JULY 24, 2014.
HELLS GATE STATE PARK: About 125 miles north of Riggins we arrive at Hells Gate State Park, in Lewiston, Idaho. The Park is a gateway to both Idaho’s Lewis and Clark country and to another section of Hells Canyon, the deepest river gorge in North America. We have a shady campsite along the Snake River which will make a comfortable base-camp for exploration of the surrounding area. Here is where we will take the Jet boat excursion we’ve been planning. The boats’t excursions into Hells Canyon leave on a regular basis right from docks located in the park near our campsite. The Nez Perce National Historic Park is only 30 minutes away. A wide choice of restaurants and shopping are just minutes away, in nearby Lewiston Idaho. This spot is gonna be just fine. We’ll be here for a week and our friend Therese may even drive from Oregon to visit us. If she’s actually up to the drive, it will be fun to see her and talk about all the fun times when last we saw her at the Colorado River in Nevada.
A marina in Lewiston, Idaho along the river that Lewis and Clark traveled on their expedition.
THE PORT OF LEWISTON: With a population of about 31,000 people, Lewiston is located at the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater Rivers, about 30 miles south of the Lower granite Dam. Because of this and other dams, Lewiston is actually reachable by some ocean-going vessels. The Port of Lewiston, which is Idaho’s only seaport, has the distinction of being one of the farthest inland ports in the country. A month or so ago when we were in the Columbia Gorge area of Oregon, I remember learning about the mighty Columbia River going far inland and being a means to transport goods and services, mainly wheat, to the Pacific Ocean. Well, here we are! the Columbia Snake River system handles about 40 percent of all US wheat exports. The lower Columbia River is the country’s largest wheat gateway and the third largest grain corridor in the world, handling nearly 10 million tons of wheat alone in 2002.
Lewiston is a small city but it supports agriculture, paper and timber product industries as well as light manufacturing. In fact, ammunition manufacturing maintains a very important and growing presence in town, being the headquarters of ammunition makers CCI and Speer Bullet. The other major industry is of course tourism, relating to the Snake River and all the rafting, boating and fishing associated with it.
JULY 30, 2014: It’s been hot in Lewiston. Yesterday afternoon the mercury hit 109 degrees. We’ve decided to move along. The jet boat trip on the Snake River will have to wait ’til another day. We’re headed to Coeur d’Alene and Sand Point, Idaho…via Spokane. Therese will come to see us in Coeur d’Alene. It should be cooler there and we’ll have more fun spending time with her where it’s not so hot. If she’d come here to Lewiston we’d have had to just sit in the air conditioned motorhome all day playing cards!
