Hot, hot, hot!

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

It’s Tuesday evening and we find ourselves in West Yellowstone, camped just outside the park.
We caught the ferry from Victoria to Port Angeles last Friday night and grabbed a room at the Flagstone Inn when we landed. On Saturday we drove down to Bainbridge Island and caught the ferry into downtown Seattle. ( It was important that we get to Pikes Market before they shut down so that Darlene could see the men throw fish.)

We did, and they did, and the market lived up to its reputation. We decided that the next day we would visit The Museum of Aviation and the Art Gallery and so headed for a campsite just out of town.

The campsite was full. We drove on (south). The next campsite disappeared as we chased their signs and suddenly it was late and we were way south of Seattle. Quick change of plans! We’ll go and see the Mt. St. Helen’s monument. That takes us further south, but we’re not worried because we’ll forget about pitching the tent and get a motel.

In each little town we visit, the motels are full – weddings, baseball tournaments, you name it. This is the first time we’ve had trouble finding accommodation. By now we are too far south of Seattle to consider going back. When we eventually do find a room we’re even south of the Mt. St. Helen’s turnoff.

The Forestry Dept has done a wonderful job with Mt. St. Helen’s. Excellent interpretative centres, good roads and knowledgeable park rangers. The power of the mountain is still very evident and the constantly growing lava dome in the crater is evidence that it is only resting, not at all asleep.

After a great morning on the mountain we grab the I 84 and head towards Idaho along the beautiful Columbia Scenic route. We get as far as Deschutes and spend the evening in a lovely Oregon State Park.

It is the next day – Monday, Aug 7th – that brings us one of the most exciting days yet. As we left Oregon and entered Idaho, the woman in the Tourist Info office at the border suggested that we get away from the freeway and take some of the scenic routes through the Sawtooth Mountains. (Mountains? I thought Idaho was flat! Potatoes, yes?)

Idaho turns out to be mostly hills and mountains and very very beautiful. It is also very hot. At mid-day it was 41º and we were thinking motel + air-conditioning. At 6:30 it was still 39º . But as we drove along the Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway I watched the sun sink below one of the ridges and decided to at least sample the air in the next campsite I found. We turned into the Bonneville camp on the 21 and found, not only cooler air, but a sign for hot springs as well.

These springs are part of the campsite. They flow naturally from the rock as they have for hundreds of years, and drain into the local river. The result is a series of ponds of varying temperature where one can sit and soak the dust and grime away. After Banff and Jasper, with their crowds of people, it seemed something of a small miracle to sit and share all of this with one other couple – who we couldn’t see anyway. All of this, a great campsite beside a river, no bugs, crows, seagulls, trains, trucks or planes – at the cost of $8.00!

We were sad to leave the next morning but managed to get in one more soak before climbing back into the car and heading for Yellowstone.