We're WINning our way to the National Parks...

Ok, I’m trying to be a little clever here…Washington, Idaho and Nevada…W-I-N. What I’m trying to say cryptically is that we’ve spent the past several weeks in Washington, Idaho and Nevada before starting our National Park odyssey, beginning with Yosemite tomorrow. Washington we know some from visiting friends and family who live there (mostly along the Pacific coast), and Nevada we know mostly as Sin City, Las Vegas, but Idaho was COMPLETELY new for us. And I have to say, we were pleasantly surprised. Putting aside all the white supremacists that allegedly live there, it’s a lovely state.

On our first trip east from Seattle, Spokane WA was a new city for us, and it was fun to visit transplanted friends Wayne & Debbie Anderson from Long Island. Spokane has a cosmopolitan, but laid back feel to it. Some interesting history and architecture, the feel of a college town and proximity to the natural beauty of the river and forests. Winters are mild, but it still has four seasons and offers an inexpensive alternative to similar east coast climates. The downtown is historic and charming without being too pretentious or crowded, but it tends to be a little off the beaten path. Not that that’s a bad thing. We enjoyed it a lot.

From Spokane, we made our way to Coeur d’Alene Idaho, mostly known for its beautiful lake and surrounding forests. It’s a small, compact summer resort town, but with a college presence that gives it a vibrant, year-round feel. We hiked along the lake on a beautiful, sunny day, and it reminded us a lot of the lakes in upstate NY, like Lake George. We’ve heard lots of stories about the white supremacists in Idaho, and how the Aryan Nation was formerly a presence there until losing all their property in a lawsuit. A little scary, but nonetheless a part of the local lore.

 We made our way south along the Idaho panhandle to the Hells Canyon National Recreation area along the famous Snake River (dipping into NE Oregon and SE Washington while there). We also visited the Bruneau Sand Dunes State Park (470 foot high sand dunes), the capitol building in Boise (very nicely executed, with faux marble and interesting architectural touches) and the dramatic Twin Falls (the Niagara Falls of the West), site of Evel Knievel’s Snake River Canyon motorcycle jump attempt in 1974. Idaho has some beautiful mountains, lovely rivers and magnificent forests. Who knew?

Heading south to the “N” in WIN, we entered Nevada, famous for silver mines, gambling and prostitution. Our first encounter was the town of Jackpot NV, a gambling stop-off across the border from Idaho. Pretty sad looking in general, which unfortunately we found to be the case for much of Nevada. The town of Elko was forlorn and trying hard to hang on to some mining heritage. Ely NV wasn’t much better, with sad looking casinos, massage parlors and convenience stores (all with slot machines installed) being the primary source of commerce. Although I kept my eyes open, I didn’t see any hookers, at least that I could tell.

We drove across Nevada from Ely on “the loneliest highway in America,” Route 50, which passed through a couple of small, former mining towns and saw many of the mountains that make up Nevada’s large total. The scenery was beautiful, the terrain switched from desert to snow-capped peaks to forests throughout the entire drive. We were glad to make it to the Reno area without any breakdowns. AAA probably would have taken a while to get to us.

Virginia City, Carson City and Lake Tahoe offered a little history and charm, especially Virginia City, which, although a tourist trap, retains a lot of the “old west” charm from its heyday as a mining boomtown. I expected to see Hoss Cartwright walk out of one of the saloons at any minute. Carson City (named for the frontiersman Kit Carson) is the Capital and its Capitol Building is somewhat underwhelming compared to many we’ve seen. It was very low-key, not especially ornate and pretty sleepy. They did ask you to check your sidearms at the door however, so at least we felt safe inside.

 Lake Tahoe straddles the Nevada/California border and offers some beautiful scenery, although the day we visited it was overcast and drizzly. It’s a large, deep lake, and reminded us of the Pacific Coast, mostly due to the whitecaps on the day we visited. As we headed north towards Reno, we encountered a snowstorm going over Mt. Rose (8,900 ft at summit) and wondered if we would make it back to civilization or end up stranded like the Donner Party in the 1800’s. Luckily we had sandwiches, so cannibalism wasn’t a consideration. Driving through Reno, while interesting for its place in Nevada history, it felt much like Las Vegas. Not one of our favorite places in Nevada. As a side note, Nevada is the most mountainous of the lower 48 states, with over two thousand peaks. Lots of beautiful mountains, lots of trashy towns.

Today we made our way back across the Sierra Nevada mountains into California and will enter Yosemite National Park tomorrow, the beginning of an eight-week odyssey of National Park visits including Sequoia, the Grand Canyon (both rims), Zion, Bryce, Glen Canyon, Capitol Reef, Arches, Canyonlands, Grand Teton, Yellowstone and Glacier. It will be a grueling schedule, but there is much beauty ahead of us and we’re excited to have the opportunity to tackle it.

Onward and Upward!   Bob