Hello from the Homestead! We drove here this morning fascinated by the high water of the Clearwater River. There were a few boats. I'm sure they were fisherman but Mike suggested they were hunting bodies. There was one unfortunate apparent drowning earlier in the week.
Nellie is with us, of course, and also Duke, who is just elated to be here after his weeks of confinement. He chases around the yard and rolls in the grass. His people will be back on Tuesday, the day we go back to town. So -- good news for Duke! -- he will go home instead of to "the place."
Interestingly, it's very wet here, so this area has had rain -- and quite a lot. The strawberries planted two weeks ago look great and so do other plantings. I'm always pleased if the critters don't eat my stuff. It's too wet to mow right now, so Mike has gone off to cut down a tree -- one that is a good candidate for firewood. It's also pretty wet under the clothesline, but maybe I'll wash anyway. The Yellowstone trip is mostly on hold until I get back to town. I hope you're enjoying those posts for their historic value. Future posts are interesting.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Friday, May 30, 2008
DAY THREE / NIGHT CAMP
July 29, 1926 (Thursday) continued
We passed through Bliss, Hagerman, and Buhl, then began to watch for Twin Falls. Here we had our first experience of auto camps. A little kitchen with oil range, good toilets, even a tub and clothesline. There were shade trees, too. We boiled potatoes and expected a “feed,” but the sausage was bad, no butter, and Lynn didn’t like boiled potatoes so we were sort of grouchy but got to laughing and I thought of the corned beef hash and insisted on Lynn finishing the relish spread. Dad had bought doughnuts and so with tea and jam we made out. I found a cinnamon roll in a bag and was voted lucky. After supper the menfolks all went to hunt a bath and a swim and ice cream and the girls took the chance to write in the little cook house. When the men came back they were minus the bath and swim but had ice cream (Seal Right) and cookies and we all ate it out of cups and were the worse for doing so. Then we collected wash pans, etc., and went to the toilet room for a sketchy sponge bath and after that we bathed our underwear and hose and hung them on the tent ropes and benches.
A big car drove in late. We were treated to the spectacle in real life of what we all suffer from in dreams, i.e., two men trying to dress with people all around them. We made a little better time getting off here, but I soon found I had left the little bar pin you gave me, Ethel, in the toilet. I felt sick but at the next town (Burley), I wrote back to the caretaker to send it on home. There was only one car left there, a man and a woman, so I think she found it all right. [Hmmmmm! I have no info on whether or not her pin was returned.] To be continued . . .
We passed through Bliss, Hagerman, and Buhl, then began to watch for Twin Falls. Here we had our first experience of auto camps. A little kitchen with oil range, good toilets, even a tub and clothesline. There were shade trees, too. We boiled potatoes and expected a “feed,” but the sausage was bad, no butter, and Lynn didn’t like boiled potatoes so we were sort of grouchy but got to laughing and I thought of the corned beef hash and insisted on Lynn finishing the relish spread. Dad had bought doughnuts and so with tea and jam we made out. I found a cinnamon roll in a bag and was voted lucky. After supper the menfolks all went to hunt a bath and a swim and ice cream and the girls took the chance to write in the little cook house. When the men came back they were minus the bath and swim but had ice cream (Seal Right) and cookies and we all ate it out of cups and were the worse for doing so. Then we collected wash pans, etc., and went to the toilet room for a sketchy sponge bath and after that we bathed our underwear and hose and hung them on the tent ropes and benches.
A big car drove in late. We were treated to the spectacle in real life of what we all suffer from in dreams, i.e., two men trying to dress with people all around them. We made a little better time getting off here, but I soon found I had left the little bar pin you gave me, Ethel, in the toilet. I felt sick but at the next town (Burley), I wrote back to the caretaker to send it on home. There was only one car left there, a man and a woman, so I think she found it all right. [Hmmmmm! I have no info on whether or not her pin was returned.] To be continued . . .
Thursday, May 29, 2008
DAY THREE -- SOUTHERN IDAHO
July 29, 1926 (Thursday)
We had the usual breakfast with everyone feeling fine. We were soon in desert country proper, looking like old times so much that I begged for two good pictures and got them, I hope. [I don't think the photos turned out. I couldn't find them.] We saw our first live jackrabbit but the highway is dotted with dead ones. It got very hot in the p.m. on the desert. We passed through New Plymouth, Middleton, Caldwell, Nampa, Meridian, Boise, Regina, Sunnyside, Cleft, Mountain Home. At Caldwell Shirley exchanged her glasses for a lavender-tinted pair which she liked better. Caldwell is in the Boise Valley and nice, Middleton small, Nampa fine. Through the valley was lovely but we seemed to be dodging out occasionally into desert country. In the suburbs of Boise, Irl had to tinker with the car so we ate lunch side of the road under shade of big trees. We had bread and butter, some minced ham, “relish spread,” pork and beans, lettuce and mayonnaise. We passed through Boise about noon and managed to see the capital building. It is beautiful but its only resemblance to the town of 43 years ago is its wide streets and shade trees. I couldn’t tell which way our old camp was but the country looked familiar. We drove out at 12:20 and were in for our hottest p.m. Finally we came to Sunnyside, a service station and small store. Here we went in and drank some kind of bottled cool drink which was very refreshing but we looked like anything but the ads you see of people drinking Coca Cola.
Just before reaching this place there was a sign which said, “Speed limit 100 per hour.” Shirley says Sunnyside reminds her of “Desert Edge” – no – “Date City.” It was just a building – old, dirty, dilapidated – but some caged in young trees showed they had hopes. The man hauled his water from a distant well. Oh! It was desert all right. I found I could pin my duster to the frame so as to shut out the sun pretty well, but oh! Girls! My hair!!! I tried to keep it on by wrapping auto veil around it but the veil would slip off and hair go all directions. Well the heat was fierce, but we grimly endured it and presently came to Mountain Home. We passed through Cleft but it was too small to notice. Mountain Home was a nice little place and here we decided to come by Pocatello instead of the shorter, harder route. We passed through Hammet but I have no recollection of it. [Probably because she was too busy writing.] The next place was Glen’s Ferry. Two cowgirls came in and Vance by merely looking at them got a smile which spread all over their faces. Here Dad purchased the hamburger which proved bad and forgot the butter. This p.m. we passed what is called the “1000 Springs Ranch” on the Snake. From a bluff across the river numerous waterfalls descended apparently coming out of a rimrock. We were not on the desert all p.m. but occasionally dropped into the river valley, then it was nice and big trees and green fields.
We had the usual breakfast with everyone feeling fine. We were soon in desert country proper, looking like old times so much that I begged for two good pictures and got them, I hope. [I don't think the photos turned out. I couldn't find them.] We saw our first live jackrabbit but the highway is dotted with dead ones. It got very hot in the p.m. on the desert. We passed through New Plymouth, Middleton, Caldwell, Nampa, Meridian, Boise, Regina, Sunnyside, Cleft, Mountain Home. At Caldwell Shirley exchanged her glasses for a lavender-tinted pair which she liked better. Caldwell is in the Boise Valley and nice, Middleton small, Nampa fine. Through the valley was lovely but we seemed to be dodging out occasionally into desert country. In the suburbs of Boise, Irl had to tinker with the car so we ate lunch side of the road under shade of big trees. We had bread and butter, some minced ham, “relish spread,” pork and beans, lettuce and mayonnaise. We passed through Boise about noon and managed to see the capital building. It is beautiful but its only resemblance to the town of 43 years ago is its wide streets and shade trees. I couldn’t tell which way our old camp was but the country looked familiar. We drove out at 12:20 and were in for our hottest p.m. Finally we came to Sunnyside, a service station and small store. Here we went in and drank some kind of bottled cool drink which was very refreshing but we looked like anything but the ads you see of people drinking Coca Cola.
Just before reaching this place there was a sign which said, “Speed limit 100 per hour.” Shirley says Sunnyside reminds her of “Desert Edge” – no – “Date City.” It was just a building – old, dirty, dilapidated – but some caged in young trees showed they had hopes. The man hauled his water from a distant well. Oh! It was desert all right. I found I could pin my duster to the frame so as to shut out the sun pretty well, but oh! Girls! My hair!!! I tried to keep it on by wrapping auto veil around it but the veil would slip off and hair go all directions. Well the heat was fierce, but we grimly endured it and presently came to Mountain Home. We passed through Cleft but it was too small to notice. Mountain Home was a nice little place and here we decided to come by Pocatello instead of the shorter, harder route. We passed through Hammet but I have no recollection of it. [Probably because she was too busy writing.] The next place was Glen’s Ferry. Two cowgirls came in and Vance by merely looking at them got a smile which spread all over their faces. Here Dad purchased the hamburger which proved bad and forgot the butter. This p.m. we passed what is called the “1000 Springs Ranch” on the Snake. From a bluff across the river numerous waterfalls descended apparently coming out of a rimrock. We were not on the desert all p.m. but occasionally dropped into the river valley, then it was nice and big trees and green fields.
[I hope you can appreciate the above pencil sketch which appears in this letter. I don't know if Ina sketched it or someone else. I had a lot of trouble scanning it -- the paper has yellowed and the lead is faded. It shows a man pumping a tire and is captioned, "Most familiar scene on Hiway."]
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
REAL TIME UPDATE
Mike continues to attend NAIA baseball games -- three yesterday and two today. LCSC lost last night, which was certainly a disappointment for the locals; however, they won this afternoon. He rides his motorcycle to and from Warrior Field. His shoulder seems to be improving steadily.
I've stayed close to home. I'm making two scrap afghans to use up yarn on hand, but you know how it goes -- I expect I'll come out of those projects with even more yarn on hand. One is a big granny square in bright colors; the other is medallions trimmed in off-white. Yesterday was a big phone day for me: I talked to Hallie, Milo, Joni, and Harriet.
Milo said that T., their daughter, has double pneumonia and will not be attending the last week and a half of school. She is convalescing at home on medication. She will have to make arrangements to take her finals during the summer months. He says she can only watch t.v. and "text." Milo also provided that T. will graduate from Borah High School June 3, 2009. Milo says he's considering the possibility of making a bicycle into a mo-ped.
The dates have been finalized for Jack's visit -- July 7 - 13. Mike has been waiting Jack's lifetime (10 years) for this visit. We would love to spend more time with the grandkids.
Mike and I were walking Nellie recently -- our usual neighborhood route which takes us on a "non-road" through a grassy hillside. Suddenly an unmistakable r
attle at my feet sent me flying in the opposite direction. Yes, it was a rattlesnake -- probably 18 inches long. It coiled and stayed coiled, holding its ground. A friend once told me that he couldn't believe that anyone would want to live in this area because of the snakes, but that's the first one I've seen here. I'll be watching now!
Mike saw two muledeer in our street one morning this week. The deer have been enjoying the petunias that Mary Jane planted in her yard.
I've stayed close to home. I'm making two scrap afghans to use up yarn on hand, but you know how it goes -- I expect I'll come out of those projects with even more yarn on hand. One is a big granny square in bright colors; the other is medallions trimmed in off-white. Yesterday was a big phone day for me: I talked to Hallie, Milo, Joni, and Harriet.
Milo said that T., their daughter, has double pneumonia and will not be attending the last week and a half of school. She is convalescing at home on medication. She will have to make arrangements to take her finals during the summer months. He says she can only watch t.v. and "text." Milo also provided that T. will graduate from Borah High School June 3, 2009. Milo says he's considering the possibility of making a bicycle into a mo-ped.
The dates have been finalized for Jack's visit -- July 7 - 13. Mike has been waiting Jack's lifetime (10 years) for this visit. We would love to spend more time with the grandkids.
Mike and I were walking Nellie recently -- our usual neighborhood route which takes us on a "non-road" through a grassy hillside. Suddenly an unmistakable r
attle at my feet sent me flying in the opposite direction. Yes, it was a rattlesnake -- probably 18 inches long. It coiled and stayed coiled, holding its ground. A friend once told me that he couldn't believe that anyone would want to live in this area because of the snakes, but that's the first one I've seen here. I'll be watching now!Mike saw two muledeer in our street one morning this week. The deer have been enjoying the petunias that Mary Jane planted in her yard.
[Top photo: the "non-road." I met the rattlesnake toward the top. Bottom: this afternoon's view from the top of "non-road." KW
SECOND DAY -- SUPPER & CAMP
July 28, 1926 (continued)
We passed through Midvale, Weiser, Payette. Had our first glimpse of the Snake near here. We pulled onto the Payette River to camp but found poison oak, flies and mosquitoes were too bad, so pulled out again and drove on through Fruitland, where Julian Brown taught and about 4 ½ miles further on 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. It made us a fine bed, though, and so the tent was pitched there. 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, cantaloupe. Vance bought three quarts of milk for 30 cents but it proved blinky so was a total loss. When supper was nearly ready, a kitten walked onto the table and dragged off two slices of bread. After supper we all felt better but I blew up while Irl and I were making beds. He was chewing gum violently and the bedding was such a mess.
Right here let me say that Lynn and Irl are official strikers; Dad, official fire builder and water getter. Vance officiates at fire, Bernice at dishwashing, Shirley sets tables and packs up grocery box, grub box, and lunch box. I am mayor and domo, by common though unexpressed, consent, of course. We all work at other things.
We made about 127 today and are about 500 from the park. [more tomorrow . . . ]
We passed through Midvale, Weiser, Payette. Had our first glimpse of the Snake near here. We pulled onto the Payette River to camp but found poison oak, flies and mosquitoes were too bad, so pulled out again and drove on through Fruitland, where Julian Brown taught and about 4 ½ miles further on 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. It made us a fine bed, though, and so the tent was pitched there. 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, cantaloupe. Vance bought three quarts of milk for 30 cents but it proved blinky so was a total loss. When supper was nearly ready, a kitten walked onto the table and dragged off two slices of bread. After supper we all felt better but I blew up while Irl and I were making beds. He was chewing gum violently and the bedding was such a mess.
Right here let me say that Lynn and Irl are official strikers; Dad, official fire builder and water getter. Vance officiates at fire, Bernice at dishwashing, Shirley sets tables and packs up grocery box, grub box, and lunch box. I am mayor and domo, by common though unexpressed, consent, of course. We all work at other things.
We made about 127 today and are about 500 from the park. [more tomorrow . . . ]
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
SECOND DAY CONTINUES
We got off at 7:45 a.m. From Goff to a few miles past Pollock we had the old road about 15 miles, found them working on the highway then. We struck the Little Salmon at Gouge Eye (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. What surprised us was to find little ranches in pockets along the river, or on benches, some dreadfully burned-out looking. Some had run irrigating ditches and had gardens and we passed a place or two with lovely green lawns!
Just before reaching New Meadows we passed a beautiful field of grain. They were cutting it. We took two pictures of those lovely meadows. 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. Bertha, one stretch of road looked like the old Slash. There was a distant range of timber mountains to make it seem more natural and the country on both sides looked just the same as slash.
We didn’t strike any more surfaced highway till after we left Cambridge, but the roads are wide and smooth and look almost as though surfaced. The country was rough and sagebrushy. I got out and got some for a fire and will put in a piece of the leaves for you to smell. It was awful hot at Cambridge and the countryside depressing. Our next town was Midvale (small), then 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 Starkey Hot Springs Hotel – bread, butter, cheese, jam, cookies, hardtack. [To be continued . . . ]
Just before reaching New Meadows we passed a beautiful field of grain. They were cutting it. We took two pictures of those lovely meadows. 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. Bertha, one stretch of road looked like the old Slash. There was a distant range of timber mountains to make it seem more natural and the country on both sides looked just the same as slash.
We didn’t strike any more surfaced highway till after we left Cambridge, but the roads are wide and smooth and look almost as though surfaced. The country was rough and sagebrushy. I got out and got some for a fire and will put in a piece of the leaves for you to smell. It was awful hot at Cambridge and the countryside depressing. Our next town was Midvale (small), then 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 Starkey Hot Springs Hotel – bread, butter, cheese, jam, cookies, hardtack. [To be continued . . . ]
[I couldn't find pictures of the meadows she mentions. They probably didn't turn out. The photo above is of Vance in the 1920s.]
Monday, May 26, 2008
FIRST NIGHT / SECOND DAY -- 1926 TRIP
July 28, 1926 (Wednesday) -- continuedAt Cambridge. Waiting while Bernice looks up a friend. Vance says “tell ‘em it’s better than hot.” We camped at Gouge Eye last night. We had one hilarious time arranging our beds. We put, from the front of the tent, Lynn, Vance, Irl, Bernice, Shirley, and self. We soon found we had too much cover and first one and then another were sitting up making adjustments, and we were not quiet before 11:30. Then a dog came along and growled over a bone, then two dogs started a fight. Then I heard Shirley begin to snore and Lynn started off and Bernice began to giggle. Dad slept on the cot.
The bed was hard with a gentle (?) rise just where our hips came and we thought the night endless, but all felt quite good, though, on rising at 4:30 a.m. Vance took a picture with the sun touching the hills and another of us at breakfast. Two other cars were camped there and one had two dogs. One, a little smooth puppy, came over and wriggled himself into the middle of our spread table. We all laughed, of course.Irl said he’d bet we would not be laughing the next night but “cussing.” For supper last night we had fried potatoes, bacon, coffee, bread and the remains of our butter and strawberry jelly. For breakfast this morning we had bacon, eggs, toast, coffee, jelly and Himalayal [?] jam. [To be continued . . . ]
[The two photos in this post are those mentioned as taken by Vance. The group at breakfast are, from right: Shirley, Bernice, Lynn Dryden (Bernice's brother), Julian, and Ina. Somehow it doesn't look like she's having as much fun as she says she is. I'm sure the photo of the mountains does not do justice to the beautiful scene. On the back of the photo Ina wrote: "The sun-tinted bluffs border the main stream." KW]
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