7-7-2020 Caldwell and Eagle, ID Part I

Backing up the truck a little:  The Ruby Mountains border Elko.  There are two stories that explain the reason for this name.  One story is that the frequent unusual sunsets turn the mountains beautiful shades of red.  Another story involves the Army.  They were seeking new routes to the west in 1854 and a team of scouts went ahead to explore the Nevada area.  One of the scouts was panning for gold in a stream at the base of the mountains and instead of gold, he wound up with a pan full of rubies and garnets.  They were in a hurry so they named them the “Ruby Mountains” and moved along.

The drive from Elko to Caldwell, Idaho could have been kind of boring on the big highway, but less than halfway we jumped off and took the small road through the mountains.  Many of the rv bloggers that Rob “talked” to said NOT to drive this road.  Well!  That set the hook, I guess you’d say.  We had already driven from Durango to Silverton to Montrose, CO on the “Million Dollar Highway,” which nearly gave me a fucking heart attack so we were seasoned enough to give it a try.  It was nothing by comparison.  A little snaky and squiggly with a few monster wind gusts that blew us sideways into the oncoming lanes but there were no trucks coming from the other way so it wasn’t a big deal.  Mostly, the mountains, blue sky and grasslands were idyllic.  The few farms scattered here and there with the sheep, cattle and horses apparently think so, too.

I had scheduled us to stay at Hi Valley RV Park in Eagle, ID, 3 miles from our friends Bob and Ada and Jakey-Doodle.  Or at least I thought I had.  The day before we were supposed to depart Pahrump, Rob noticed that I had not stapled our confirmation/receipt to the map as I normally would.  I was quite surprised as this is as normal as rain for me.  No problem, I’ll just pull it up in my email and print it out.  Well, it wasn’t there!  I searched all my files and couldn’t find this elusive receipt.  Finally, I checked my “spam” folder and there it was, but it wasn’t a confirmation, it was a “Sorry, we’re full,” notice!  I couldn’t believe my eyes!  So I began the search to find a different rv park.  Everywhere I looked, all were booked.  I panicked.  A five-day gap in the schedule and nowhere to park less than 24 hours from departure!  At last, 3 hours and a stomach ache later, I found Ambassador RV Park in Caldwell, ID, 15 miles from our friends and they had a site available for us.  Turns out this park is one of the most beautiful we have experienced and lucky us!  We are here for FIVE days!  As my former boss would have said, “Some of God’s greatest gifts to us are unanswered prayers.”  Moral:  check your spam folder every once in a while and keep an eye on the details!  A lesson we continue to learn over and over no matter how many years we have been at this!

We met up with Jakey and his parents on Wednesday morning and, after an hour or so on the pickleball courts, they were all prepared to takes us on a drive through the local countryside.  We happened upon a small “village” at a location where Walter’s Ferry existed in the past that carried horse-drawn carriages across the Snake River.  In 1863 Llewellyn Walter and his partner purchased the ferry.  Later, in 1886, Walter bought out his partner and built a 70-foot long ferry that could carry two teams abreast.  The ferry operated until 1921 when a bridge was completed across the Snake River at this location.  The ranch property fell into the hands of the Swayne family, ultimately.  Cleo Swayne was instrumental in creating an historical village of rock, stone and wood on the ranch and a 1-mile long nature walk.  It features collections of hundreds of birdhouses and statues and dozens of bronze sculptures (created by Gary Lee Price) including two depicting the wedding ceremony of Cleo to Papa Swayne and their officiating minister.  The slightly weird and eclectic display is now a dedicated museum.

Bronze statues of a parade and
children with hands on their hearts
as Old Glory passes by

Cleo and Papa Swayne's wedding ceremony

The saddle shop

The church

Later on, Rob had to see Bob and Ada’s airplane, a single-engine 2-seat high wing Aeronca 11 Chief built in 1946.  Rob’s prayer is to go for a ride.  We’ll see if that can happen during our short stay.  – more to come