Onward to Canada

Idaho's Panhandle Region to Radium Hot Springs, BC 

(to meet a cousin from the Netherlands)

August 6 - 8, 2016

When Laura was writing the book on her father's side of the family she was contacted by a previously unknown cousin from the Netherlands.  An email correspondence began between Marijke (Mar I' ka) and Laura and a friendship developed.  Marijke helped translate some Dutch documents and provided her own research on her side of the family to Laura.  She and her partner Hans were traveling in Canada this summer and we all agreed to meet in Radium Hot Springs on August 7th. 

Amazingly and unbeknownst to Laura, her cousin Lee (from the previous post) had independently found Marijke on the internet and began a correspondence with her.  Naturally he was interested in meeting her as well so he and DeAnn also drove up to Radium Hot Springs.


The sign says "Great Selections" "Great Prices" "Families Welcome" but the
 building doesn't look like it's ready for business.  Of course I'm kidding but we
thought this was pretty funny.



It was an exciting moment when they finally met and the talking began in earnest.  We chatted away the afternoon then had dinner and dessert together.  It was like we all had known each other for ages.  The next day Marijke and Hans continued on to Calgary where their trip would end.  We hope to eventually travel to the Netherlands to see them on the their home turf. 

The "Cousins"
Marijke, Laura and Lee

Lee and Hans.

Doreen, Marijke and DeAnn

North to somewhere where it's not so hot! The Yukon perhaps?

Nampa, Idaho to Idaho's Panhandle (seeing the sites)
July 28- August 5, 2016

The heat of southern Idaho forced us farther north to check out some areas of Idaho we'd never been to before. We drove north along the beautiful north fork of the Payette river and stopped in the town of Cascade.  It lies along the river on the edge of a large and beautiful valley.  It also borders Lake Cascade, a reservoir that was formed when the river was dammed.  It must be a big ranching area because we saw hundreds and hundreds of cows grazing on the lush green grass of the valley.  They have a beautiful RV park right along the river which provides visitors (especially children) with a very fun place to play.

We were in Cascade to visit Laura's cousins Lee and DeAnn.  They have retired to a wonderful home in this charming town. 




DeAnn and Lee on a portion of their huge deck.  As you can see their house is on a beautiful treed lot.

Although they live on a hill they have built an amazing raised bed garden. 



The Garden - extraordinaire!
It's shored up on the downhill side with big rocks, placed there with a lot of hard work on Lee's part.
They've built a unique and very effective framework over the entire length of the garden (I'm thinking it's
probably 60+ feet long) which they can cover with netting or plastic as needed, depending on the weather conditions.
On the left hand side of this picture a section is covered with netting while the next section is covered with plastic and the section on the far right isn't covered at all.  It's all set up with hoses for watering and the vegies they get from it are delicious.  Believe it or not Lee has a full size Troy-built rototiller which he uses to till the garden soil when needed!  Wish I could see that action!

We stayed at their house for several days and we had such a good time with them, talking, seeing the town and playing tile rummy.

The rivers of Idaho draw huge crowds of people to the state to experience white water at it's best and the north fork of the Payette is one of those rivers. The town of Cascade has a beautiful new park (Kelly's Whitewater Park) which allows residents and tourists to enjoy a white water experience without having to float miles and miles. 



Kelly's Whitewater Park in Cascade, Idaho.
A bridge over the fast water channel in the foreground takes you to the man made
island where you can practice your white water skills in kayak's, canoes or tubes.
You can also just play in the water if you prefer.

This is the fast water channel alongside the man made island.
The park offers rental equipment all types of white water fun.

The park also has volleyball nets, picnic facilities and a beautiful building for programs, etc.  I believe the entire facility was financed by a wealthy individual in the area.  What a gift to the community.

Although we hadn't planned on it, our next stop was Riggins, Idaho.  We just happened to spot a small campground from the road as we were driving into town.  It looked so inviting we turned around and went back to check it out.  It turned out to be the most wonderful find.  Our shaded site was right along the Little Salmon River.

Looking downriver from our campsite.
It doesn't get any better than this.

Looking upriver from our campsite!

It was such a pleasant place (and temperature) we brought
the computers out to catch up on email, etc.

 We continued northward, taking scenic (and very curvy) routes in order to see as much of the countryside as possible.  Our circuitous route took us along the Clearwater River, through some beautiful high farmland, along the east side of Lake Coeur d'Alene, through more farmland and on up to Bonners Ferry, just south of the Canadian border.

The Clearwater River

Northern Idaho Roadside.

The Kootenay River at Bonner's Ferry, Idaho

 We thoroughly enjoyed our time visiting Northern Idaho. It has such beautiful scenery and an interesting history which we learned as we visited the historic markers along the routes we traveled.

We're supposed to go East...but we're going West?

Idaho Falls, Idaho to Nampa, Idaho (visiting Laura's cousins)
July 25-27, 2016

Rather than take the interstate, we drove the slower but more direct route across Idaho, passing Craters of the Moon National Monument as we went.  We visited there on a trip in 2003 so we didn't stop this time but it's worth a visit if you are ever in that area.  It's a huge area of cinder cones and lava flows that is other-worldly in appearance - hence the name.  It's a reminder of our planet's violent past.  You'll see acres and acres of various types of lava as well as cinder cones, lava tubes, etc.

We stayed at a campground in Nampa and met a bunch of Laura's cousins for lunch. It was fun to see everyone again catch up on family news.  Several of her cousins are interested in the family genealogy and work at it off and on so there was a lot of discussion on that topic. 

We keep saying that we need to get better about taking pictures of relatives and friends but somehow, in the excitement of the moment, we seem to forget until it's too late.  In this case we even remember taking pictures but they are no where to be found.  That baffles me and it's not the first time this has happened.  So apologies to Bud, Shirley, Jane, Julie, Judy and Mariah for not having a picture of you for our blog.

Laura's cousin Terry.

We also went to lunch the second day with another cousin and her daughter in the town of Meridian.  It is apparently the "in" place to live these days for up and coming folks who work in Boise.  Along with huge houses there was every store you can name and some I've never heard of.

One thing hasn't changed about the area and that's the heat.  Our plan to be in the south for the winter months and in the north for the summer months isn't keeping us away from the heat.  There are a lot of very warm places - even in the northern states.  I wonder what the temperature is in the Yukon about now?

More Tire Troubles

Back to Idaho Falls, Idaho (re-visiting my aunt and cousin)
July 23-25, 2016

We headed back to Idaho Falls to have a quick visit with my aunt Joy and my cousin Megaera before heading further west to Nampa.  We got to see Gaera's apartment and had a quick visit to a local craft fair nearby. We had a nice dinner at a Thai restaurant giving us some good chat time.



My cousin Megaera.  She is just as nice as she looks in this picture!

All went well until we woke up the next morning with another flat tire!  This time is was on one of the duelies.  We drove over to the Les Schwab store only to find them closed!  We had forgotten it was Sunday!  We found a gas station/car wash with free air (unbelievable right?) but the tire had become separated from the rim so I could not get it inflated.  We stayed another night, then went to Les Schwab and got things put right but by now I'm wondering about my/our tire karma.

I know your wondering so here's the deal.  I'm still not using the tire pressure monitoring system because one of the monitors was destroyed when our front tire blew and two were removed by the folks at Les Schwab because of problems with the valve extensions.  Once I get some new extensions and one new monitor I'll begin using the system.  We'll just have to take the dog for a long walk away from the motorhome while I set it up each time we roll on down the road.

The Teton Mountains and more!

Idaho Falls, Idaho to Tetonia and Driggs, Idaho (visiting cousins)

July 19 - July 23, 2016

We drove east from Idaho Falls over to Tetonia which lies in a beautiful valley west of the Teton mountains.  My cousin Clayton lives in the hills there with a beautiful view of the backside of the Tetons.  Todd, his older brother, has a second home nearby and he and his girlfriend Robin happened to be there on vacation.  Their sister Megaera, who lives in Idaho Falls, was also there with a friend from New Zealand. The fourth sibling, Amanda and her husband Bobby and daughter Jessica live nearby in Driggs.  All 4 of the Bob Quayle cousins in close proximity - how lucky can a person get?  

We parked our rig at Clayton's, who is a wonderful host, and spent 5 days enjoying the company of my cousins.

This is the view from Claytons front yard!
The Tetons look very different to me from the "back" side but they are still beautiful!
Todd's house is just down the hill but hidden from view.

Clayton took us to the Grand Targhee Ski Resort in Alta, Wyoming which is just a short drive from his home.
We took the ski lift up to the top and were rewarded with this wonderful view of the Tetons to the East.

Cousin Clayton and I at the top of the ski lift.  This is looking in a more NE direction.

Looking west at the Teton valley.  Somewhere down there (maybe just about where the
trees disappear in the distance) is the state line between Idaho and Wyoming. 
It's not hard to understand why my Quayle cousins love this area so much.

Clayton is an avid hunter as well as generous with the meat he works so hard to get.   We enjoyed a wonderful back strap of mule deer and another of elk while we were there.  Both were absolutely delicious.  We were impressed with Clayton's cooking skills - especially when it came to the BBQ.  Not only did he cook the meat on the BBQ but also the potato's and the vegetables. 

I only met these cousins for the first time back in 2003 but they have made me feel very much a part of their family.



 

We have lots of cousins in Idaho!

Salt Lake City, Utah to Idaho Falls, Idaho (visiting cousins)

July 18 - July 19, 2016

The morning we were to leave SLC we started out with a flat right front tire.  Definitely not a good way to begin the day. We lucked out though because a nice family pulled into the camping spot next to us and he had all the necessary stuff to pump up the tire right then and there.  Once that was done we were on our way.

I need to back up and explain that we bought a tire pressure monitoring system which I finally installed when we were in Manila, Utah.  All went well except that our dog, Barney, was completely freaked out by the beeps made by the system.  We don't know exactly why but we've had other items with similar sounding beeps and when he hears them he starts shaking, licking his lips, crouching and moving to get as far away as possible.  Long story short ... as we first arrived in SLC (three weeks prior) we went through a Blue Beacon Truck wash to get the motorhome cleaned off.  A truck wash consists of about a half a dozen guys with long high pressure wands who spray everything down with water followed by soap followed by a water rinse.  It's fast and furious!  When we were finished our right front tire was flat.  Apparently the high pressure spray had unscrewed the extension on the tire valve just enough that we lost all the air in the tire. 

Most of you have probably never been through a truck wash but let me just say that they don't want you blocking the exit while you diddle around trying to figure out what to do. They want to move trucks through as quickly as possible.  They told us there was air available across the street at a truck stop so we gingerly drove over there on the flat, got it re-inflated and headed to the campground.  We stayed 3 weeks and during that time I had tire covers on the tires to protect them from the sun so I didn't notice that the tire had gone flat.  The extension on the valve stem was a bit loose so I figured the same thing had happened again.  I tightened it, my neighbor inflated the tire and presto we were on our way.  

Because the dog was so freaked out by the beeps from the tire monitoring system I decided not to use it.  I also disregarded Laura's suggestion what we stop and check the tire occasionally.  Big mistake!

We headed north out of Salt Lake City toward Idaho Falls and we were about 2 hours along when the tire blew and pieces of rubber were flying past Laura's window.  I managed to slow down and pull to the side of the road as she is screaming at me about why didn't I listen to her and stop and check the #$(@ing tire.  About two hours later we were on our way again thanks to Good Sam Road Service.  It was a scary and sobering experience.

Not a pretty sight is it?

We got settled in Idaho Falls for the night and went to pick up our new spare tire in the morning.   With the spare tire safely stowed under the motorhome and the pressure in all the tires checked, we headed over to see my aunt Joy.  We had lunch and a nice long chat with her before we headed east to Tetonia and Driggs, Idaho to see my cousins (i.e. her children). In all the stress over the tire we forgot to take a picture of Joy!!!  For someone who recently broke her hip she is doing amazingly well.