DAY 2 -- YELLOWSTONE TRIP

From left: Shirley, Bernice, Earle, Jack, and Ina. Photo by Vance

July 28, 1926 -- Ina continues:

We had one hilarious time arranging our beds last night. From the front of the tent, we were Lynn, Vance, Earle, Bernice, Shirley, and self. Dad slept on a cot. We soon found we had too much covers, and first one and then another sat up to make adjustments. We were not quiet before 11:30. Then a dog came along and growled over a bone, then two dogs started fighting. Shirley began to snore, then Lynn started off, and Bernice began to giggle. The bed was hard with a gentle rise just where our hips came, and we thought the night endless, but all felt quite good on rising at 4:30. 

Vance took a picture of the sun touching the hill and one of us at breakfast. We had bacon, eggs, toast, coffee, jelly, and Himalayan jam.

We got off at 7:45. Until a few miles past Pollock, we had the old road. Then we found them working on the highway.

We struck the Little Salmon at Riggins. It was very beautiful, growing more wooded and picturesque toward the summit and broadening into meadows which looked to me nearly ½ mile wide in places. The river curved and flowed slowly and with low wooded mountains surrounding was wonderfully beautiful. We were surprised to find little ranches in pockets along the river or on benches. Some looked dreadfully burned out, while some had irrigating ditches and gardens. We passed a place or two with lovely green lawns!

Just before reaching New Meadows, we passed a beautiful field of grain being cut. They seem to raise hay mostly. New Meadows is small but up and coming in quite a large valley. In fact, from there, the landscape began to be southern Idaho. A distant range of timbered mountains made it seem more natural.

We didn’t strike any more surfaced highway until after we left Cambridge, but the roads are wide and smooth and look almost as though surfaced. The country is rough and sagebrushy. I got out and got some and will put in a piece of the leaves for you to smell.

It was awful hot at Cambridge and the country round depressing. Our next town was Midvale – small. Then on to Weiser, which is a nice town, but we couldn’t get lettuce there and no hamburger, which caused us to be disgruntly. We ate lunch 1000 feet from the Starky Hot Springs Hotel – bread, butter, cheese, jam, cookies, hardtack.

Continuing on, we passed through Payette. We had our first glimpse of the Snake River near here. We pulled in on the Payette River to camp but found poison oak, flies, and mosquitoes so pulled out again and drove 4 ½ miles beyond Fruitland and camped at a farm where they had things to sell. It was a free camp and they even allowed us to drive in on the nice lawn but we wouldn’t. We pitched the tent there, though, and made us a fine bed. Everybody was grouchy over our trouble finding a camp, but we had a good supper of fried potatoes, bacon, bread and butter, tea, fresh tomatoes, and cantaloupe. When supper was nearly ready, a kitten walked onto the table and dragged off two slices of bread. We all laughed, but Earle said we wouldn't be laughing tomorrow night.

After supper we all felt better. Earle and I then made the beds. Right here, let me say that Earle and Lynn are official packers, unpackers, tent pitchers and strikers. Dad is the official fire builder and water getter. Vance officiates at fire, Bernice at dishwashing, and Shirley sets table and packs up grocery box, grub box, and lunch box. I am majordomo by common, though unexpressed, consent. Of course, we all work at other things.

We are 53 miles from Boise and 500 miles from Yellowstone Park.

[At Cambridge, Ina reports that Vance said it was “hotter than hot.” I think Vance likely made a stronger comparison, don’t you?]  KW