Boise, ID

Sep 20     We got up to a cold, rainy day. We had a late start because we forgot when we got to Idaho, we gained an hour. We planned to do a Boise historic trolley tour and almost missed it because of the time difference. We had to rush but we made it on time. It was a historical tour through downtown Boise. Cost was $20 and lasted about 75 minutes. Very interesting tour, lots of history here, we enjoyed it.


We had lunch at Applebee's, then back to the RV park. It was still cold and rainy this afternoon, the high was mid 50's. We jumped into the pool and hot tub. Very nice.

Joe grilled some steaks, and vegs for dinner...so ono.
Sweet potatoes, corn and steak...yummmmm














Sep 21    Hi Valley RV Park - Boise Riverside RV Park     5 miles     10 minutes

We moved to another RV park today. We'll be here for 3 nights. Boise Riverside RV Park is located right along the greenbelt, very nice location next to the river. The Good Sam rate is $36.30 per night. Laundry is $1.50, dry $1.50.

When we pulled in today, our neighbors couldn't get their slide in. So Joe, Mr Aloha, got his laptop out and did some research and helped them out. They were very grateful for the help.

This afternoon we drove to Charles house. He lives about 40 minutes away in Caldwell. Pretty nice area, he's been living there for three years. He has a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house with a decent yard, corner lot and he bought it for $120,000. Can't believe the price! He also has a camper trailer. Real cute, we hope he and Carmen will join us for future RV adventures.

We had dinner at Shari's in Caldwell. It's a diner that serves home style meals. Very good and very reasonable prices. They also have good pies.

Sep 22     We woke up to another rainy day. The high today was 50 degrees. Very lazy day for us. We finally went for a ride at 12pm. Our first stop was Westside Drive-In. This place was featured on Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives. They have a prime rib special on Fridays & Saturdays so that's what I had. Joe wasn't in the mood for prime rib so he had a monte cristo sandwich. Which was deep fried. Joe said it was so junk. My prime rib was okay, came with baked potatoe and clam chowder. They serve it in a styrofoam plate so that was kind of weird.

Weird eating prime rib like this













This afternoon was still cold and rainy but we went for a short walk along the greenbelt. The Boise River Greenbelt meanders along the Boise River for nearly 25 miles. It links Warm Springs Golf Course with more than a dozen major parks providing open space and wildlife habitat in the heart of the city. We just walked a very small portion of the greenbelt. At our RV park, they rent bikes but Joe didn't want to go for a bike ride.
Ducks in the river along the greenbelt
Added to my sticker collection


Hot chocolate time

















My goodies from the Farmers Market


Sep 23     The sun is out today, finally! It was very cold when we got up this morning, high 30's. We went to the Farmer's Market this morning in downtown Boise. We bought some goodies, a bunch of flowers, couple of aroma jars, bread, and two bottles of hard cider.

Picking out my flowers
















Next we went to Kathryn Albertson Park. An urban wildlife habitat area with walking loops. We walked the park and enjoyed the scenery. Lot of ducks and geese in the ponds, and the leaves are changing so very beautiful.

Beautiful colors













Geese in the pond


Ponderosa Pine








We wanted to go to Ann Morrison Memorial Park which was right across the street but they were having some kind of fun run so very busy and lots of people. Maybe another day. These parks are right along the greenbelt. I wish we had a day to do a long walk in the area.

We did some food shopping at Fred Meyer's. I love this store, got all kinds of stuff. We're going to the Mohica's tonight for a cook out so we ordered a platter of sushi.

Val looking good


We went to Charles parents house for dinner. This is where Carmen and Charles will be getting married on Tuesday. Met up with Valerie and her sister Debra. Val and I used to hang out in high school and she is Charles cousin. Was so nice visiting with her, it's been years. Our neighbor Donna is here also with Kenda, Charles other cousin. We had a nice time.












Sep 24     Boise Riverside RV Park - Hi Valley RV Park     5 miles     15 minutes


We're back at Hi Valley RV Park for the next 3 nights. The weather is really nice, it's sunny and the high was about 68 degrees. We spent the day cleaning and watching football. In the late afternoon we went to the pool and hot tub. So nice.

Winnemucca, NV to Boise, ID

Sep 18     Lee Vining, CA - Winnemucca, NV     262 miles     5 hours

We got an early start this morning and left Lee Vining at 730am. We've been traveling and exploring on Hwy 395 for the past 9 days. It's been great, lots of things to see and do in this area of California. We will definitely be back.
Our last view of Mono Lake at sunrise

Nothing fancy here


We're making our way north, destination.. ...Boise, Idaho. Today the plan was to drive halfway there. Our stop was at Winnemucca, Nevada. We're staying at Winnemucca RV Park for one night, Passport America rate is $20.00. Nothing fancy here but the laundry is cheap. Wash $1.00 and dry .75. I haven't done laundry for about 10 days so lots of laundry to do. We rode around town a little but not much to do here.




Sep19     Winnemucca, NV - Boise, ID     263 miles     5 hours 30 minutes

Another long day of driving. We headed north out of Nevada, into Oregon for about 2 hours, then finally got to Idaho. We stopped at Cracker Barrel before we got to the RV park. We're staying at Hi Valley RV Park in Boise, Idaho. I tried to book one week here but no such luck. They're very busy so I only got 2 nights. The Good Sam rate here is $36.94 per night. Very nice park, probably the nicest in Boise. It's very cold and rainy but I think we'll make use of the hot tub.
Our neighbors here are kind of questionable. Plenty of people coming and going, also lots of cars. Got to make sure we lock our bins.

Virginia Lakes, Lundy Lake

Sep 17     At the top of Conway Summit, Virginia Lakes are among the highest road accessible lakes in the region and are a favorite with trout fishermen.

We parked in the parking lot by Blue Lake. This hike starts at over 9,800 feet elevation, so we were in the rugged mountains from the very start of the hike.

Virginia Lakes Trail, gateway to the Hoover Wilderness, wanders by five pretty lakes set amid a backdrop of colorful, rugged peaks with avalanche scarred slopes.

We only went as far as Cooney Lake. Beautiful scenery along the way passing some small lakes.


View of the northern end of Blue Lake

Blue Lake







End of a great hike



Virginia Lake

Black Mountain towers above the shores of Virginia Lake

Our next stop was Lundy Lake. This lake sits in a glacier canyon and is absolutely beautiful. The scenery is stunning. A little early for fall colors, we need to come back when the fall colors are in.



Lundy Lake

Another view of Lundy Lake

Some fall colors







Lunch was at Whoa Nellie Deli. This is the second time eating here. Very good food.




Joe's waiting for his lunch
I made spaghetti for dinner tonight and overate. We took a walk around town to work off our dinner. We ended up at the Mono Basin Historical Museum. They were already closed but there were a lot of things to look at on the grounds.



There's an upside-down house. This famous tourist attraction was built in 1956.











There was also a lot of farming equipment in the area.







We've been camping in Lee Vining for five nights. Tomorrow we head north to Winnemucca, NV.

Yosemite

Sep 16     Mono County is the east gateway to Yosemite National Park. From Lee Vining on Hwy 395, Tioga Pass Road winds just 12 miles up to Yosemite's east entrance and to one of the park's greatest wonders, Tuolumne Meadows.

The last time we visited Yosemite was over 35 years ago when Joe was in junior college. We were excited to start our adventure.We started early this morning and arrived at Yosemite around 8am. It was very cold when we started, around 40 degrees. Our first hike of the day was Tuolumne Meadows: Soda Springs, approximately 2 miles. 

For thousands of years animals and people have visited these springs. These small, carbonated mineral springs are a mystery - even geologists cannot explain why they are here. Although the bubbling water comes out of the ground pure and clean, there is a possibility that people or animals have contaminated the water.  










Beautiful scenery along the hike
















Tenaya Lake


After the hike we decided to drive to Yosemite Valley, about 40 miles through the park. Amazing sights along the way. We made stops at Tenaya Lake and Olmsted Point.




Olmsted Point
Yosemite Valley is the main attraction at this park and it was very busy. The air was very smoky and the main sights were very hazy. 
Bridalveil Falls




Bridalveil Falls was the first waterfall we saw when entering Yosemite Valley. Very short hike to the bottom of the falls. Absolutely stunning waterfall. Lots of people at the base so can get kind of crowded. 


















Across from Bridalveil Falls was El Capitan. 
Hazy picture of El Capitan
The sheer face of El Capitan is more than spectacular. A  magnificent sight to see.


















We continued driving into the main valley area but it was very busy with people walking all over and cars trying to park all over the place. We just drove through this area. Tried to take a picture of Half Dome from the car but it was so hazy. 
Can barely make out Half Dome
Then we passed Yosemite Falls, I really wanted to stop and walk around this area but we couldn't find any parking and it was still very smoky so we decided to keep on driving. 
Beautiful scenery on this hike



We started our drive back to the east side of Yosemite. Stopped to have lunch, then did one more hike. This one was Lyell Canyon via the John Muir Trail. We only did part of this trail. Hiked to Lyell Fork and to Twin Bridges. Absolutely amazing, so beautiful. The water was very cold. Lots of people fishing in this area. 



Captain Morgan pose





Then back to Lee Vining. Tioga pass is kind of scary, the elevation at the top is almost 10,000 feet. Part of the road goes along the cliff with a steep downgrade....scary!


This was such a good day. Our visit to Yosemite was amazing. We didn't get to do everything because of the smoke but still had a wonderful time.