Weird and Wonderful

Well, as bad as yesterday's weather was, today's was perfect. We left Hell's Canyon with the temperatures in the low 50's, but heading towards 80 today.  I was really dreading this morning's climb, scheduled for almost 5,000 feet, first thing in the morning.  To look at the topographical map, this was going to be a doozy.  

We had breakfast at Hoots, said goodbye to all our friends there, and hit the road.  Surprisingly, it turned out to be so different from my expectations.  There was a climb all right, but it was on an old road that is no longer used.  The old road has dozens of switch-backs, meaning that the climb certainly was almost 5,000 feet, but it took about 10 miles, so it was never really too steep. The quiet on the road, almost exclusively ours for the morning, was breathtaking, as was the view as we slowly rose above White Bird.  Up and up we went, back and forth we went, and we eventually made it up and over the top.  

Once the top was reached, we glided downhill into the town of Grangeville.  After the past few days of towns like Council, White Bird, and the like, it was like we had reached suburbia.  Grangeville had shops, a grocery, a Subway (we picked up lunch) and lots of other services.  I even got cell service through my T-Nowhere service agreement, so I could contact the office quickly.  

Milkshakes in Kooskia hit the spot

Strange collection of old trucks along the road

From Grangeville, we headed out toward our destination of Powell.  For the next hour or so, we cruised up and down short steep hills, but it looked more like we were in the cornfields of Ohio than in Idaho. The countryside was colorful with crops and green as far as the eye could see. Farm after farm, field after field.  Then suddenly, like out of nowhere, the road just dipped and kept going.  Down we went, back and forth down switchbacks like this morning's climb.  We just about wore out our brakes trying to slow us down to keep us from flying off the side.  Down, down, down, until we came to the Clearwater river, looking way below us, and then in an instant right next to us.  Once again we were in a totally different environment, and rode along the river that seemed to be rushing by at great speed.  I think all the rain has all of the rivers at capacity, and they are flowing fast.  

We rode along to a town called Kooskia, which looked like a town a bit down on their luck.  Lots of car salvage lots, repair shops, and junk all over.  This is where we spotted about the most iconic Idaho moment of the day.  We were riding along, and up ahead saw a couple of kids riding their bikes.  A boy and a girl, maybe 8 or 9 years old.  Nothing strange about this, until we got close and saw that the girl was packing a holster and pistol as she rode.  We so much wanted to get a photo of this, but being the wise old men that we are, decided that pissing off a 9-year-old with a pistol was a very bad idea.  On we went into Kooskia, seeing an eagle's nest on a telephone wire (huge, as was the eagle!) and then stopped for milkshakes at a local cafe.  

On we rode, 28 miles more, to get to Powell, where we stopped at the Three Rivers Resort, an ancient place from the '50's with some cabins, A-frame cabins, RV hookups and a pool in the middle.  This was our destination, where we opted for the A-frame as the most cost-efficient option. Then we went in and couldn't get over the odd-ball setup.  Over a cold beer we talked the owner into letting us have a riverside cabin with real beds and no loft for the night at the same price.  Dinner was at the Ryan's Wilderness restaurant across the river, where we chatted up the Ryans (no relation, unless we are somehow from Iowa) and had a nice comfort-food dinner.  Retiring back to the cabin, we had to hang out near the closed office to try to get wifi before our phone and laptop batteries died.  No luck, and that is why this blog post is late.  

Off to bed and off to another odd "resort" tomorrow with few services and spotty Internet coverage.