Day Four - Here Come the Hills

Too soon we had to leave and head back out into the heat. By this time we were learning a little more about how to rig the bus and had developed a way to open and hold several of the windows to admit at least some air. The ride was a little bit cooler and more comfortable for most of the day and the temps only hovered around 96. With the late start we had a shorter day which helped as well.

As we left the rolling farmland behind and appraoched the hills we drove the longest grade I've ever been on. It's called White Bird Hill and is the site of the massacre of the Nez Perce indians.

Along the way we stopped just north of the little town of Riggins at a country farm stand. The geography and climate of this region make it very suitable for fruit growers and I was surprised to see the availability of fresh apricots, peaches and cherries.

                                                            Stopped at the fruit stand

                                                            Along the Little Salmon River

                                                                    Another River View

We completed our run up to Lewiston and met a niece and her family camping at Hells’ Gate State Park just south of town. We had arranged reservations to visit with them and camped in the spot next to them for the night. It was a pull through site with water and electricity. While we have no AC in the bus to speak of, we do have a direct connection to the overhead air conditioner which we were able to plug into and get some help from the heat. The temperature in the campground was around 103 when we got there late in the afternoon.

                                       Our spot the first night at Hell's Gate State Park in Idaho

Unfortunately, the humidity is fairly high as well and we found that the air conditioner isn’t draining its’ condensate as well as it should. While much of it is running down the outside of the bus, an unacceptable amount is also being experienced inside. It is throwing water up and down the aisle which we attempt to control with a basin for the drips that fall straight down and towels for the rest. It also means that we just can’t have the ac running all the time. But the temperatures are still cooling down quite well at night so while the days are hot, the nights are quite tolerable, even comfortable.