Up The Snake To The River of No Return

a short walk from he hotel to the dock and we boarded a 38 foot jet boat for a fifty mile journey to the confluence of the Snake and the river the nimí ípuu people call the River of No Return.

The Snake is at its highest level in years (over 150 feet deep in Hell’s Canyon Which results in a 15+ mile per hour current in the narrows and lots of…

But our intrepid skipper motors ahead flux throttle and deftly weaves through the detritus. Forty miles in we stopped for lunch in an Apple orchard on the Idaho bank

Along the way, we are treated to spectacular views of multiple layers of volcanic rock going from 16 million years ago at the river’s bank to towering peaks that are only 3 million years old.

All under the watchful gaze of some of the locals

Who elected not to butt in. 🤪 (Yes I know I am PUNishing my readers, but it has been a long day.

WHAT I LEARNED:

• 90% of .22 rimfire bullets in the world were manufactured in this valley.

• In spite of the towering snow-covered peaks all around the climate in this region and along the Snake is relatively mild and the river is open year around.

• The salmon run is just started but probably won’t reach Clarkston for another week, but the sturgeon fishing is all year catch and release.

• I saw roads I would love explore sometime, perhaps soon.

• Ken would be thrilled to know I saw a group of tiny homes and one yurt on the Idaho side of the Snake only a two hour ride in a fast boat from the nearest town and generally less than 100 feet from the little necessary house.

• I think I could like it here! (The region that is, but unlikely in one of the tiny homes.)

TONIGHT: Nimí íPuu Dancing

TOMORROW: We board the Song and start the Cruise