Water Rock

Pahrump is the English bastardization of the Shoshone Pah-Rimpi which means Water Rock.  The area is blessed with abundant artesian wells which made it a paradise for Indian settlement but also for the subsequent invasion of white men and women who established large ranches on which they grew alfalfa and cotton or raised livestock.  Today it is a thriving community of over 25,000 people complete with retail strip malls and casinos. 

Escapees is an RV club which provides discounts at hundreds of RV Parks across the country.  They also own a number of Parks where members can stay at greatly discounted rates and which are also open to non-members.  The Pair-a-Dice RV Park  in Pahrump is a co-op which meant that members owned the site lots and had either an RV or Park trailer (similar to a mobile home but smaller) on them, and most members lived there fulltime.  Escapee owned parks also have lots of amenities like a large building for group dining events, fully stocked craft rooms, libraries, game rooms and other features depending on the size of the community building.  Without fail, the Escapee members are some of the friendliest people Jay and Chris meet in their travels and the residents at Pair-a-Dice were the most cordial and cooperative so far.  Of course, Chris’ herb garden never fails to attract numerous curious inquiries and becomes the ice breaker for many introductions.

Red and Sonny at the Pair-a-Dice RV Park with Mount St. Charles in the background.

Jay pulled Sonny into the Park in mid-February 2012, and the new arrivals made themselves right at home participating in some of the daily, planned events and making new friends almost every day.  Chris took advantage of the spacious craft room, complete with three sewing machines, and made some long needed repairs to clothing.  She’d also been contemplating making some form of protection for her herbs and used the self-healing cutting mats and long, spacious work tables to make mini greenhouses for each pot that made them look like baby Conestoga wagons.  She even decided that she needed a hobby to get her away from the hours she normally spent sitting at the computer and decided to give crocheting a try.  The assortment of crochet hooks, scrap balls of yarn and books with instructions at her disposal, along with guidance from ladies who frequented the room for other crafts, gave her a good start on a practice square of simple hooking techniques.  With a new grandson on the way she thought the craft might come in handy for some baby items.

Jay spent most of his time working on Sonny.  The constant winds and dust of the desert southwest wreak havoc on the finishes of resident vehicles.  Over time, Big Red and Sonny took on a beige tone rather than bright red and white and Jay can tolerate the film for just a short while before he drops all other projects and moves the task of cleaning the truck and “the house” to the top of the list.  He even made time to read a couple of books that he’d had from the year before – a very rare pleasure on his part.

The McKays live on the other side of town and the two couples got together for some day-trips and mini reunions.  John and Linda gave them the grand tour of Pahrump, complete with the newly constructed Federal  prison that was supposed to bring many construction jobs to the area but didn’t because it was completely created from modular sections built in a far away location.  Pahrump is also home to an elite, private car club, which included pricey garage condos and its own road racing track.  It was something Jay and Chris would never have thought existed in such a remote location.  Another surprise was The Chicken Ranch.  For those familiar with Texas history and movies of the 80s, you may know about The Chicken Ranch from the movie The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.  When prostitution was outlawed in Texas, The Chicken Ranch moved to Nevada where the oldest profession is legal.   Visitors as well as patrons are welcome and you can even buy a tee shirt.  Chris just took pictures of the building and the sign.

Another day’s excursion was to the small towns of Beatty and Rhyolite and Death ValleyNational Park.  The entire area was originally settled because of the rich mineral, gold and silver deposits. A small museum in Beatty featured artifacts from the boom time but also much more including antiquities from the railroad system that developed into a bull-frog like pattern to access the mines, scales for measuring silver and gold dust, household items such as a collection of beautifully preserved straight razors, clothing and even a copper still. 

Chris and Jay were particularly intrigued by a display of nuclear explosion photos, Geiger counters and a radiation suit.  John explained that the infamous Area 51 nuclear test site was just a few miles east of Beatty and how the radioactive fallout adversely affected the health and livelihoods of the residents living not that far to the east.  Many grew ill from cancers and other diseases uncommon in the area at the time and herds of  grazing livestock died bearing unusual blisters and sores on their hides.

Area 51 Nuclear Test photos and equipment.

Because of the boom and bust nature of precious metal towns, Nevada has its share of western ghost towns, one of which is Rhyolite just a few miles outside of Beatty.   With a population ranging between 3,500 and 5,000 residents in its 1907-1908 heyday, it boasted electric lights, water mains, telephones, newspapers, a hospital, schools and even an opera house and stock exchange.  When the ore quantities steadily declined, the town's population followed suit until it was practically zero by 1920.  All that remains today are hollow shells of some of the more prominently constructed masonry buildings, their glassless windows overlooking the brown, high desert plains beyond.

The ghost town of Rhyolite.

Chris and Jay had spent a day at Death Valley National Park a couple of weeks before, but the McKays took them through a section via the north entrance they had not yet visited and also stopped at the museum which contained a varied assortment of relics from the Valley's colorful past. 

Death Valley's main claim to fame is the legendary twenty mule team wagons that, during the 1880s, hauled Borax from deep within the surrounding mountains, across 165 miles of the Mojave Desert to the nearest railroad spur in Mojave, CA.  Jay and Chris both remembered seeing the TV advertisements for Twenty Mule Team Borax in the 50s and 60s. 

The borax ore wagons were16 feet long by 6 feet deep, constructed of solid oak, weighed 7,800 pounds and carried almost 10 tons of borax ore.  They were among the largest ever pulled by draft animals. The ore wagons were the first of three devices the twenty mules hauled.  Hitched to  them was a second wagon which carried food and supplies for the long journey and bringing up the rear was a 1,200 gallon water tank providing water for the teamsters and mules.  When fully loaded, the total weight of the mule train was 73,200 pounds (36.6 tons) and stretched over 180 feet long.

These wagons are much more massive than they appear here in this photograph.  The rear wheels are 7 feet in diameter and the wagon beds are 16 feet long and 6 feet deep.

An interesting origin of a common saying began with the mule teams hauling the freight wearing bells and empty returning teams wearing none.  If a teamster became stuck or broke down and was assisted by another to get going again, he was obliged to give the assisting teamster his bells.  Thus the saying "I'll be there with bells on" was born, meaning I will make my own way without help from anyone. 

Photographing was the main objective of the travelers' previous visit to Death Valley and they were amazed at the diversity of landscape features in just one area, vast though it may be.  The valley stretches 110 miles  across the easternmost  border of southern California.  The northern section harbors 150 foot tall sand dunes and Racetrack Playa is home to mysterious sliding boulders weighing up to 700 pounds, that in wet times, slide across the mud flats leaving furrows which dry solid in contrast to the cracked tile-like patterns of the surrounding, sun-baked soil.  The central area of the Park holds barren, golden slopes sculpted by eons of wind and rain at Zabriskie Point that halt abruptly at the smooth, level, valley floor which gently slopes southeast to the brilliant, white, salt caked flats 282 feet below sea level. Unfortunately the one day Chris and Jay visited the Park did not allow enough time to explore the region fully and an extended stay was in their future to experience the diverse grandeur of flora, fauna and geology of the area.

The Badwater salt flats in Death Valley National Park.

Another flight crewman from the Cape May days, Rick Klinnert, and his wife Carol, paid an unexpected visit to the McKay's prompting a mini reunion.  One of Jay's great joys is reuniting with old friends that he has not seen in thirty-five years and in no time the sexes had splintered off; the boys telling sea stories and the girls sharing their wisdom on health, cooking and crafts.  Before the day was done, Rick had pulled out his machine gun that shot plastic BBs and after the guys had their fun with it, Jay coaxed Chris to give it a try.  Rick and John were surprisingly impressed with her natural killer instinct of a mama Grizzly and accuracy with the small varmint deterrent.

In July of 2011, Chris and Jay received a phone call that they were to become grandparents of a baby boy due in March of 2012.  How quickly the gestation period flew by and Peter Michael Paxton was born on March 13th  to Chris' son, Kevin and his wife Sarah.  Pete's due date had been the 20th and Chris had reservations on the 25th to fly home for a couple of weeks and help out the new parents after they'd had a chance to settle into their new routine.

Peter Michael Paxton at age three weeks.

Jay took the time to finish up the myriad  diverse projects that continuously loomed before him and Chris' days were filled with relieving Sarah of all household duties so that she could focus on the new, most important addition to her life.

On April 11th Jay was preparing to move Sonny back to Las Vegas when he spied movement on the ground out of the corner of his eye.  Further investigation revealed a small, Glassy snake hanging out in the shade of the RV.  The reptile lover that he is compelled Jay to take possession of the critter.  He scarfed him up, and headed back to get settled at the Nellis AFB RV Park in time to pick up Chris from the airport.  She was not as thrilled with the new pet as he but knew that she could tolerate the creature for his sake. 

The plan was to resupply the next day then drive to Bryce Canyon to begin their camp host duties on Friday the 13th.  However Mother Nature stepped in with a surprise snowstorm at Bryce, delaying their departure until the following Monday.  As always, everything happens for a reason and the down time enabled them to visit with some old and new friends at Nellis AFB and acquire some necessities they would not have otherwise thought of.

Expecting to see not only snow-covered peaks but also plains and possibly white patches of asphalt, they were somewhat pleasantly surprised that all that was covered were the peaks.  One doesn't want to be confronted with navigating over slippery, mountain roads whilst towing 16,000 lbs of trailer containing all of their essential possessions!!  They arrived at Bryce Canyon National Park without incident and celebrated by sharing a bottle of wine with their supervisor, and friend, from the year before, Kevin Evans and his wife, Cheryl.

Healthy But Not So Happy

Surrounded by snow capped mountains and having woken up to multiple accumulations of white fluff in less than two weeks was enough for Chris and Jay to decide to make tracks south.  They had stopped in Salt Lake City, Utah for Jay to fly to Mobile, AL for the annual Pterodactyl gathering,  which took place from November 9th through the 13th, and had planned to stay a bit longer to further explore the area, but the Arctic blasts, left them a bit "cold" and they were pining for a toastier terrain.  Plus the holidays were approaching and Chris had flight reservations in Las Vegas for a return home at Thanksgiving.  Two good reasons for them to get to lower latitudes and altitudes – and quickly.   Fortunately it took only a day’s drive and on November 14, 2011 they arrived in Sin City and set up Sonny in the RV Park at Nellis Air Force Base.  Within the week the Snowbirds had decided it would be a good place to spend the winter without traveling further south, only to head back north for their spring adventures.

Leaving Hill AFB in Salt Lake City for toastier temps!

It had been about a year since they had left Maryland and it was time for Chris to return home and visit with family and friends.  Her daughter Jessica was able to get leave over the Thanksgiving weekend and Chris decided that would be the best time to go home for a ten day stay.  The time passed quickly as she scheduled visits with friends and family and attended not one, but two, huge Thanksgiving dinners – one at her brother’s house and one at her son’s. 

Even Las Vegas airport has slot machines in the terminals.

Jay spent his high school years in Greenville, Ohio, a small farming town about an hour north of Dayton.  There his father managed the State Theater, one of two movie theatres in the town and where Jay met and worked with Bob Oda who was a few years older than he.  Over the years they had lost touch with each other but connected again in the early 2000s.  Bob and his wife Ann had settled in Las Vegas to spend their retirement years, and visits with them included enjoyable dinners, and movies at the local theatre where Bob kept his hand in the business one day a week. 

After Bob left the State Theatre he worked in public relations for United Artists and toured the country planning and presenting events to promote movies and their famous stars.  Of all the movie stars he hobnobbed with, Robert Mitchum was his favorite. Where he currently worked, Bob ran the projectors for the 14 movies the theatre presented daily.  Huge, black boxes, the size of Mini-Cooper automobiles  housed the digitized projectors which were capable of showing both standard and 3-D movies.   Compared to the film projectors of the 1950s that he operated, Jay was amazed at the changes in technology of today’s theatres. 

Nellis AFB is the Top Gun of the Air Force and home of the Thunderbirds, the second best air demonstration team in the world

(next to the Blue Angels of the Navy, of course).

For many years both Chris and Jay have read a variety of health related newsletters and books, written by various doctors, to learn how to keep themselves in optimal health.  In casual conversations, they discovered that many people don’t know the information they have learned.  They discussed creating a series of health related seminars to share the information with other interested parties at the RV Parks where they stopped, but time constraints never allowed them to compile the information into a presentable format.  Spending the entire winter in one location would enable them to finally tackle the project and possibly begin with presenting them at the Nellis AFB RV Park.

A query of the Park management and they had the okay to proceed.  Little did they know that each seminar would consume a full week of their time to gather the information and compile it into lesson plans.  But once they began they felt committed to see it through as they had a core group of very dedicated participants who looked forward to receiving the information each week.

They met in the RV Park’s office area which was equipped with tables, chairs and a huge, flat screen TV on which they could show health related documentary movies they had found to be very informative.  Because of the office’s evening time restrictions the movies and seminars needed to be on different nights but this small detail did not hinder the level of participation or cause any inconvenience.

Unfortunately there is a rotten egg in every barrel and one Camp Host took a disliking to not only Jay and Chris but to the information they were presenting.  Completely baffled by the hostilities cast their way, they began to avoid Clyde like the plague.  But like all  pestilences he continued to spread his hatred and discontent, toward them presenting the seminars, to his co-hosts and management.

John McKay, who had served as a flight crew member with Jay in Cape May, NJ and his wife, Linda Morse, had stayed at and worked with Clyde at the RV Park some years before.  They had subsequently moved to a home in Pahrump, NV about an hour west of Las Vegas but stopped by to visit one day and  revealed the reason for Clyde’s discontent.  It seems that his wife sold New Skin.  Chris and Jay use Melaleuca  products but knew they could not use any RV Park facility to promote sales of any kind and they did not mention the company or any products they used in their seminars.  Despite this commitment on their part, Clyde thought that the seminars were a marketing venue to sell Melaleuca, eventually using his influence with the management and squeezing out Jay and Chris' ability to use the Park office, forcing them to move to a faithful participants’ spacious RV.  All-in-all, the change was a minor inconvenience and blessing in disguise since they could then introduce their loyal followers to the benefits of Melaleuca products:  Two of whom started their own Melaleuca businesses.

The whole experience with Clyde left a bad taste in the presenters' mouths.  Fortunately  they had heard about other, less expensive RV parks in Pahrump.  Half a day on the computer investigating prices and other features and Chris discovered an Escapees Co-op RV Park that was less than half of the monthly fee at Nellis.  It didn’t take long for them to decide to head west for the remaining two months of their winter before going back to Bryce Canyon National Park for a spring commitment of camp hosting. They pulled out of Nellis and headed further west on February 15th.

Investigating Idaho

When one thinks of vast areas of wilderness, meandering mountain rivers bordered by steep canyon walls , sweeping vistas over broad lakes and peaks soaring to twelve thousand feet, Idaho is probably not the state that first comes to mind.  But it has all of that in an area a little larger than New England.  Chris and Jay wanted to investigate this diverse state to see if it was a place they might want to live since their friends, Jean and Dale Shelton had recently purchased a house in Coeur d’Alene, a large city (for Idaho), situated at the north side of the substantial Lake of the same name. 

Their introduction to the State was via the Pend Oreille Scenic Byway, which they picked up a little south of Polson, MT, and wound through scenic mountains to their destination at the lakeside town of Sandpoint.  Although they drove during a cool, damp day, in early October, the clouds hugging the mountain tops and the Clark Fork River meandering close alongside them provided natural eye candy that kept them occupied all day.

They stayed only a few days and wandered down the streets of the small town but found that most of the mountainous land bordering the lake was either State or Federal property and much of the land that was not had houses on it in closer proximity to one another than they were interested. 

Next stop was Coeur d’Alene where they spent an entire day driving the coastal areas of the lake seeking that perfect spot for a home:  A place that was high off the water, faced south with a mountain view and enough land to not see inside the neighbors’ windows.  Surprisingly they found some property that almost fit the bill.  Phone calls to inquire about prices, utilities and how to get adequate water to the lot told them that the cost of housing in that part of the country was not as depressed as they’d hoped – not by a long shot.  The information was filed away for future reference.

The view of Lake Coeur d’Alene from the lot they found.

Curiosity compelled them to seek out the future home of their friends and they continued their late afternoon drive to the west side of the lake and the new Shelton residence.  The house sits, amongst other upscale homes, atop a high hill overlooking the lake.  Chris and Jay liked the contemporary style and beautiful stonework surrounding the base.  Jay immediately called Jean and she shared the improvements they wanted to make to the house and that they were looking forward to the “big move” from Maryland in the spring.

The Shelton’s new home.

As they progressed south to Lewiston the scenery changed from pine covered mountains and glistening lakes to the eastern most terrain of the Palouse, a land of gently rolling hills covered in grain.  In harvesting the wheat fields and preparing them for future plantings, farmers had created flowing geometric patterns of gold contrasting with rich, dark earth tones of freshly tilled soil.  Chris longed to view the beauty of the abstract creations from aloft imagining the interesting photos they would make.

The earth tone patterns of the Palouse.

The steep descent of the last few miles to Lewiston was a surprise until they learned that the town was a mere 710 feet above sea level.  Lewiston, and its sister city Clarkston, sit on opposite shores of the Clearwater River at its confluence with the Snake River where the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery camped in 1805.  The area is also known as the gateway to Hells Canyon, North America’s deepest river gorge spanning ten miles and almost 8,000 feet deep.  The travelers set up the RV in the lovely, green, shaded campground of the Hells Gate State Park and planned their discoveries over the next few days of their visit.

The local Nez Perce museum featured interesting information about the tribe and its part in assisting the Lewis and Clark expedition along the Snake River.  Another exhibit detailed the events of the Indian War of 1877.  Gold had been discovered on Nez Perce land and ranchers wanted the open range for their cattle resulting in changes to an 1863 treaty limiting further the Nez Perce’s reservation lands.  Several “non-treaty” bands were ordered to move to the reservation within an impossible 30 day timeline and at a bad time of year for the hundreds of horses they possessed to cross the swollen springtime rivers.  The Indians that did lost over half of their herds.  A band of discontents attacked nearby settlers and 800 of the tribe, led by Chief Joseph, fled east with the military in hot pursuit.  They trekked through Idaho, across Lolo Pass (the same route that Lewis and Clark had taken in their push west) and eventually into eastern Montana before the toll of lost supplies and need of rest forced them to stop at Bear Paw Mountain, just forty miles from the Canadian border.  The U. S. military caught up with them and the resulting five-day battle ended the war.   At his surrender, Chief Joseph said “I fight no more forever”.  The story confirmed Chris and Jay’s feelings that so many of the conflicts with Indians were caused by the white man’s greed and injustices and their hearts went out to the proud people whose simple way of life was obliterated within a few generations.

In viewing photographs of the Nez Perce, in the 1800s, Chris noticed that none had the nose piercings for which they were named.  A query to a museum staff member revealed that there was only one member of a tribe that had the piercing, which was common to Chinook tribes along the Columbia River, but the early French trader name stuck.  The Nez Perce refer to themselves as Nimiipu or “The People”. 

Pumpkin decorating by some of the local children who attended a street fair.

While attending a local street fair, Chris and Jay heard about a Pow Wow to be held the next day at the Nez Perce casino just outside of town.  They arrived at noon in time for the opening ceremony and found seats on bleachers at the far end of the event tent while gawking at the gorgeous ceremonial dress of hundreds of tribal members.  The variety of color and style was endless as many different tribes of the region were represented and each displayed their own traditional design.   At the opposite end of the tent stood a raised podium flanked by several 4’ diameter drums made from stretched hides and surrounded by a half dozen men all beating and singing in unison.  Before the podium spread a spacious, open floor, onto which the procession of color spilled, headed by their chiefs wearing full, eagle feather war bonnets and traditional dress.  All danced the tap-step, tap-step Intertribal Dance in time to the amplified pounding of the huge drums.  The beat penetrated every fiber of the visitor’s beings and they understood how it motivated the Indians to participate in the centuries old rituals. 

An idea of the colors and diversity of costumes.

A participant stands during the opening prayer.

The afternoon being the last before their departure, they continued their search for the Lewis and Clark Center which they had read about but had not been able to find specific directions to its location.   Chris solved the puzzlement and, bundled up against the chilling wind, they hustled across the exposed overpass leading from the obscure parking area on the edge of town, to the even more obscure point on the eastern shore of the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater Rivers.  

They were greeted by the beautiful, Tsceminicum bronze sculpture which depicts Nez Perce myths and legends.   The name means “the meeting of the waters” and consists of an Indian woman, depicting Earth Mother, from whose hands water flows into a small depression (representing the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater Rivers).  Behind her stretches an irregularly shaped bronze wall displaying intricate reliefs of wilderness scenes with all manner of wildlife from heron and geese to bear, cougar and moose.  A coyote, a prominent figure in many Indian legends, stretches over the rear ridge in a playful, tongue wagging pose.

Tsceminicum statue.

 

A detail exhibiting the intricacy of the scenes on both sides of the bronze wall.

Information panels in the Center explained aspects of the Lewis and Clark expedition and repeated what Chris had recently read in a Sacagawea biography, but she still wondered exactly where Lewis and Clark had camped when passing through the area.  She finally found a stone plaque which explained the site was on the opposite shore.

The “canyon” in the Lewiston area left Chris and Jay, shall we say, uninspired?  So, they decided to head south a short distance to the tiny town of White Bird for a better experience of the renowned geologic feature.

In a town of less than 200 residents the business people wear more than one hat as Chris and Jay learned when they arrived at the RV Park they had chosen.  The well-kept facility had only 10 RV sites, but the grounds also contained a motel of six rooms and the office of a jet boat Hells Canyon tour service. 

The canyon was about an hour’s drive over the hills to the west and they followed the serpertine road along the autumn gold slopes of ever steepening inclines.  Their progress slowed to a crawl as Chris hopped out time after time to capture the uniqueness of the visions before her.  Finally through the forested uppermost heights, they navigated down a series of hairpin turns to their destination – a small Park on the Snake River.

The canyon walls were not as steep as they’d expected but the Park seemed to be mainly an area for boaters of all kinds to put in or take out their vessels, be they for fishing or kayaking the scenic river.  They decided that a less hostile terrain was needed for such a service.

This group of kayakers is picked up to be transported back upriver.

As they explored the area it did have some redeeming qualities which made their trip worthwhile.  First was their discovery of a snake crossing the road.  Jay immediately stopped the truck and leapt out, to bar the reptile’s advance to grassy shelter, while Chris grabbed the camera to document the creature for identification.  You see the more photos they have of the creatures Jay so loves, the more appeased he is and the temptation to smuggle one into the trailer as a pet is quelled – much to Chris’ relief as she prefers the warm fuzzy kind.

Jay cornering what turned out to be a Northern Pine Snake.

They moved on to an area of ancient, Indian Petroglyphs and walked the short trail around the black stones scarred with abstract scratchings.   A short drive further brought them to an area that epitomized their vision of what a place named Hells Canyon should look like.  The river wound between massive mountains that dropped straight into the water and reflected the warm afternoon sun’s amber glow onto the liquid’s almost glassy surface, randomly marred by the roiling depths as it sped along its course.

The wild and rugged Hells Canyon.

The ride home held an unexpected surprise.  Jay thought he’d died and gone to heaven when he spied a camouflage attired man in the middle of the road using a long object to hold a rattlesnake at bay.  Jay couldn’t exit the truck fast enough to drink in this reptilian thrill.  The snake struck at the man a couple of times before Chris and Jay got to them, then feeling cornered, it coiled up, rattled and lay still, posing perfectly for Chris’ lens.

Just a few minutes before, the man had passed Chris and Jay on his ATV and sped on ahead.  He spied the rattler crossing the road and stopped to apprehend it for a tasty dinner but waited until they arrived in case they were interested in seeing his treasure.   Chris protested his dinner plans until he explained that it means there is one less venomous foe that would potentially cause him deadly harm when medical assistance is well more than an hour away.  He also mentioned he’d heard other rattles in the nearby grasses; an indication that the species is prolific in the area.  Jay also was disheartened at the news and they left understanding the man’s reasoning, but upset at the demise of the creature.

A Western Rattlesnake.

The sun was falling fast and they had yet to visit the White Bird Battlefield, the site of the first battle of the Indian Wars of 1877.  After the Lewiston attack, about 800 Nez Perce had crossed the Camas Prairie and were camped along White Bird creek at the base of a long, sloping canyon.  On June 17^th, one hundred six cavalry and eleven volunteers spotted the encampment and sent an eight man scouting party ahead which encountered a small Indian peace party approaching with a white flag.  A volunteer fired a shot and any hope of a peaceful solution evaporated.  The scouting party’s trumpeter was killed early in the battle and the officer in charge could not communicate with his men giving the Nez Perce an advantage.    The cavalry’s main body attempted a stand against the advancing foes but after a thirty minute battle, and thirty-four soldiers dead, retreated back over the Camas Prairie with the Nimiipuu in pursuit.  Suffering only three wounded, the battle was a victory for the Nez Perce, but they lost the war when Chief Joseph surrendered on October 5, 1877 after the Bear Paw Mountain battle.  Because of their defiance they were exiled to Oklahoma and later to the Colville Reservation in Washington, and never did return to their homeland. 

The Cavalry’s viewpoint of the White Bird battleground. 

White Bird Creek is along the tree line. 

Imagine being a soldier and seeing Indians, intent on protecting their families, advancing toward you.

The White Bird Battlefield is one of thirty-eight sites that make up the Nez Perce National Historical Park and part of the Nez Perce National Historical Trail which follows the route the non-treaty Nimiipuu took during the 1877 war.  Go to this link to view a map of their route and locations of the battles.

Satisfied with their experience at White Bird, on October, 19^th Jay and Chris headed further south to the  lakeside town of McCall, a popular boating and skiing destination for Boise residents.  The RV Park proprietor explained that wildlife was abundant in the area and to let someone know where they were headed if exploring remote areas.  The critters were so abundant that a large black bear frequented the park dumpster.  At 2 a.m. that night Chris heard a loud, metallic bang and woke Jay.  He decided the best way to see the supposedly six hundred pound Ursus was to hit the lock button on Big Red’s keychain and illuminate the lights on the truck from inside the RV.  One flash and the bear was gone but two red fox, with bushy, bottle brush tails the size of Chris’ thigh momentarily froze before bounding beyond the nearby hedge.  The visitors later learned that the bear, with foxes close behind, had continued his rounds as dumpsters all through town had been hit that night.

McCall’s town beach and view of Payette Lake.

Most of Chris and Jay’s time in McCall was spent driving through the area to see if it fit their vision.  They learned it had a decent ski resort within minutes of town – check.  Payette Lake made for good canoeing and the Ponderosa State Park, which bordered it, teemed with hiking and cross-country ski trails – check.  Although not as tall as they would like, the area had some scenic mountains – check.  Most of the businesses in town were geared toward tourists but the stores seemed large enough to provide most of their grocery, hardware and other day to day needs – check.   As much as they wanted to be in an area of abundant winter outdoor activities, they were a little apprehensive of the length of the season when they were cautioned that snow could come any day and the average winter temperature history was ten degrees below their comfort zone.  Perhaps finding a place where they could drive an hour or so to a higher elevation to ski might be more suitable.  McCall was still on the list, but not at the top.

Anxious to be further south before the white, fluffy stuff began to fall, they departed on Saturday, November 22^nd for the largest town they’d visited since Salt Lake City in July – Boise Idaho.  Besides free, the Gowan Field, Air National Guard base campground was the best deal yet.  It had only ten sites but cost only ten dollars a night for a full, 50 amp hookup.  Score!!  What was originally going to be a few day stopover turned into almost two weeks of warm, fall weather and days spent shopping, resupplying and exploring before they had to be in Salt Lake City where Jay would fly to the annual Pterodactyl Roost held, that year, in Mobile, AL.

The World Center for Birds of Prey sits on a scenic hilltop south of Boise.  The 580 acres houses the business offices of the Peregrine Fund, breeding facilities for endangered birds of prey, an interpretive center and research library.  A feisty ex-Marine volunteer led Chris and Jay through the facility while spewing forth items of interest about the mission of the organization, the variety of tasks it undertakes, explaining items in the interpretive center and showing off the collection of live, exotic birds they care for.  The Center is not a rehabilitation facility for injured birds.  Their main purpose is to breed bird of prey species on the U.S. Endangered Species List and reintroduce them to the wild. 

This Peregrine Falcon is blind and cannot be released into the wild.

It all began in 1970 when two schoolboys sent their lunch money to Tom Cade at Cornell University to help him save the endangered Peregrine Falcon from extinction.  Cade created The Peregrine Fund and eventually released more than 4,000 falcons into the wild.  Today they can be spotted not only throughout the western plains, but atop buildings in New York City where they feed on pigeons.  Currently they have recovery programs for the California Condor and Aplomado Falcon.  The Center also has liaisons with others worldwide and has been instrumental in the recovery efforts of 90 different raptor species.

Their education birds cannot be released into the wild due to injuries or other problems, so they are on display for visitors to view them up close and personal.  The most unusual bird Chris and Jay had ever seen was a Harpy Eagle.  Found in Central and South America, its soft, gray face is almost owl-like until it raises a cluster of darker feathers at the back of its head that look like an awkwardly shaped crown.   Other exotic eagles were the orange faced, Bateleur, from Africa and the white, brown and gray, Ornate Hawk-Eagle from Central and South America. 

One might want to name this Harpy Eagle “Harpo” due to its funny appearance.

An attack by it would not be very funny as its beak and Grizzly sized claws would tear you apart.

It is virtually impossible for Jay to pass by a museum of military artifacts and an afternoon at the Military Museum on Gowan Field was imperative.   Both Jay and Chris were impressed with the items on display as they had never encountered some at any other museum!   The building contained relics from the Civil War through Vietnam in amazingly pristine condition.  One item was a Civil War Surgeon’s Amputation kit which looked as if it had never been used.  All of the implements were unblemished and filled their respective positions in the immaculate wooden case.  

A Civil War Amputation Kit.

Something they had never heard of was a Gun Camera Mark VI Mod2 used to train Navy aerial gunners during World War II.  When the trigger was pulled, it shot 16mm film instead of bullets and the film review showed exactly where the bullets would have gone had they been firing a real gun.  The film even recorded the time to the split second in case there was a dispute as to who got “the hit” first.

The summer before Chris had photographed a collection of her grandfather’s WWI military possessions at the Minnesota Historical Society.   Familiar with the condition of items of that age, she was entranced with the quality of WWI uniforms and equipment the museum owned.  She recognized a tin condiment can just like her grandfather’s and a compass that looked like it had just been issued.  A mannequin was clothed in the complete uniform of the day including haversack, ammunition belt, blanket, trenching shovel, bayonet and more in perfect condition.   They even had a periscope that had been used in the trenches to spy on “no man’s land” without jeopardizing the soldier’s life.

A World War II haversack with the museum in the background

The warm, sunny days of the early part of their visit were fast becoming cloudy, windy and cold and when the date of their Salt Lake City reservation approached, Chris and Jay were eager to head south.   The only problem was packages that Jay had expected to arrive on September 3^rd were scheduled to be delivered on September 4^th, the day of their departure.  The woman at the Billeting office assured them that UPS delivered before 11 a.m.  and she would call when they arrived.  You know the saying, “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry”.  Eleven o’clock came and went and with forecasts of snow, the anxious travelers were concerned about the safety of embarking on the 300 mile journey that lay before them.  By noon they’d decided they could not wait any longer if they wanted to reach Salt Lake City before dark and took off.  Less than ten minutes into their journey it began to snow.  Albeit they were tiny, little, wispy flakes but, it was the first time they’d encountered snow while towing and Jay’s blood pressure rose.  Fortunately the roads only became damp from the melted flakes and he only slowed his pace when the blizzard like flurries reduced visibility.  With daylight to spare, they pulled into their campsite at Hill Air Force Base, fired up the space heaters and settled in for a cozy night thankful that they’d dodged the snow bullet.  Later a television weather update spoke of snow falling in the area.  Sure enough, when Chris peeked out the window, there it was.  At least four inches had fallen and it was still snowing.  Well, maybe they didn’t dodge the bullet, but at least they didn’t get stranded in it.

Polson Projects

After three weeks at Glacier National Park, Jay and Chris were not anxious to leave the mountains of Montana.  Jay called his friend in Polson, Fletcher Brown, whom they had stayed with earlier in the month to see if they could continue their visit.  Fletcher informed them that his winter campground rates were in effect at 50 cents a week and they were welcome to visit any time.  So, although their direction away from Glacier was south, they drove less than forty miles and arrived on September 9th.

Fletcher’s home with the Mission Mountain range in the background.

He’s selling his house if anyone is interested.

When Chris planned their summer itinerary, she had no knowledge of fall weather conditions near the 49^th parallel and made their stop at Glacier the last reservation which turned out to be one of the best decisions of the year, at least as far as Fletcher was concerned.  He had just bought a brand new Airstream trailer and had ordered all the components needed to make it electrically self-sufficient.  Six solar panels, four ninety-three pound, deep cycle, six volt storage batteries, high power DC to AC inverter and boxes full of wires, connectors and screws had arrived about the same time as his guests. 

Jay’s Coast Guard enlisted time as an Electronics Technician and all the modifications he did to his sailboat came in handy as they set about tearing out the sofa and settee and installing the wires and other electrical devices.  What Fletcher anticipated would take a couple of days turned into at least two full weeks of long days sitting in awkward positions on the floor, figuring out how to run wires, installing remote control panels and having to rework the battery and inverter positions when Chris pointed out that she didn’t think the sofa would fit over the existing arrangement.  At last the bugs were worked out and all functioned as expected.  Based on all they learned, via the numerous trials and errors, the great technical wizards figured the next Airstream they convert really will only take two days.   

The best part of the whole project for Jay was being able to spend some special time with Fletch.  When they were stationed together, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, they were both helicopter pilots and though they often worked together they never could “play” together – one of them was always on duty.  This was the first time Jay could truly enjoy Fletch’s great sense of humor and really get to know him on a more personal level.  We suspect there will be more adventures together in the future.

The view out their back window – a typical Montana sunset.

About a week into their visit, Chris visited the “man cave” garage to inform the guys of dinner arrangements.  While leaving, she turned to close the garage door behind her and suddenly heard a loud pop and felt excruciating pain.  Her right foot had slipped sideways off the step and she’d twisted her ankle.  Unable to stand under her own power, she called for Jay.  No response.  She called louder.  No response.  A final scream brought him and Fletcher to the door.  Expressions of concern, hands lifting and queries as to what had happened followed as Jay helped her hobble home to Sonny.  Hmmmmm, how to get up the steps?  Of course, on all fours.  Yan was inside, having lingered after their dinner preparations conversation.  More expressions of concern and a quick dart into the house to retrieve a Chinese remedy which was slathered over the ankle and then wrapped in plastic wrap.  Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) calls for heat on muscle strains but the expected warmth never occurred and it was chalked up to the age of the fluid.  Chris resorted to the microwavable heat pack, and lay down wondering why this, somewhat major inconvenience, had occurred after all the strenuous hiking of the summer and experiencing trail conditions that were far more conducive to such an accident.  Jay had started to completely wax the RV and she’d helped the day before.  But, it required standing on a ladder; something she now doubted she could do. 

The pop she heard was of concern, but then again her ankle popped all the time; especially in the morning coming down the two steps from her bedroom.  She considered going to the local hospital for x-rays but after a few days of improvement, studying anatomical charts of bone and muscle and feeling the affected area for points of pain, decided it was unnecessary.  Although still hobbling, within three days she was driving Yan to Kalispell for some jewelry shopping and to find a birthday gift for Fletcher.

Meanwhile Jay continued his efforts to spruce up Sonny.  The first time Sonny got a complete waxing was the winter of 2009 during a six week rest in Bushnell, FL.  The year before had been packed with accomplishing all the minute details required to embark on a two-year cross-country odyssey and RV cosmetics was at the bottom of the list.  At the time, Jay insisted that the first wax be a base coat of paste.  He and Chris worked for several days waxing on and waxing off until the job was done and the muscle exhaustion in their arms and shoulders put them out of commission.  To avoid a similar toll on their bodies during future tasks, Jay purchased a buffer which he utilized in Polson.  It cut the time to complete the job in half and the toll on their bodies 90%!

Jay with buffer during a day of waxing.

Fletcher’s “country estate” is replete with a small orchard of cherry, peach, pear and apple trees.  About mid-September, the peaches ripened all at once and Yan and Chris scrambled to salvage them from becoming food for the many deer that roamed the nearby hills.   Two five gallon buckets of the succulent orbs could not be consumed by the four residents before they spoiled, so a method of storage was sought.  Yan was against canning them so Chris found instructions on the internet for freezing peaches and they set about the task of sorting the fully ripe from the not quite yets.  Water was boiled, spheres blanched, skins slipped off, fruit sliced, pits removed and hemispheres arranged individually on trays to freeze.  Two such sessions, a few days apart, were required to salvage the harvest. 

Yan packed Chris’ freezer with Ziploc bags of the booty that would become fodder for future smoothies.  But, before she could partake, a pear tree ripened.  Removing skins to freeze pears was akin to apples and required hand peeling with paring knives or using a combination corer/peeler device.  Neither was acceptable to Chris or Yan and the peaches sat in their freezers while freshly picked pears became the main smoothie ingredient over the next week.  Just as the pear supply dwindled, several apple trees began dropping their bounty and Chris was beginning to feel like a pioneer living off of the land.

Fletcher and Yan were beginning the final preparations for their departure to San Diego where they would be closer to his mother who was in the final stages of recovering from a stroke she’d suffered earlier in the summer.   They would take the Airstream and live in it until a house was secured and adequately furnished for them to stay with his mother.  Therefore, the volume of apples from three trees would be impossible to consume before they left and storage space in the trailer would be utilized by far more important belongings.  Chris gathered as much of the ripened crop that she could store and switched to apple smoothies.



Chris didn’t like the noisiness of the ATV, but it was fun to ride.

She used it to pick up the mail after spraining her ankle.

One might ask why so many smoothies?  The answer is simple:  They are one of the yummiest foods on the planet, they are one of the most nutritious and filling “light” meals one can consume, they are easy to make and since Chris is on a vegan diet, they make a wonderful mid-day meal sans meat.  While most commercial smoothies are made from a little bit of fruit and lots of ice, she adds flax meal, fiber and protein powders to some form of juice, and the rest is primarily fruit.  Sometimes she’ll add yogurt or coconut milk.  She’s even thrown in shredded coconut which sweetens and thickens the concoction.  She also started adding grass – Wheat Grass that is.  Over the summer she’d learned about super foods like Goji berries, Cacao beans and Wheat Grass.  Spying containers of the grass in the grocery store one day, she bought one and immediately began adding it to the smoothies.  An added bonus to making smoothies is that the blender they brought, originally to make Jay’s tropical adult beverages (which he never does), is justifying its weight in the RV and is utilized almost every day!

  

During their month at the “Brown RV Park”, Chris expanded her cooking repertoire by learning to make yogurt.  It is the one dairy item that she cheats with on her vegan diet to add a little more protein to her nutritional regimen.  Plus, she just likes the taste!  When she started adding up the cost of the yogurt she and Jay consumed, it was getting a little pricy, especially since she liked to buy the more expensive organic brands when she could find them.  To help the budget, she investigated making her own and the cost of a yogurt maker but couldn’t figure out where she would store the appliance when not in use.  Then she learned how to make it in an oven - gas or electric - and decided to give it a try. 

Since most yogurts are low fat or fat free, she also wanted to boost the Omega 3 fatty acids in their diet and decided to use organic, whole milk.  With instructions from several websites, a candy thermometer, eight-ounce jelly jars, a couple of pots, milk and yogurt starter, she gave it a go.  After overcooking once, a runny batch, and another mishap, on the fourth try – SUCCESS!!!  Rich and creamy!! 

They don’t call it Big Sky Country for nothing.

A view of Polson from a nearby hill.

Her culinary repertoire was further expanded by learning how Yan made some of her delicious meals.  She and Yan took turns making dinners and Chris would offer assistance on her night off while watching and learning.  A favorite meal was broth soup with dumplings or noodles, cilantro, some seasonings and usually some other vegetable like bok choy.  Chris made such a fuss over how good the dumplings were that Yan bought the ingredients on their next shopping excursion and spent the afternoon showing her how to make them.  Once made, Yan freezes the dumplings then pulls out what she needs for each meal.  By the evening, Yan was attempting to stuff Chris’ freezer with the day’s results.  Unfortunately it was still full of peaches and other frozen items.  It was obvious to Chris that her meals would need to utilize more existing frozen items to make room for the dumplings.

An unexpected skill the visitors learned was the adept use of chopsticks.  They were the primary utensils used by Yan, not only for eating, but also for cooking, mixing the dough and stuffing for dumplings and even removing cooked noodles from a pan!  They were like an extension of her fingers.  Jay and Chris didn’t become as skilled as Yan but after a couple of weeks they could pick up single grains of rice from their dinner bowls.

Yan on the ATV after a run to the mailbox.

Fletcher had met Yan on a trip to China seven years before.  He was learning the Chinese language via a Rosetta Stone program but was told that the best way to understand it was to visit the country.  The rest of the story is history, but they were recently married and Yan moved to America speaking almost no English.  Fletcher has worked with her to learn the language and combined with a Chinese to English version of Rosetta Stone she can carry on a simple conversation but could not understand a conversation between Jay and Fletcher. 

Chris grasped Yan’s range of the language when they would go shopping together and she coached her on some words and their correct pronunciations.  Before long they could communicate pretty well, using a combination of speech and body/hand signs and Chris felt like she was a tourist in a foreign land trying to get directions from a native.  But, they could not have in depth discussions except on the computer.  Yan had a translation program on her laptop and Fletcher showed Chris the Google Translate website that he used to communicate with her.  When discussions became too involved, Chris or Yan would signal to use the computer and they talked through the issues.  By the end of their stay, Chris and Jay learned to say hello in Chinese.  The phonetic pronunciation is “nee how” or 您好.

Montana’s warm September weather lulled the travelers into a comfortable, relaxed routine and a month slipped past them practically un-noticed.  October arrived and cold, rainy weather set in.  Knowing a departure was imminent, Jay purchased several mail order items and they planned to leave when they arrived.  During their last week in Polson, Fletcher treated everyone to dinner for Yan’s birthday, Chris and Jay outlined their route south, a batch of yogurt was made and laundry washed.  On a cool, rainy, Friday, October 7^th, they said their goodbyes to their gracious hosts and pulled Sonny down the driveway while contemplating Fletcher’s offer to house sit over the winter.

Yan and Fletcher at the restaurant in Big Fork during Yan’s birthday dinner.