Movin' on down the road

September 19, 2021

Lewiston to Meridian, ID

Today was moving day and we were on the road before 8 am - our earliest start yet. But that was helped by the fact that we had pre-packed up most everything into the truck the past couple of days.

It had rained during the night but fortunately the storm had moved on by the time we got up, so we didn't have to do do the final loading in rain.

We had a long drive south today - 6 hours on Highway 95 which was a winding, 2-lane road. But it was scenic as we climbed up into the mountains, down through canyons along the Salmon River and into valleys with large ranches.

It was a pretty much non-stop drive except for potty breaks (so nice to be pulling your own toilet!). I had packed snacks and lunch stuff, so we just ate in the truck as we drove.

It was a fairly uneventful drive except for when we went through an area where a recent hail storm had just swept into the valley ahead of us, leaving a slick layer of stones on the road. Don took it easy through here but another driver had not and had just lost control causing them to slam into the fence poles next to the highway. I think all the emergency vehicles from New Meadows were responding to the crash!

By 3 pm we were pulling into the Meridian KOA. This is an ok park but the RV's are too close together for us. The only view we have out our back hatch window is the back of the trailer behind us - literally a few feet away.

Normally we prefer the space and trees in state parks, but this was the only camping available in this area due to a number of big events going on this week. Plus we need to use their laundry which is a much nicer experience than using a public laundromat, Oh well, we're just going to be here for 3 nights, then will be moving on.

The weather is warming up here so we plan to do a couple of tandem rides in the area.

We saw this impressive trestle along Highway 95 on the drive south. It is part of the former Camas Prairie Railroad - short line (66 miles) that was jointly owned byy the Northern Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads. It started operating in 1908 and continued for 92 years before being abandoned. It was built to service the fertile hills of the Camas Prairie, timber of the forests and canyons of the Clearwater River. It also had some passenger service. It was known as the "railroad on stilts" due to its many trestles. Most of these were constructed of wood, but the one we spotted was made of steel. In one 5 mile stretch it had more than a dozen trestles. 2 movies were filmed on portions of the railroad - in 1975 with Breakout Pass and in 1999 with The Wild Wild West. The railroad would make a great rail trail!

At the KOA, the spaces were very tight together. Our view from our dining area window was the back of this trailer and its waste water caddy.

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