The Way Back

Waking up at Tumalo State Park, just outside of Bend Oregon, we fixed a quick breakfast and took off to find our friends house in Redmond.  Shawna E. had been in contact with us during our trip down to Eugene. She was home and recovering from having a couple wisdom teeth removed.  Things went well for her and so we decided to make a quick stop to visit. I also wanted to tease her about her chipmunk cheeks. We all know how good folks look the first few days after they have oral surgery.

We had a great talk and I didn’t tease her too much.  She is such a great friend. She makes us laugh a lot.

Leaving Redmond we drove to Prineville, Mitchell, Dayville Mount Vernon, John Day, Prairie City, Bates, Unity, Mountain Time Zone, and Ironsides. Wait a minute did we just switch time zones? That will push our arrival an hour later! A quick TXT to the Lisk’s  and on to Brogan, Vale, and then finally Adrian, where we located our friends, Mark and Geri Lisk’s house and staked out camp. Yes, we were a bit late, but that just allowed the sun to sink a bit lower into the skies over the Snake River.

We sat next to the Snake and talked until almost dusk. What a relaxing way to end our drive. Linda and I fixed dinner and we ate in the cooling night breezes.  By 9:00 PM we were all ready for bed and so we retired.

Selfie at our stop in McCall.

In the morning Geri and Linda went for a run together and I watched Mark futz with his camera equipment. When the ladies returned we had a community breakfast of granola and yogurt. It was getting on to 10:00 AM and Linda and I needed to hit the road. We hugged and said our goodbyes. Linda got directions and we promised to get together again as soon as we could.

We followed Roswell Road to Parma and then continued on road 20/26 to New Plymouth, then Highway 52 to Emmett and on to Horseshoe Bend, Idaho.  That entire route was new to us so we really enjoyed the exploration.

From Horseshoe Bend, we scampered North on Highway 55 past Cascade, Donnelly and into McCall. Our plans called for a slow restful drive up to a campsite between Riggins and New Meadows, spend a night and then on to the Salmon River where we would spend another night somewhere near Slate Creek or Twin Bridges.

Payette Lake in McCall.

In McCall, we received a TXT that informed us that there was a big Cinco de Mayo party at Holly and Ryan’s house Friday. BOOM! We changed gears and changed our plans. Instead of stopping early, we drove to the campground at Twin Bridges on the Lower Salmon and set up for the night. How can you pass up Mexican food and margaritas on cinco de mayo!

It was 92 degrees in camp on the Lower Salmon. Our spot was in the shade and we enjoyed sitting in the cooler areas around our camper. Linda beat me in cribbage and we are dinner. We went to bed by 9:00 PM listening to an owl hooting along the river’s edge.

Morning brought a change. Rain! Can you believe that we are having more rain? We quickly packed up and were on the road. The drive was uneventful. We were home and unpacked by 1:15 PM.

It was hard to stay focused on our jobs as we uncluttered the camper. Our thoughts were on Kobi and once again we choked back a few tears. Our solace is that we know that he has been relaxed and enjoying all the attention from his new family.