riggins, barely a wide spot on the Highway 95. My RV park is unique since it’s located in the middle of nowhere at the bottom of a canyon with the Salmon River. I have cell phone coverage, often non-existent the past couple of days, the best Wifi I’ve had in a RV park (the all advertise they have it but often it’s so bad I can’t even check email), and good cable TV. I have connected a couple of times before only to be disappointed by the quality of reception (I’m not even talking about what’s on TV) but last night was an exception. I got set up just in time to watch the last third of the debate. I’m so glad I got here in time to watch it…I guess.