We were up before 9 am, had quick breakfast because we wanted to go back to the campground office to see if it was possible for us to stay at the same site for one more day.
Unfortunately, site #29 was already reserved, so we had to move to site #22. After moving we went north on Highway 93 for two miles to turn left for Salmon-Challis National Forest. The lady at the campground office suggested us to get on wildlife drive for 45 miles.
The first 14 miles the road is paved, the rest is hard packed dirt. There were several run down mining cabins. Back in 1800’s ore was discovered in Shoup and the town became a very busy town, but declined after the mines were abandoned.
There were lots of kayakers and rafts down the rapids at Salmon River. We had no idea what class the rapid was. There were not too many rough rapids while we drove along the river.
We thought we were almost at Point of No Return, but we waved down a passing truck to ask questions about the rest of the route. It turned out that we had driven 27 miles. That meant 28 more miles to the dead end and the Jeep did not have much gas left. We decided to turn around to go back to Highway 93.
We spotted three eagles, one marmot, several grouses with babies. Did not see any elk.
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| "Hey, here comes Edith" |
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| "Oh, okay.. Thanks for the warning" |
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Marmot
"Where,Where?" |
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| Grouse and her babies |
On way from Salmon-Challis we spotted wildfire on the top of the forest. We did not know what the cause was. We pulled over to a pullout to take a look and there were several people with camera or binoculars checking out the fire.
We went to the town of Salmon to look for a dining place for our late lunch.
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Grizzly Bear and the Jumping Salmon Sculpture
at the entrance of Salmon, ID |
After scouting the street for restaurants we decided to go to Wally's Cafe. Breakfast is served throughout the day but lunch is available after 11 am. Erwin had grilled ham/cheese sandwich and Edith got French Dip. Reasonable priced meals and the portions were just right.
Visited Sacajawea Interpretive, Cultural & Educational Center at 2700 N. Main Street in Salmon, ID. The center is open every day from 9 am until 5 pm. Monday through Saturday and from 12:30 pm until 5 pm on Sunday. Admission is $5 per adult or $12 for family. There are two trails to walk on. We chose to take the short route checking out interpretive signs. Sacajawea had been born among the Agaidika tribe of Eastern Shoshone along the Snake River in present day Idaho and was kidnapped by raiding Hidstsa when she was 12 years old. She was 14 years old when she was married to Toussaint Charbonneau. Sacajawea was considered a heroine who lead the Lewis and Clark Expedition to success.There is a statue of Sacajawea and her baby, Jean-Baptist.
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| Statue of Sacajawea holding her baby |
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| The view of the mountains as seen from the Interpretive Center |
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Sihu Vee Gahni
Willow Brush Lodge that served as a temporary shelter
during the summer months when the Indians gathered for
hunting, fishing, etc.. |
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| Erwin taking a peek inside the lodge |
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View of the top of the tepee as seen
from inside |
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| Cattail |
On way back from Salmon we noticed the plume of smoke had gotten bigger. The fire had spreaded to a bigger area. There were rescue helicopters dumping fire retardants. We could smell smoke 5 miles away! Several rescue vehicles were on scene. The campground where we stayed at was about 2-3 miles from the fire scene.
We checked into the campground office to find out if we will have to be evacuated. The lady assured us that there was a heavy downpour and that it will help contain the fire. When we got back to the site there were few people gathering in a group checking out the fire in the distance. The smoke had started to move north. We decided to stay inside to avoid smoke inhalation.
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| Fellow campers at Wagonhammer RV Park watching the fire |
A guy informed us that the fire was somewhat contained, but we will wait until tomorrow after we check out of the campground.
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