POST #21-46

 The Last Two Legs Of The Trip Home...

 ...we avoid a possible grizzly bear problem but arrive home to Montana safely!

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On April 7, we left the Twin Falls 93 RV Park, just outside of Twin Falls, Idaho and drove east and north to West Yellowstone, Montana, our Home State! north to Twin Falls, Idaho, a distance of about 272 miles.  

The weather was cool and mostly cloudy with dry roads and not much wind...  Here is a low-resolution, sped up video of part of the trip...

For the full-Resolution video click HERE.

If you ever get the chance while driving on US Highway-20, take the 

Mesa Falls Scenic Byway (great video HERE!) and see the Upper and Lower Mesa Falls.

And take the Big Springs Loop when you pass by Macks Inn at Henrys Fork.  You get to a huge spring that is the source of the Henry's Fork of the Snake River...

You can walk out on the bridge and feed breadcrumbs to the massive Rainbow Trout that hang out there for a treat!  (Cool video HERE!)No fishing though!

We had hoped to stay overnight near West Yellowstone at the Bakers Hole Campground.  

We have stayed here before, its very nice, and it sits right on the border of Yellowstone National Park on the banks of the Madison River.  We've seen these signs there and are very aware...

We determined when we were planning for a spot to stay overnight (or longer) that the campground didn't open until May 1st.  so we stopped in the town of West Yellowstone and stayed at a nice RV park , the Pony Express RV Park, there in town. 

Bakers Hole Campground being still closed was a good thing!  It seems that a large male grizzly bear had cached a moose carcass there and was guarding it...aggressively.  A local man went fishing there a few days after we passed by and was attacked and seriously injured.  News story HERE. He died as a result a few days later.  When seven officials from the Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks went back to the scene to further investigate the bear charged them and after multiple attempts to haze it away, the bear continued its charge.  The officials had no choice other than to fire upon the grizzly as it continued to charge and it died only 20 yards away.

If we would have been able to camp there we would most certainly have been walking down by the river and around the campground.  Things being as they were that would have NOT been a good plan! 

So we only stayed overnight at the RV Park in West Yellowstone and headed on home to Billings...226 miles with scattered rain showers...

Here is a low-resolution, sped up video of part of the trip...

For the full-Resolution video click HERE.

It has been a fun winter escape and we are glad to be back to our little piece of Heaven in Montana!

We will be busy this summer upgrading the RV with Hydraulic Levelers, improved solar, bigger inverter and more... Will keep you posted!

Until Next Time!

 

POST #21-45

 Northward To Twin Falls, Idaho...

 ...We hit snow and see the Evel Knievel Skycycle Ramp!

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On April 5, we left the Ely, Nevada KOA and continued north to Twin Falls, Idaho, a distance of about 250 miles.  We try to keep the daily drives to about 250 miles...we are in no hurry to get anywhere!

The weather was cool and cloudy with dry roads and not much wind...At first!  Here is a low-resolution, sped up video of part of the trip...

A full resolution copy of video can be seen HERE.

We stayed 2 nights here at the Twin Falls 93 RV Park, just outside of Twin Falls.  The next day we rested in the morning then went out to find a little piece of Twin Falls history.  On September 8, 1974, in a highly publicized event, motorcycle daredevil Evel Kneivel tried and failed to leap the mile-wide Snake River Canyon on his specially engineered rocket motorcycle.  His drogue parachute opened prematurely and he and his "Skycycle" rode the parachute down into the canyon, landing on the riverbank directly below his Launch Ramp.  If he had landed in the Snake River instead of the riverbank he would have most likely drowned. 

For an old news video about Evel Kneivels attempt, click HERE .

We went out to find that launch ramp!  We went to the parking lot on the north end of the awesome Perrine Bridge over the Snake River Canyon.  It's about 1500 feet long and 486 feet above the river.

The Perrine Bridge may be the only man-made structure in the country where Base Jumping... 

and Bungee Jumping...

...is allowed year-round without a permit!  We didn't see anyone doing either but we did see the Evel Kneivel Ramp in the distance...

We drove out to see if we could get a closer look and made it this far...

This photo was taken in the same spot in 1974...

The actual site is closed to the public because the Twin Falls Police Department uses it as the backstop for their shooting range!

We were close to the Shoshone Falls so we drove over there.  The falls were formed by the outburst flooding of ancient Lake Bonneville during the last Ice Age.  (The Great Salt Lake in what's left of Lake Bonneville).

This is what we found...Low flow in the river...

This is what it looks like during regular river flows...

Would be interesting to see it at a higher flow!

In the morning we will continue our journey home to Montana.  Next stop - West Yellowstone, MT!

Until Next Time!

POST #21-44

 North To Ely, Nevada...

 ...Hunting for Garnets - checking out steam locomotives!

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On April 5, we left the Boulder Beach Campground, and made our way north to Ely, Nevada, a distance of about 258 miles.

Here is a sped up Lo-Res video of the beginning and end of that drive...

Not much to see in the middle part of that trip so we left it out of the video.  The Fell-Resolution copy of that video can be seen HERE.

We called ahead and made reservations at the Ely, Nevada KOA...

We are staying two nights so we can look around a bit before we continue north on April 5th.

Next day we drove up to Garnet Hill, where you can search for semi-precious garnets...about 13 miles.

Here is a sped up Lo-Res video of the drive up to Garnet Hill...

The Full-Resolution copy of that video can be seen HERE.

This is the top of the hill, an outcrop of welded volcanic ash that has Garnets encased in the rock.  

Several folks were hunting for garnets. These had been here since 8 AM.

They found a few after 4 hours of very hard work...

We worked for awhile...maybe 30 minutes, looking for this...

But only found a couple like this...

It was hard, back-breaking work - Bent over breaking up rocks with a pick-hammer and sorting through the pieces. They used to have guys in prison braking up rockpiles!  I think we will stick with our sapphire mining in Montana!

When we got done with that we drove back to Ely to check out their Railroad Museum.   

It’s what's left of the Nevada Northern Railway, completed in 1906. In 1942 the railroad was purchased by Kennecott Copper Corporation. In a series of donations beginning in 1986, Kennecott transferred the entire Ore Line, as well as the railroad's yard and shop facilities in East Ely, to the White Pine Historical Railroad Foundation, a non-profit organization which today operates the property as the Nevada Northern Railway Museum which operates a heritage railroad on this part of the former NN.  Passenger excursion train service is offered between Ely, Ruth, and McGill using period equipment pulled by historic steam and diesel locomotives.

In April of 2006, Nevada's National Historical Landmarks Committee granted unanimous support to nominating the Nevada Northern's East Ely shops complex as a National Historic Landmark.

It's all very cool!  You can even make arrangements to be the engineer of a Steam Locomotive or be the engineer of a Diesel Locomotive.

That would be a super cool experience!  It's a bit pricey at $749 for the Diesel Locomotive and $1027 for the Steam Locomotive!  Maybe some day!!

In the morning we will head out on the next leg of the trip home...Destination - Twin Falls Idaho!

Until Next  Time!

 

POST #21-43

 New Friends And Making Videos At The Boulder Beach Campground

 ...we are featured in a YouTube video with our new friends!

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We were at the Boulder Beach Campground, in the vicinity of the Boulder City, Nevada - Lake Mead area, from March 30 to April 3, 2021.  During that time we became friends with Dan and Patti Hunt of the You Tube Channel "Exploring through Our Lens".  They stopped by and were so impressed by the interior of our Log Cabin RV, that they made a video of it and us to share on YouTube! Check it out HERE!  It was great fun to do it and it turned out very well! 

It seems that when we have our door open, folks see it and stop by to check it out!  

Some of them are working in media and end up creating a story!  See one HERE and another HERE!  We think it's very cool and are humbled!

While we were here I was looking at satellite photos of the area and observed what appears to be another campground nearby...

Zoomed in a bit here...

This is an abandoned campground that was called Hemenway Cove Campground.  Seems it was abandoned many years ago due to the fluctuations of the Lake Mead water levels. This photo shows a part of a loop and a campsite.

A video about the abandoned campground, produced by "Exploring Through Our Lens" can bee seen HERE. At one point the campground was right on the lakeside, but now the water is WAY down, and not likely to rise up there again, due to the heavy use of the water resource by farms and communities downstream in Arizona and California.  The lake is currently 147 feet below full pool.  The low lake level has exposed at least one settlement, St. Thomas, Nevada .  The town was abandoned in 1938 as Lake Mead filled and overtook it.  

St. Thomas was once 60 feet underwater, but what's left of it is now high and dry again. A video about abandoned St. Thomas, produced by "Exploring Through Our Lens" can bee seen HERE. 

Another abandoned place is the Lake Mead Lodge. It was opened in 1941. 

The marina was once very close, but dropping lake levels caused the marina to be moved and the lodge lost most of its business. During its heyday it was frequented by Las Vegas entertainers, but it was abandoned in 2008.  "Exploring Through Our Lens" produced a short video about the lodge, it can bee seen HERE.

We rode our Lectric E-Bikes a lot!  There is an old abandoned railroad grade that runs from the valley up the mountain and over to Hoover Dam.

A video about the trail by the NPS can be seen HERE , and a video about the trail produced by "Exploring Through Our Lens" can bee seen HERE. We didn't get to go the whole way...it was late and we were leaving the area in the morning.  But will go there next year!

We recommend that you visit the YouTube Channel of "Exploring Through Our Lens" ...There are a lot of great videos about this area - Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, Boulder Beach, the Boulder Railroad and much more!

We leave Lake Mead tomorrow and continue North...Next stop - Ely, Nevada

Until Next Time!

 

POST #21-42

 Boulder Beach Campground - Lake Mead!

 ...we get a great campsite and meet new friends!

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On Wednesday, March 31, after spending the night at the parking lot of the Hoover Dam Lodge in the vicinity of the Boulder City, Nevada - Lake Mead area, we drove back down to the Boulder Beach Campground.  We had no campground reservations there as it is all first come-first served.  Nice thing is it's only 10 bucks with the old folks discount!  No hookups in the sites..😒

We got the excellent site, back in the corner on an outer loop, that we looked at the day before!  Look for the arrow in the photo above...

This is a satellite photo pf the general area...

You can see by the yellow pins, the campground and the Lake Mead Marina.  

You can walk out on the long dock to watch the boats come and go and dine at the Harbor House Cafe And Lounge.

As you walk out on the long dock you will see a lot of fish.. I mean A LOT!  There are BIG Carp, some I would estimate up to 50 pounds.  There are Striped Bass, some of them appear over 20 pounds.  Also saw some big catfish. 

At the little store attached to the cafe they sell bags of popcorn to feed the fish and ducks.  The fish are obviously used to being fed!  They would take the popcorn from your hand!  Didn't try it cuz who knows if Striped Bass bite hard! 

Back at the Campground, The Boys (Bill and Ted) became celebrities as the took their ride through the loops!

They have been riding through all of the campgrounds this year and they really like to get out and see the sights!

While we were at the Boulder Beach Campground, we met a couple, Dan and Patti Hunt that is developing a YouTube channel and we became good friends with them!

The YouTube channel is "Exploring Through Our Lens" ...Check it out!  And exploringthroughourlens.com is their website! 

Click on the picture below for their introductory video!

On their YouTube Channel they have several videos covering the boulder beach area, including a couple that we helped out with.  In our next post we will be highlighting some of the videos they produced here in the Lake Mead Area.  We think you will find them interesting!

Until Next Time!