The Great Eclipse

We were working the day of the eclipse but we got to close the office and go to the river to watch the big event.  It got cold as the sun got more and more covered by the moon.  It was amazing how light it stayed right up until only the tiniest sliver of sun was still showing.  Then when the sun was totally covered you could see stars and it was dark enough for all of the automatic night lights to come on around the campground.  Totality lasted just under 2 minutes here in Cascade and they had warned it would seem to go very fast and it did.  It took another hour for the sun to become uncovered and it was still fun to watch with our eclipse glasses.  We were very glad we got to be here and enjoy this  event.

The traffic was never bad before the eclipse but then everyone left at once a two hour drive turned into 8 hours to get back down to Boise.  We heard the traffic leaving the eastern part of Idaho and heading back to Utah was worse.  So glad we didn't have to travel anywhere to enjoy it!

Idaho Goodies

For my birthday they gave me a party here at the RV park.  I got a bunch of stuff to remind me of our stay in Idaho.  I got a jar of huckleberry jam and a huckleberry muffin mix.  A t-shirt with the logo for Cascade, ID and a t-shirt with the data on it for the total solar eclipse.  We are within the 70 mile wide band where we will have 100% total solar eclipse.

 You will have to click on the picture of the earrings to see them up close.  The stones are the sapphires we found at the sapphire mine in Montana some years ago.  I had the stones cut and heat treated and have been trying to find someone trustworthy to put them in earring settings.  I found a dear old lady here in Cascade that makes gemstone jewelry for a very reasonable price.  She did a great job and I love them.

We are getting ready to observe the eclipse.  The campground is full but the town of Cascade escaped the craziness and is not inundated with people so it should be a very nice day.  We've heard that the eastern part of Idaho by Idaho Falls is flooded with people from Utah.

Then and Now

I had to show a picture of Warm Lake when we first got here with all the snow on it and what it looks like now.  The picture without snow isn't real clear because of all the smoke in the air.  We are getting smoke form fires in eastern Oregon and one local fire north of Warm Lake.   We haven't gotten tired of the mountain views.  We have been exploring mountain roads and enjoying the beauty everywhere we go.  Its so nice and peaceful up in the mountains.  We can't say the same for the little town of Cascade.  The weekends are filled with traffic.  The worst is yet to come.

We are gearing up for the Solar Eclipse here.  Cascade is right in the path of totality so people are coming from all over to view it.  Our little campground is going to be filled to overflowing because all the people with RVs here for the season are inviting all of their friends and or relatives to join them here up in the mountains.  All of our overnight spots will have more than the usual number of people with lots of extra vehicles.  We are trying to come up with enough parking for everyone and to keep non guests out of the park.  Our internet and cell service probably won't hold up to the onslaught and they predict traffic will be at a standstill because there is only one road in and out of town.  It should be interesting! 

Very Pretty

 

The wildflowers are blooming everywhere.  This deer hangs around the campground eating as many flowers as possible.  The totem poles are getting fresh coats of paint so they look very nice now.  The wood carvers have been busy creating a new totem for this year.  The agreement they have with the park is that they have to produce one pole a summer for the park.  They can work on other projects for themselves after they are done with the new totem. 

We took a drive up to Warm Lake and stopped at a nice forest service campground and spent some time down by the river that runs by it.  We brought a bucket of dirt to pan out in the river to find the gold that was in it.  We found  a little bit so it was fun.  The dirt came from the owner of the park's son in law.  He owns a gold mine in Montana and brings the dirt back to his place in Boise for the final cleanup.   He likes to show us pictures of the gold his mine has produced -- some very pretty pieces.  We haven't found any very pretty pieces -- we think he just gives us a little bit to play with that he knows doesn't have much in it.  Oh well its still fun.