8/31/11 Day 26 continued... Lake Cascade State Park in Cascade, ID. The park has seven different campgrounds with a total of 210 different sites. We picked Sage Bluff because it was right on the lake and there was only one other camper! The lake is huge at about 30 miles long nestled in the mountains of the Boise National Forest. The park was created because of the reservoir's recreational potential and the Cascade Dam was built in 1948 to store water for irrigation. We are still at 4,825 feet elevation! Just can't seem to get under that 4,000 mark! Mr. Larson is taking a break from the wind and sun while I head to the sandy beach to kick back and watch the Osprey dive for fish.
This wonderful campsite had bright red poppies scalloping the edge of our tent spot. We knew we would get some heavy winds so the tent got anchored well! It must be 5:00 somewhere......
Gorgeous view of the sunset from our tent! We saw a few fishermen out for the Coho, bass and perch that the lake boasts before night fell.
9/1/11 Day 27- Well, we knew that the description of the park talked about the "prevailing wind" and boy did it blow! With that and the temp dropping into the 30's it was a chilly night but well worth it for the place. Ski hats and gloves with hot oatmeal and coffee make a perfect morning! No cell or internet reception made it even more relaxing....
Back on the road up highway 55 to McCall. Mark is on the shores of Payette Lake. The North Fork of the Payette River is one side of the road and the lake on the other. We decided we'd like to revisit this town on another trip. Since it was only about 40 miles north of where we'd been it was too early to set up camp!
North on highway 96 inbetween the Payette National Forest to Riggins. This is one of the main entrance towns to all the recreational activities of Hell's Canyon . We saw kayak and rafter's in the Salmon River as we would ride by. Mark has scouted out the Seven Devil's Saloon for a homemade BBQ lunch. The place is named after the mountain range across the road. Great food and a bonus to be able to charge up our phones and camera battery in the spare outlets we could find! We debated between 2 different state parks for the night and the waitress helped us pick. Good choice we soon found out.
Following the Salmon River through Nez Perce National Forest/Hell's Canyon on one side and the Payette National Forest on the other. It was like Vincent van Gogh was in Idaho and Utah -wild sunflowers painted the shoulders yellow along the highways making it so picturesque. Northwest on highway 95- next stop north of Craigmont, ID. Some of the tallest railroad trestles are in this area. We also went through the Camas Plain and White Bird Battlefield, the site of the first confrontation of the Nez Perce War. Rolling rivers, canyons, fields of straw, cattles grazing and wind made us think we were getting close to the Palouse! Temperatures during the day have been in the 60-75 degree range which has been a big change from the previous weeks of over 90 degrees.
Winchester Lake State Park. The campgrounds just keep getting better! This is probably our last night of camping and we marveled at this gem. Our campsite faced the lake that is on the Nez Perce Indian Reservation. Early settlers named the former logging town for the famous firearm. The campground occupies the site of the 1910 Craig Mt. Lumber Co., along the 130 acre lake. The lake has rainbow trout, bullhead and smallmouth bass. It's quiet since no gas motors are allowed on the lake. A nice couple from central Oregon camped next to us.
After a one mile wooded discovery trail hike through ponderosa pine and Douglas fir we walked along the lake and across a foot bridge. It gave us more chances to see squirrels, osprey and Stellar's jays and watch the fishermen along the shores.
Mr. Larson getting another view of the lake from the foot bridge. We were told about the coyotes and Canadian geese that inhabit the area and boy did we hear them in the middle of the night! It was almost like substituting coyote howls for thunder in the canyon! Eating stew around the campfire was a nice ending to a great day. We had another cold night of 35 degrees on our last night in Idaho. Fall has arrived......
8/31/11 Day 26 continued... Lake Cascade State Park in Cascade, ID. The park has seven different campgrounds with a total of 210 different sites. We picked Sage Bluff because it was right on the lake and there was only one other camper! The lake is huge at about 30 miles long nestled in the mountains of the Boise National Forest. The park was created because of the reservoir's recreational potential and the Cascade Dam was built in 1948 to store water for irrigation. We are still at 4,825 feet elevation! Just can't seem to get under that 4,000 mark! Mr. Larson is taking a break from the wind and sun while I head to the sandy beach to kick back and watch the Osprey dive for fish.
This wonderful campsite had bright red poppies scalloping the edge of our tent spot. We knew we would get some heavy winds so the tent got anchored well! It must be 5:00 somewhere......
Gorgeous view of the sunset from our tent! We saw a few fishermen out for the Coho, bass and perch that the lake boasts before night fell.
9/1/11 Day 27- Well, we knew that the description of the park talked about the "prevailing wind" and boy did it blow! With that and the temp dropping into the 30's it was a chilly night but well worth it for the place. Ski hats and gloves with hot oatmeal and coffee make a perfect morning! No cell or internet reception made it even more relaxing....
Back on the road up highway 55 to McCall. Mark is on the shores of Payette Lake. The North Fork of the Payette River is one side of the road and the lake on the other. We decided we'd like to revisit this town on another trip. Since it was only about 40 miles north of where we'd been it was too early to set up camp!
North on highway 96 inbetween the Payette National Forest to Riggins. This is one of the main entrance towns to all the recreational activities of Hell's Canyon . We saw kayak and rafter's in the Salmon River as we would ride by. Mark has scouted out the Seven Devil's Saloon for a homemade BBQ lunch. The place is named after the mountain range across the road. Great food and a bonus to be able to charge up our phones and camera battery in the spare outlets we could find! We debated between 2 different state parks for the night and the waitress helped us pick. Good choice we soon found out.
Following the Salmon River through Nez Perce National Forest/Hell's Canyon on one side and the Payette National Forest on the other. It was like Vincent van Gogh was in Idaho and Utah -wild sunflowers painted the shoulders yellow along the highways making it so picturesque. Northwest on highway 95- next stop north of Craigmont, ID. Some of the tallest railroad trestles are in this area. We also went through the Camas Plain and White Bird Battlefield, the site of the first confrontation of the Nez Perce War. Rolling rivers, canyons, fields of straw, cattles grazing and wind made us think we were getting close to the Palouse! Temperatures during the day have been in the 60-75 degree range which has been a big change from the previous weeks of over 90 degrees.
Winchester Lake State Park. The campgrounds just keep getting better! This is probably our last night of camping and we marveled at this gem. Our campsite faced the lake that is on the Nez Perce Indian Reservation. Early settlers named the former logging town for the famous firearm. The campground occupies the site of the 1910 Craig Mt. Lumber Co., along the 130 acre lake. The lake has rainbow trout, bullhead and smallmouth bass. It's quiet since no gas motors are allowed on the lake. A nice couple from central Oregon camped next to us.
After a one mile wooded discovery trail hike through ponderosa pine and Douglas fir we walked along the lake and across a foot bridge. It gave us more chances to see squirrels, osprey and Stellar's jays and watch the fishermen along the shores.
Mr. Larson getting another view of the lake from the foot bridge. We were told about the coyotes and Canadian geese that inhabit the area and boy did we hear them in the middle of the night! It was almost like substituting coyote howls for thunder in the canyon! Eating stew around the campfire was a nice ending to a great day. We had another cold night of 35 degrees on our last night in Idaho. Fall has arrived......
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