8/9/2013–Grangeville, ID to Spokane, WA

After an enjoyable two weeks visiting and riding ATV’s with Lee and Barb, it was time for us to travel to Spokane for time with family in that area.

Our drive that day took us through wheat farming area and all photos were taken through bug splattered windows.

Driving up the Lewiston grade.

Looking down at Lewiston, Idaho.

A blurry photo of a farm with numerous wagon wheels around it.

Interesting mowing pattern in the wheat field.

We arrived at the Spokane Elks where we planned to stay for a month visiting family and friends.

8/8/2013–Our Final ATV Ride in Grangeville, Idaho

On our final day in Grangeville, we went out for another ATV ride with Lee and Barb.  On this ride we stopped at a location overlooking the town of Grangeville.

Construction was in progress for a new tower.

8/6/2013–ATV Ride to the Snake River

Some photos of our ATV ride to the Snake River while we were camped in Grangeville, Idaho with Lee and Barb.

A stop at a virtual geocache where a photo was a requirement for the find.

Lee and Barb walking down to the Snake River.

Ken is standing on the boat ramp at the Snake River.

It was another hot day on the trail and we saw several deer along the way.  Most of them were taking refuge in the shade.

Looking down at the trail we took to and from the river.

A fire lookout stand.

A hawk in the tree where we looked out at the view.

8/3/2013–ATV Ride from Grangeville, Idaho

Still trying to catch up…here’s a few photos of our ATV ride out of Grangeville.  These photos were all taken at a stop across from the river road we took to Elk River a few days before.

Another beautiful day for a ATV ride in a very scenic area of Idaho.

7/30–8/2/2013–Geocaching & Sightseeing in the Grangeville, ID Area

On our days off from ATV riding, Ken and I drove in and around the Grangeville, Idaho trying to find a few more geocaches and just do some exploring of the area.

This large black rabbit was near one of our geocaches in town.

One of the locals.

We took another drive taking us down to the Salmon River and came upon this active dig sight.  There was a sign inviting visitors to take a look, so we did.

They were only going to be here another week or so.  Before they leave, they will fill the holes with sandbags.

It’s mostly arrowhead type objects that they’re finding.

The second dig in the same area is quite deep.

Their dig is located just above the Salmon River.

And this was our tour guide.

We spent some time in Grangeville another day to look for another geocache or two.  One was located at this old tractor displayed in town.

We stopped for a late lunch at the Hilltop Café.  It was highly recommended by the sheriff we spoke with outside the building.  Ken’s cheeseburger was a mouthful!

That’s it until the next catch up blog post.

7/29/2013–ATV Ride out of Elk City, Idaho

While in Grangeville, Idaho we went on a few ATV rides with Lee and Barb.  Our first ride had us trailering the ATV’s into Elk City.  On our way there, we followed the South Fork of the Clearwater River…a very scenic drive. 

This old store was no longer in business.

Once we arrived at Elk City, we located the forest service office and got information on the local trails and then headed out to find a spot to unload.  After unloading, we drove a few miles and found a shady spot for our lunch before continuing on our way.

Here are a few of the signs we spotted along the trails and roads.

It was a good day and when we found several geocaches along the trail finally bringing our total caches found to over the 100 mark.  Last year while ATV riding with Lee and Barb, they found their 100th.

7/26/2013–Wilderness Gateway to Grangeville, ID

We left the Wilderness Gateway USFS campground on the morning of 7/26/13 and followed the Lochsa River along Hwy 12.

At Kooskia, we turned onto Hwy 13 which lead us the remainder of the way into Grangeville where we turned south on Hwy 95 arriving at our final destination of the Bear Den RV Park where we would be staying for the next two weeks.  That evening we had a wonderful dinner provided by our friends Lee and Barb while we visited and discussed the plans for ATV rides while in the area.

7/25/2013–Clinton, MT to Wilderness Gateway USFS Campground, Idaho

We left our campsite in Clinton, MT after saying our goodbyes to Jerry and Sue on 7/25/13.  Our first stop was to pick up our mail in Clinton before continuing on our way.  Since we were heading to another small town, we made another stop at Walmart to pick up some additional groceries.  By that time it was close to our lunch time so we picked up a Subway sandwich before getting back on the road.  We drove south to US Hwy 12 and drove west toward Idaho and finally crossing the stateline.

Soon after crossing into Idaho, we stopped at the Lolo Pass visitor center and took time to look around.  Due to the narrow and curving road, we decided that we would find somewhere to camp for the night rather than driving all the way to Grangeville.  The forest service employees in the visitor center recommended the Wilderness Gateway campground a suitable for large RVs, so that became our destination for the night.  We followed the Lochsa River for our drive.

When we arrived at Wilderness Gateway campground, we were able to find a pull through site and got set up for the night.

7/22–7/25/2013–Clinton, MT

We left Cardwell, MT early to get over Pipestone Pass before the heat of the day.

Up the pass we go.

We cross the Continental Divide.

And down the pass toward Butte, MT where we make a stop to fill the fuel tank at $3.829 a gallon.

We pass through Drummond, MT “World Famous Bullshippers” as we get nearer to Clinton.

At Rock Creek, we park beside our friends Jerry and Sue to visit for 3 nights.  Sue would be flying home to Iowa on Saturday and Jerry was staying until early in August before he drives home.  While in Clinton, we made a couple of trips to Missoula for some Costco and Walmart shopping in preparation for being in another small town soon.  We had a great visit with Jerry and Sue, but I failed to take any photos to speak of…I guess that meant we were just having too much fun.

On the morning of the 25th, I was taking out the garbage and getting ready for our departure when I noticed this pig tied out behind a pickup behind our RV.  Interesting!!

So that ends this blog post.

7/21/2013–West Yellowstone, MT to Cardwell, MT

July 21st we left West Yellowstone, MT.

We drove by Hebgen Lake.

and Earthquake Lake.  The visitor center for Earthquake Lake was closed, so we continued on our way.

This photo blurred a bit, but the car ahead of us pulled out of a park next to the grocery store we pulled into.  There wasn’t much of the car show left, so we did our grocery shopping and headed on north.

Another scenic view along MT Hwy 2.

We arrived at the RV campground in Cardwell early enough to get caught up on laundry before heading to our next boondocking campsite.