Farragut State Park, Coeur d'Alene, Hells Canyon and Bells Bay Idaho

Farragut State Park - Northern Idaho

Leaving Grand Coulee Dam, we made a slight detour at the suggestion of the RV Park's Owner - Dennis, to see Dry Falls. Located 30 miles South of the dam, Dry Falls is a Washington State Park, and the site of what was a huge waterfall thousands of years ago, twice as high as Niagara Falls and 3.5 miles wide!! They are even moving to providing RV campsites and we would definitely spend a day camping there if back in the area. You can drive to the floor of the Coulee (canyon) via a dirt road in the park. Many types of wildlife are present, and the lakes in the Coulee provide good fishing.

water transforming a desert!

Dry Falls! - 500 ft water falls from thousands of years ago

Welcome to Idaho. Neither of us had ever been here

The drive to our next site for a week's stay was only a few hours to the East in Northern Idaho. Located just North of Coeur d'Alene, Farragut State Park is located on the grounds of a former WWII US Navy Training Base. There are several campground loops and hundreds of sites, a Navy museum, several Frisbee Golf courses (we bought discs to give it a try) a shooting range, and the largest lake in Idaho - Pend Oreille!

large sawmill on RT 95 heading North from Coeur d'Alene

WWII Navy Brig at Farragut SP -nice museum dedicated to the Training Base inside

We setup, put out the carpets and chairs and settled in. Arriving on Wednesday, the place was lightly occupied, but by Friday evening it was packed. Many families with small kids. Bikes, games, the place was hopping ( so far, we have been off season many of the places we have visited, that is about to change for the remainder of our trip).

Farragut site - Snowberry Campground - very nice

Nice spot, great view out the back

relaxing late afternoon

During our drive from Dry Falls, Cindy had broken off a piece of a molar, and through the  wonder of the internet, she located a Dentist in Hayden, about 30 minutes from Farragut SP. Friday Morning we drove down there and to our relief, after exanimating the tooth, Cindy was told there is no need of extensive work, it was the top of a crown had broken off. She can choose to get it fixed at home if she so chooses. While waiting, I logged on to their secure network and was able to finish and publish the  BLOG entry form Washington state. As we were finishing up, we asked the receptionist for a lunch recommendation and she pointed to the place directly across the street!!!  The Porch. "We eat there all the time. Everything is good" And it was. I had the Moon Burger and Cindy the Mexican Soup.

Cindy waiting for lunch at The Porch

Saturday morning, we headed out early to get to Sandpoint ( home of NFL Great Jerry Kramer of the Green Bay Packers) for some WIFI, a good cup of coffee and a farmers market. Picture Lititz, Pa  in northern Idaho on a large lake! Very nice, clean and picturesque.We hope to get back there some day.

beach on Lake Pend Oreille - Sandpoint, Idaho

very busy rail line next to the lake

Evans Brothers Coffee - good brew and breakfast burrito!

old grain mille next to Evans Brothers

The rest of Saturday was spent enjoying the clear skies and mild temps. CJ got groomed (as best I can) and a bath was looming in his future, but not that day. Lots of reading and walks.

trail out the back of our site - great for dog walks

Sunday was our planned day to travel the 30 miles South to Coeur d'Alene. For months, several people had mentioned how nice this place is and we were anxious to get there to see for our selves. We were not disappointed. We located a Evans Brothers for breakfast and were located just a block from Coeur d'Alene Lake and the marvelous hiking trail on Tubbs Hill along the lake shore. Blue skies and a mild breeze greeted us and a most enjoyable day was had by all (Cooper and CJ loved the trail, walking thru cool spots and warmer sunlit patches as well.)

Cindy at Coeur d'Alene Lake with Mudgy Moose and Millie Mouse

breakfast in the sun -Coeur d'Alene

view from the Coeur d'Alene Library

Tubb's Hill Trail

Tubb's Hill Trail - many beautiful lake views

Located just a few miles to the North of Farragut SP, the town of Bayview is located on Pend Oreille Lake and home to some interesting architecture - floating houses! Most were built in the early to mid 1900's and some are quite distinctive. Construction of these homes stopped in the early 1970's.

Bayview floating houses - some have boat garage in lower level

We took time to use the laundromat in Bayview which was very clean and offered very stong WIFI.

As our stay neared its' end, we took time to try our hand at disc golf. There are 4 courses in FSP on the site of the former Navy Hospital. Lots of fun walking through the woods finding out our skills need some work. But....fun any way!

Disc golf pin, WWII Hospital foundation background

Cindy tees off with disc purchased at State Park Store

Our next stop was a short 4 hours away down Rt 95 with hardly any traffic. We were rolling along the farm country of Western Idaho and heading to Lewiston and Hell's Canyon. Specifically Hell's Gate State Park. Located on the Snake River just below Lewiston, HGSP is right on the Snake River, is well maintained and has spacious sites. We had booked a week's stay and as it turns out, that was good, but 4 days 5 nights would be optimal. We biked to the Discovery Center (Visitor's Center) and toured their Lewis and Clark exhibits. They have a very nice outdoor display with a canoe similar to the ones L&C built when leaving this spot in late 1805 for their final push to the Pacific Ocean. (down the Snake River , into the Columbia River and to the Sea at Cape Disappointment).

site 36 Hell's Gate SP - nice and spacious

many biking trails in HGSP - Snake River & Washington State in Background

Lewis and Clark constructed 5 of these to get to the Pacific

A nicely done film on Lewis and Clark as they came through the area is offered and takes about 20 minutes to watch. All in the, the Discovery Center is worth visiting. We try to soak up as much cultural and historical knowledge as we can. The Nez Perce National Historic Site is half an hour away and offers a nice museum and film.

After the Discovery Center, we rode our bikes a bit farther North to the Marina to check out the Jet Boat Excursion we booked on line the day before (think Jet Ski for 25 people). These boats are quite big in the area with the two rivers meeting and flowing westward to the Columbia. Later on, when we took our Jet boat trip up Hell's Canyon, our Captain told us there are 10 jet boat builders in Lewiston and they deliver jet boats to Alaska and South America! If you have not done so, this is a neat way to see areas otherwise inaccessible.

Over the weekend, we read, took Cooper and CJ for numerous walks and visited the Jack O'Connor Museum (located inside the Park) Jack was a world renowned Wildlife writer.( I remember him from reading my dad's outdoor Life magazines as a teenager). The weather was pleasant, in the low to mid 70's, although there was rain on and off through Saturday. Located at 700 ft above sea level, Lewiston and Hell's Canyon experiences hot summers.  The temps here can hit over 110 in July and August!!!

One of several walls of mounts in the Jack O'Conner Museum

The Next day I took Cooper and CJ into Lewiston and the Penny's Memorial Dog Park so they could get some off leash time. This is a very nice park, located along the Clearwater River.

CJ at Penny's Memorial Dog Park Lewiston Idaho

Monday, Cindy and I drove to the Historic area of Lewiston , visited the Library and grabbed lunch at Main Street Café. (I had a delicious Bison Burger). Then back to the  RV and some afternoon reading and walking Cooper and CJ. ( as much for my exercise as for them).

Nice bronze buffalo sculpture at Lewiston Public Library

Tuesday arrived and time for us to take our jet boat excursion up the Snake River and Hell's Canyon. The trip departs right from the marina in the Park and takes over 6 hours. It was GREAT! The Captain/guide has spent his entire life in the area and had numerous tales to share regarding both the Geology, pre-history and pioneer history of the area. At one point he slowed to point out the trail, still visible 150 years later, that the Nez Perce used to get down the Canyon to their winter grounds! We both thoroughly enjoyed the day and highly recommend taking the trip if you are in the area.

getting on jet boat - 3 V8 engines push it along!

columnar basalt - note "War Bonnet" in upper left

dozens of Pictographs and Petroglyphs on these rocks - some thousands of years old

look closely in center of picture - Bighorn Sheep - we saw over 50!!

our view at lunch in Hell's Canyon - Snake River and Washington in background

small spring fed waterfall - popular in late Summer

view out back of jet boat as we start our return trip

Our final portion of this part of Idaho was spent at Bell Bay Campground in the Idaho Panhandle National Forest. We had reserved site 16 and it turned out to be one of our all time favorite sites. Perched on a rise above Coeur d'Alene Lake outside Harrison Idaho, we had gorgeous views of the lake. The campground is very small, only 16 sites in the lower loop along the lake, well kept with no hookups, and vault toilets. There are water stations to fill containers and the Camp Hosts were present and involved in keeping things up to snuff. We highly recommend two days there.

Bell Bay site 16 - very nice

the view from our camp chairs - site 16 Bell Bay 

This wraps up our northern Idaho visit and we really enjoyed the area, the people were friendly and helpful and the climate this time of the year was fabulous!

Now moving on again and it may be a few weeks till we and post again.

Til then, take Care!


Cooper and CJ