Fish and a Freeloader

We spent last Saturday on the quiet shore of Horsethief Lake fishing for rainbow trout and drinking PBR. There were a few other hunters taking advantage of the fee-free campground but they weren't having much luck with the deer. We, on the other hand, were lucky with the fish. Over the two days there, I caught two fish and Chris caught four fish. It was an all around beautiful day. At bedtime we thought we heard some batty winged thing flopping around on the roof but didn't think much of it.

The campground from the Dod's POV.

View of the campsite from the lake.

Here's my friend, Quack! We quacked back and forth for a good five minutes straight. He swam over to me and thought I was one strange duck!

The water was like glass.

Chris had to tell me I had a bite.

The worst day of fishing is better than the best day at work.

Beer in one hand, fishing pole in the other.

I was absolutely ecstatic when I reeled in my first fish.

Chris' first catch!

Here is the "after" picture.

Sunday, Chris got up early to wake up the fishies and I slept in as long as possible. Snug and cozy, I did some crocheting and sipped on coffee until lunchtime when it was necessary to transform the bedroom into a dining area. We spent another wonderful day at the lake. Chris did some fishing and I did some watercolor painting. At dinnertime Chris cleaned the trout (ick) and we dined on fish tacos. Again, at bedtime that winged thing started beating on the roof. Also, I was absolutely certain that a bear was stalking around the Dod. Most likely not but at the time I would have bet my life on it. Needless to say, it was a while before sleep came that night.

The rest was well worth the wait because the rain pitter-patted on the roof all the night long. Chicago tends to drown out the noises of nature and replace them with nutty bums yelling to themselves or loud bus recitations like "Route thirty-six. Broadway to Devon and Clark. BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP" Anyways, the rain was soothing and it was hard to get out of bed even though my left shoulder and hip are about to fall off from sleeping on what is essentially a padded tabletop.

The damp and rainy weather has not only made for some cozy indoor days but has also created some awesome scenes of wispy clouds resting on hilltops. It's beautiful and eerie all at once.

Sunday morning we packed up the pole and tackle box and drove north through the panhandle of Idaho where we came across a lovely RV park mid-afternoon. The kind host gave us a good deal on a full hookup. However, I think we were sold as soon as we heard the word "shower".

When we got settled, Chris started on lunch and noticed a small hole in the bread bag. Another in the tortilla bag. Then little nibble bites. And tiny mouse droppings! Why, there was a stowaway on board!! Well, there's only enough room for the two of us in the Dod so Chris devised a mousetrap consisting of a plastic trash bag, a two-liter, tape and a piece of post-nibbled bread. After a much-needed fix of chicken soup we set up the mousetrap.

Monday morning was mouse-less. The little freeloadin' sonuvabitch must have taken off earlier in the day. And as inviting as the RV park was, it was time to get back on the road. Today we drove five hours up the panhandle of Idaho near the Lewis and Clark trail and into Washington.

We are parked at another RV camp in Vantage, Washington for the night. Tomorrow, Seattle or BUST!

Yet Another Balanced Rock and Boise

Last night while charting our route to Boise we found another balanced rock on the map, and decided we had to see it.

The drive through Idaho to see this rock was fairly plain. Farmland mostly. But then the ground opened up like a huge wound with rocks jutting out and the road dove down into a steep canyon. Coming up the other side we finally came to this new balanced rock, and as the trend has gone, this one was better than all those before it.

There it is in the top left.

Here's a closer picture of it from the side facing the road.

We hiked up the hill, which turned out to be a little more strenuous than it looked, did some minor rock climbing, and emerged behind the rock.

From here it looks pretty wicked.

Notice the Dod below.

We played around for a little while at the top.

I climbed a boulder overlooking the road below us.

And Nikki did interpretive poses of the balanced rock.

After that we drove through the land of a thousand springs, and while they looked cool from the road, tiny little water falls coming out the side of a canyon, we didn't bother to stop or take any pictures.

By 5 we were in Boise, parked in a public lot, and roaming the downtown. We were both fairly impressed. There was a lot going on. Bars, restaurants, and a pretty excellent record store. Lots of people on bikes, too.

After passing up a few happy hour specials we found one we couldn't resist. It was a sushi place called Osaka with three dollar rolls, one dollar drafts, and two dollar panda shots, which consist of unfiltered sake with a little bit of Guinness floating on top.

Tomorrow we'll check out the Boise State campus before hitting the scenic route north for a few days of camping in the mountains

When drinking is outlawed, only outlaws will drink

We bid adieu to Utah today. It's been real. It's been fun. But it ain't been real fun.

Actually, it was pretty darn cool. Much better than we expected. (Nikki - "Moab? Where's Moab")

However, one tiny little fact hindered the experience from being all that it could be: the state controls the liquor. We've all heard the rumors about the booze scarcity in Utah, but I never could have fathomed the iron-fisted grip they keep on their spirits in that state.

After a few days in the canyon, we headed back to town to stock up. A woman at the local grocery store gave us directions to the Moab State-run liquor store. However, Monday was Columbus day and the store was closed. So we headed into the Canyonlands with a tiny little bottle of grappa Nikki had been saving. No big deal.

However, by the time we completed the drive to Salt Lake City we were thirsty. I mean, that's a long drive, you just need to unwind every once in a while.

We were going to be spending the night in the (crazy spooky) SLC Walmart and decided we should just get some beers. Or so we thought. In Utah they can only sell beer that has 3.2 percent alcohol in grocery stores. Oh, cruel, cruel world. What a rip off.

Dismayed but not daunted we roamed the streets of SLC looking for a bar.

After charging or computers at a Subway we stumbled upon Duffy's, and for $1.75 a piece we were each handed a nice, frosty glass of beer.

Little did we know how lucky we were, because every other bar we came across was members only.

Recharged, we headed home for the evening after a little stroll through SLC's south side.

The next day we rode our bikes through downtown SLC. It is nice, neat and clean, and you always have a view of the mountains to the east. Also, we found two of the best bookstores Nikki or I have ever been to.

After several hours roaming shelves we retreated to the Dod and made our way out of town. But first we wanted to see the "Great" Salt Lake.

Did you know that "Salt Lake City" isn't even on the Salt Lake. BS, right?

In my head I had always pictured a bay or something.

So we drove 20 miles out of town in our attempt to find this so called Lake. And after 30 minutes of driving around corn fields and horse pastures, we found it. Almost.

Salt Lake has an island in it. It is a state park. There's a long bridge that goes out to that state park. Five miles before you even get to the lake, they want you to pay $9, just to spend the day there. Not only does this state guard their booze with the totalitarian zeal of a despot king, they keep a lock on the Salt lake too.

We asked the attendant at the gate if there was any public access to the lake near by. She told us No, but if we wanted to drive down I-80, towards Las Vegas, Nevada, we could see it from the expressway.

Well, I've seen enough lakes in my day that i wasn't about to give Utah my nine bones. Heck, I lived smack dab in the middle of the gol-darn Great Lakes. Bodies of water actually deserving of the title.

Forgive me, I'm just a little bitter.

Needless to say we continued down the road. However, within an hour we could see the shimmering waters of the Salt Lake and we took the first exit we found to try and once again breach the state's defenses.

Now they wanted $10 from us to see their lake. Except this time the guard shack was unmanned, so Nikki punched the gas and we busted through.

And then there it was, the Great Salt Lake, rimmed by mountains to the west. I stuck my feet in the cool waters and Nikki did a cartwheel in the sand. Then we hightailed it out of there before we got caught.

All in all, we had a pretty good time in Utah. But we must be moving on. We're making a pit-stop in Burley, ID for the night before continuing on to Boise. Then it'll be another trip through the mountains before Washington. However, now that we're out of the canyons we should be able to post more often.

Until next time.