Category Archives: Idaho

Twin Falls, Idaho Is Next Stop

  • Flathead Valley, Montana to Yuma, Arizona
  • Day 2 of 5
  • January 1, 2021

Twin Falls, Idaho Is my next stop and I’m both reluctant and also eager to be on the road. Happily, the weather is holding and I awoke to sunny skies with no hint of snow.

The first thing I did this morning was to check the weather forecast. The forecast still called for less than 1-inch of snow in Idaho Falls, Pocatello, and Twin Falls. No change for the next three days.

Last night was cold and I used my furnace as well as my space heaters to keep my coach warm. I slept well enough and woke at a decent hour. My first thought was to fill my onboard propane tank.

After a quick breakfast, I unhooked my electrical line and stowed it. Last night I didn’t bother with hooking up to city water or even to the sewer system. So there wasn’t much to do to prepare for the day’s drive to Twin Falls, Idaho other than stowing stuff in the coach so as not to break anything.

 I’m reluctant to leave Dillon because the area is rich with early American history. Much of that history has to do with the Lewis and Clark Expedition. After their journey up the Jefferson and Beaverhead Rivers, members of the expedition arrived in the greater Dillon area early in August 1805. A notable landmark, for example, is Beaverhead Rock, now a state park. The rock is located about 12 miles southwest of the town of Twin Bridges on Montana Highway 41 and about 14 miles northeast of Dillon. When Sacajawea saw the rock she knew she was near the area where her Shoshone tribe spent its summers.

Twin Falls is 286 miles Ahead

As much as I would like to spend a few days here exploring the area, it’s time to move on. Today’s drive to Twin Falls, Idaho is a distance of 286 miles which should take four hours and 36 minutes according to Google Maps.

In Need of Propane

I walked over to the office and checked out. I also asked for propane, which the park didn’t have. But I did fill my fresh water tank. Soon, I was driving out of the park and heading for a service station.

10:05 AM: The first service station I found was a CENEX located at 700 North Montana St. Phone: 406-683-2308. The station is operated by Rocky Mountain Supply, which also has stores in Belgrade, Townsend and Ennis, Montana. The stores are like big mercantile or ranch and farm stores. Each store offers a full line of energy products such as gasoline, diesel fuel, and lubricants as well as a full line of crop nutrient and crop protection products, seed, field application of crop nutrients. The stores also sell hardware, livestock equipment, animal health products, feed supplements, pet supplies, western wear clothing and boots, sporting goods, convenience store items and other products and services too numerous to mention.

New Year’s Day Not Good for Traveling

I wanted propane, but the office was closed as it was New Year’s Day and no one was on hand to service customers. So there was no propane. But I did fill up with diesel fuel. I bought 12.203 gallons at $2.499 per gallon for a total of $30.50. I had driven 124 miles since filling up the night before in Drummond, Montana and my mileage was only 10.2 miles per gallon on that tank.

The Area is Rich in Lewis and Clark History

Having refueled my motor home, it was time to be on the road again toward Twin Falls, Idaho. At the same time I’m aware that I’m in an area that is rich with Lewis and Clark landmarks and history. I will be passing several of these landmarks today.

Gap in the mountains spotted by Clark.
View of the gap in the mountains spotted by Clark from a distance of about 7 miles. That “gap” is the Beaverhead Canyon Gateway.

One of these landmarks is the Beaverhead Canyon Gateway. This gap in the mountains was spotted by Clark from a spot known as “Clark’s Lookout”, or, “Surveyor’s Station.” The “Gateway” was yet another 10 miles in front of him and his party. The “Gateway” canyon reportedly averages 600 feet in depth and extends seven river miles south to another unnamed portal formed by Pipeorgan Rock. I don’t have time to visit these historic landmarks today. But I will be back another time to leisurely explore them.

Beaverhead Canyon Gateway
The Beaverhead Canyon Gateway is a gap in the mountains at an elevation of 5236 feet. Clark mistakenly believed this would be the last gap in the mountains the expedition would have to cross. Yet to come was the crossing of the Bitterroot in Idaho.

These rocks on the right likely are the Rattle Snake Cliffs cited by Lewis on August 10, 1805 in his journal for that date. This is about the point that Lewis with Drewyer and Shields left the Beaverhead River and hiked up Horse Prairie Creek toward what we know today as Lemhi Pass. Clark and the rest of the expedition were pulling their canoes up the Beaverhead River about five days behind Lewis.

Once through the gap it’s just a short distance to The Clark Canyon Reservoir and Recreation Area off to the right. On this day, the reservoir was solidly frozen over and there were quite a few fishing shanties on the ice. They were occupied by virtue of the large number of vehicles parked along the shore. The Clark Canyon Reservoir now covers the land and streams where Lewis set out to explore Horse Prairie Creek, the major tributary flowing into the Beaverhead River. Horse Prairie Creek descends from Lemhi Pass where the Lewis and Clark Expedition first encountered the Shoshone tribe and Sacagawea’s relatives.

On To Twin Falls, Idaho

Approaching Monida Pass
Monida Pass is at the border of Montana and Idaho. The name of the pass takes the first three letters of “Montana and the first three letters of “Idaho” and thus is Monida Pass.

Beyond Clark Canon Reservoir, I-15 continues south and it’s a fairly short distance to Monida Pass at an elevation of 6,870 feet, 2,094 meters. As I cross the pass shortly after the noon hour, my dashboard display is showing an outside temperature of 19 degrees. The sky is overcast and snow lies either side of I-15, but the highway is clear. Monida Pass is at the border of Montana and Idaho. The name of the pass takes the first three letters of “Montana” and the first three letters of “Idaho” and thus is Monida Pass.

By the time I reach Exit 72 and follow I-86 West toward Twin Falls, Idaho, there is no more snow and the highway continues to be bare and dry. I exit off I-86 and cross the Snake River into Twin Falls around 3:00 PM and stop at a service station to fill up with diesel fuel. I pull into a Maverik station at 883 Blue Lakes Boulevard. There I buy 14742 gallons of diesel at $2.639 per gallon for a total of $48.90. I had driven 163 miles since my prior fill up in Idaho Falls, ID and gotten 11.1 miles per gallon on that tank.

After filling up I continue on to the Twin Falls 93 RV Park at 2404 E. 3830 N, Filer, ID 83328. Phone: 208-326-5092. The park is located on US 93 a half mile south of the Highway 30/Highway 93 Junction in Twin Falls. I check in and hook up for the night.

Hooked up for the night at the Twin Falls 93 RV Park.
Hooked up for the night at the Twin Falls 93 RV Park. I eat my evening meal and it’s off to bed for the night.

A Layover Day at the Challis Hot Springs Campground, Challis, ID

Homeward Bound Day 11: Saturday, April 27, 2019

When I pulled in to the campground yesterday afternoon I was surprised way beyond my expectations. I had been expecting this campground would be a few RV sites with minimal hookups located at a semi-industrial area with big metal cargo containers, dumpsters and other heavy duty equipment. But that was weeks ago when making my reservation.

Wow! What a contrast between the real thing and my imagination. The campground is located on a country road a few miles out of town. The main building and registration office is nestled against a high bluff along with a couple of auxiliary buildings, one of which is for family gatherings and events such as weddings. Other buildings include a bath house and the hot springs pools plus what appears to be a vintage cabin of the early 1800s. A few ancient farm tools also are scattered about.

Behind the old cabin was a pretty little stream running clear and pure between the bluff and the office building. So I took a bit of time taking what I hoped would be a nice photo of the scene.
RV sites are located down by the Salmon River.
The RV sites are down by the Salmon River nestled under the trees and each site provides, water, electricity, picnic tables and fire pits. There is plenty of room between sites and the grass covered grounds invite various kinds of games for children young and old.

Set Up My RV Down by the River

My site was a pull through located just across the dirt road from the river and I enjoyed all the privacy one might want. Annie, too, liked the fresh green grass.
RV and Jeep all hooked up at Challis Hot Springs Campground.
I was so taken by the campground that shortly after hooking up my RV I walked back up to the office and registered for a second night as I decided that today would be a layover day of relaxing and a little computer time for email and Facebook and to edit photos. After a walk to take more photos of the campground, Annie and I decided to take an afternoon nap.

I was exhausted from my travels and felt that a nap in this beautiful spot was very much needed. After 30 minutes or so, I woke to discover water all over the RV floor. Temporarily confused by the unexpected sight, I then saw that water was poring from the tap into the sink and flowing over onto the floor. The water had been running the entire time I was napping. How? I don’t know. Can’t believe I forgot to turn it off but I must have forgotten. There also were puddles outside the RV on both sides.

Before I could do anything, I had to get rid of the water. But my holding tanks were full and that’s why the water was overflowing onto my floor. Unfortunately, there are no dump facilities at the RV sites so I had to figure out another way to get rid of the water. My first thought was to bail out the sink with a bucket. I gave it a try and then realized I had to drive my rig back toward the office where the park sewer dump was located. So I unhooked from the electrical box and water supply and drove back to the dump location and emptied my tanks. Then back to my site and hook up again to begin the cleanup.

Water had gotten into my cabinets under the sink and I had to empty them and dry them out. That meant putting all the contents on the small floor and tiptoeing around them as I cleaned up the mess.

Water also had run over to the opposite side of the coach interior and down into storage compartments below. So I had to empty those storage compartments as well, survey any damage and dry them out. Water also had gotten into the compartment where my coach batteries are stored so I had to soak up that water and air out the compartment. Then, I discover the electrical outlets over my sink and stove were not working. Those outlets are powered by shore power are the ones I use for making coffee and lattes.

I opened the electrical panel and flipped all the circuit breakers hoping that would solve the problem. Not so! Then I thought the outage might have been caused by a blown fuse. Great! Now I have to learn all about fuses and my electrical panel. What fuse goes to what circuit? Also the outside temperature was beginning to drop and I needed to run my two space heaters since I’m running low on propane. After cleaning everything up and stashing cooking gear and so forth back into drawers and cabinets I turned on the computer to do a little work. But that tripped the circuits and I had no heat while using the computer.

Fortunately, my brain kicked into high gear and I tried one more thing: that was to check the GFI button (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter device) on the bathroom outlet, assuming it is on the same circuit as the kitchen outlets. I did, and it was. I reset the GFI and restored power to the outlets. Yeah! I breathed a big sigh of relief that I had not damaged the electrical circuits.
The Salmon River at Challis Hot Springs Campground.
By then it was time for dinner, a walk by the river, more photography, a bit of reading and off to bed for a good night’s sleep.