Blog 4 Roadtrip 2010

Blog 4 Roadtrip 2010

Before arriving at Marc & Jan’s, we were lucky enough to have the chance to stop at our Dunes Neighbors, Karen & Brock Yates. They have been building a home on the Salmon River, just 30 miles upriver from Marc & Jan. (upriver is actually south! Go figure. The Salmon runs north.) They were home, and we were so thrilled to get a chance to see the fruits of their labors. We have been hearing their story of how they were building as they had the funds. They have much to be proud of. This place was awesome! It was also cool to see that the entire construction was done by their own hands, not hired labor. They will be opening a small diner on their property in the coming weeks, so If you have reason to be going north out of Challis, Idaho, stop in and get some teriyaki chicken or fried wontons from Brock’s kitchen. They are located just past the bridge that crosses over the Salmon River as you are going north out of Challis. Tell them we sent you!

Arrived at our best friends, Marc & Jan Dell’Ario’s, vacation home in Elk Bend, Idaho. Elk Bend is a small hamlet 22 miles south of Salmon, Idaho. Their house is situated on the Salmon River. The views that surround them are truly gorgeous. And the night sky so filled with stars that you could read a book by them.

This visit was for a “garage-raising”. Kind of like a barn-raising, only not. We were joined by other long time friends, Dave and Jody Wilson. You might remember them too (see 2007 blog roadtrip to Maine). Anyway, the fellowship was fantastic, the work was hard and the nights were welcome and filled with much laughter. Kind of like a Newport Dunes party without the Security guys coming by to tell us that it was “quiet time”. You all know we cannot be quieted!!! Doesn’t matter where we are.

Since I love to cook, I volunteered to be “chef” for the group. Or I was appointed. Depends on your perspective. I made several meals with “pot-luck” ingredients, most turned out to be quite tasty. I was especially happy with the Elk Chili. Yeah, one of the crew members had some elk lying around, so he volunteered it for dinner. It was amazingly good. We were expecting “gamey” to be on our tongues, but it turned out to have a unique flavor unto itself. I would recommend it to anyone if you ever have the chance to try it.

Two long weeks of construction resulted in a beautiful 18 x 50 foot garage, complete with doors at each end and a finished roof! We were all very proud of our efforts for a bunch of out of shape old guys. And it actually passed county inspection!!! It was great being a part of this experience, even if I did miss out on fishing. . . . oh, wait, I’m retired, I think I will go fishing now.

Marc and Jan had to leave to get back to their lives in Fullerton on Saturday the 24^th of July. Two days prior to that we found some river rafts on sale in Salmon. We bought one and Dave and Jody bought one. They were the perfect addition to our lives of leisure. Marc & Jan borrowed kayaks from a neighbor. Suffice it to say, that we have been floating down the river 3 times in 3 days and enjoying every minute of it. There is a spot along the river called the “eyeball”, where the river flows into a huge eddy about 250 feet across. Perfect swimming/fishing/picnicking/wine-drinking spot. We have taken full advantage of the “eyeball” in all categories of enjoyment. Mostly the picknicking and wine-drinking. There were no mishaps if you don’t count Marc’s falling into the river and losing his good prescription eyeglasses, his shoe, his paddle and his dignity. Fortunately Dave and Jody were downriver and rescued the flotsam minus the eyeglasses. Also fortunately, we were upstream in a position to “save” Marc, who was standing in the middle of the river trying to maintain his balance on one foot against the current while standing on slippery rocks. Apparently our idea of “saving” him was to run into him with our raft and sweep him off his foot! Since I was sitting backwards while paddling my raft, I failed to look to see where he was standing in order to position myself for this maneuver. We weren’t exactly trained for this rescue effort. It would have made a Three Stooges movie look boring. Suffice it to say, everyone thought it was funny except the “victim” Even Jan had a hand in it by retrieving Marc’s kayak. Oh yeah, did I mention that he also lost his BOAT?!

We didn’t realize how dependant we had become on having a cell phone and internet service. Fourteen days in Elk Bend can make that very real. We only got signal when we drove into Salmon for any reason. Actually, EVERY reason! If you need paint, Salmon. If you need internet, Salmon. If you need to make a phone call, Salmon. If you need groceries, Mankato, er, Salmon. Kind of like Little House on the Prairie!! I’m going into town, anybody need anything? That seemed to be the phrase of the day. Every day, somebody made the 44 mile round trip into Salmon. Oh, and you had to watch out every inch of the way, because daily, several deer are hit by cars along this stretch of road. So it is a very eerie feeling to think that you could end up in the river at any time because of a deer on the road. Sign and memorial markers all along the roadside attest to this reality.

During the building process, we found out that we were in Idaho at the right time for “Logger Days” in Darby, Montana. Montana? Yep, just around the corner, and two hours straight up the road. Couldn’t miss this one! How often do you get the chance to watch loggers competing in cutting wood? Ok, more than “cutting” wood. Sawing, hacking, chipping and rolling wood. The best part was the chain saw built out of a giant V8 engine! It was like a high fuel dragster without the frame, steering wheel or tires. But it could cut thru a 30 inch log in about 2 seconds. Tim, the “Tool Man” Taylor would have had a coronary watching this one.

Two weeks in Elk Bend passed way too quickly, and we said goodbye to our friends and we all went our separate ways knowing that this would not be the last time we would gather here together. Got that, Marc & Jan? Freddie and Freida Freeloader will be back (Homage to Willie Comstock, love you, Willie). We made copies of the keys, just kidding. “We don’t need no stinkin’ keys!” Good times, yeah, good times. We see many future trips back to this idyllic little corner of the world. Combine good friends with good places and you get great memories.