We have returned – Flaming Gorge 2016

 What a busy two weeks!

As we were pulling out of Champoeg we received a call that our replacement air conditioner was in and we had been scheduled for a service call. Still riding the high of selling our house this extra bit of good news came as a wonderful surprise and really eased my mind about handling the hot weather of the high plains deserts of Utah and Idaho. So, with a quick routing change we headed back to Coburg staying at the Premier RV Resort and using this bit of downtime to hit up Costco for a last chance at stocking up - sales tax free.

 

We had planned to take our time using a route we had not traveled before but with the loss of two days we were “forced” to head east taking the quickest way possible. Did you believe that? I hope not.

Leaving Coburb going due east takes us through to the Sisters and close to Bend. Of course from there it is pretty logical to take highway 20 across Oregon to Boise and lookee there, with an ever so slight detour there just happens to be Crystal Crane Hot Springs at about the half-way point. Detour? Stop?

 

Oh yes we did!

Reluctantly we could not stay any longer than overnight. We did manage to hit up the ponds for a couple of soaks and admire a glorious sunset that changed the colors of our motorhome.

 

 

Even though we both grew up in the area, neither of us had taken the I-84 route between Burley Idaho and Brigham City Utah so here was our chance, bypassing Pocatello and seeing new country. Eh, not so much; scrub sagebrush intermixed with alfalfa fields look very much the same regardless the route. To be honest though, once we started getting into the hills most of our view was obscured by smoke and haze from nearby wildfires. At one point, the smoke was thick enough to warrant headlights and a bit of a slow down to be safe.

With different routing came an opportunity we couldn't pass up – a visit to the American West Heritage Center in Wellsville, Utah. We wrote briefly about this place last year but this time round I received a personal guided tour from my brother-in-law (his name is also Chris) who works here. This family friendly, educational and fun place makes for a wonderful inexpensive stop for any traveler. Access is RV friendly with parking and plenty of room for even the largest rigs. (Sorry about sounding like an advertisement but this gem deserves the exposure.)

 

 

 

 

Four days of refreshing family ties and catching up brings us to this blog's conclusion and our destination for the next two months – Flaming Gorge. Over the past year there have been some significant changes. The visitor center we worked in last year has been remodeled with new flooring, exhibits and furniture. We'll get more into that when our schedule has us returning to working there after Labor day.

For now though, we are split up and working a booth at the dam's spillway boat lauch and down on the launching ramp. These two spots are about a half mile apart and with no cell or other phone service available; portable radios are our only contact.

Champoeg (Sham Poo Ee) The Departure

Trying not to sound like one of those old time travelogues I watched as a kid (yes, television had been invented back then), we do bid a fond farewell to the Champoeg Visitor Center and the new friends we've made while here. We'll be heading east for the annual family reunion and then a bit further yet to end up back where we started at our first hosting gig – Flaming Gorge.

There is a whole gamut of emotions we've run through this past week. First are the obvious ones of sadness as we part company with a whole bunch of new friends. Special mention goes to the Rangers we worked with: Dan, Janet, Kim and Kevin; a more dedicated group of folks would be hard to find. We learned a great deal from them even though I still failed the walk and chew gum course. Our fellow hosts are awesome people and we sincerly hope we meet up again sometime in the future on our travels.

Overriding the sadness though is the excitement of heading back to where we started the hosting adventure – Flaming Gorge. After a short stay at the annual family reunion (also pretty durn exciting) we'll be heading up into the back country to host once again at the Red Canyon Visitor Center and at the Green River boat launch.

Putting icing on the cake is absolute joy finally being houseless! After a whole year, countless teases and a couple of earnest offers and final change out of realtors we actually closed on our house. This has been a tremendous weight lifted from us and without the anchor of a house holding us back we are now free to really cast off and explore in our land yacht.

So, we're east bound and down, loaded up and RV'ing. Stay with us, its sure to be a fun ride.