Bob has always wanted to take a jet boat tour up the Snake River at Lewiston, ID. They call it the
wild and scenic Snake River with good reason. It is all that and more. The River Quest Tours board us and we leave around 7:45 AM and return close to 5:30 PM; a very long trip and outstanding ride.
Butch, our captain and owner of the River Quest Tour company does a splendid job of both getting us over numerous rapids and relaying the history of the area to us. The trip is 184 miles, almost reaching the dam to the south. The water level is too low this week to go further. Fine with us, as riding rapids all day is a bone jarring experience, while also being lots of fun!
One of the features which makes this trip so nice is the numerous stops along the way. If I recall correctly, the convergence of the Salmon River, shown below, actually happened prior to our first stop at the property now owned by the Nature Conservancy. The picture above, is Butch standing next to his jet boat while at our first stop.
During our trip, we see all sorts of water craft navigating the river. Here is an example, along with some wildlife. Butch relays that during the 1930's, the government actually homesteaded 5 acre parcels. The rock wall shown, is one of several examples along the route extending for several miles, providing trails for homesteaders to reach their parcels. Have you ever wondered what the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp.) got paid for?
Butch relays amazing stories of bringing a paddle-wheel boat up these waters, and the major effort taken to get it over all the rapids. Very difficult and labor intensive. The question, of course, is why? Well, here you see it, remnants of a supposedly rich copper mine which history proved to be not as rich as claimed. A picture of this old paddle-wheel is passed around, and I take the best picture through a plastic page protector I can.
The following 2 pictures show the constant change from rapids to calm waters, with amazing desert scenery to enjoy.
The next few pictures are of our lunch stop at the Kirkwood ranch. We find a picnic table right next to the creek and are happy to enjoy the cool shady spot even though we are enjoying very cool and mostly cloudy weather today. Many times it is not unusual to experience 105 degree weather, which is one reason they have several stops to allow people time to swim and cool off.
There are several buildings, a museum, and lots of old farm equipment on display. I show some of this in the slide presentation at the end of this post, but I prefer to walk around and take in the scenery. I am the only person to hike to this grave site.
Time to re-board and head south!
The last picture in this next group shows the highest peak at 9,000+ feet visible from the water. Beautiful scenery!
More views prior to our next stop.
We make a National Hells Canyon Recreation Area stop, for swimming, a brief rest, and refreshment. I also find deer and a cute tuxedo kitty, shown in the slide show.
After almost 700 pictures, there's no guarantee, but I think this next picture is at the convergence of the Grande Ronde River. We're getting closer to our return.
Our next stop is to view fossils! Here is an example followed by some of the wild river!
I love the colors of the desert as shown below, followed by more scenery, and then we come to the petroglyph!
The basalt formations are amazing, and all too soon, we are returning to Hells Gate State Park in Lewiston, ID. As you can see, the sun comes out, making it an end to a perfect day.
It's impossible to tell the story of our trip with only a few photos. Normally I try to limit each post to about 20 pictures, but found it impossible to do so. The pictures chosen were pertinent to the story, but not necessarily the best photos. Only you can judge that, but here are some if the other photos if you care to enjoy them!
