The Last of our trip to McCall, Idaho

Donnelly, Idaho

Rainbow Point NF Campground 

Our last paddle would bring us to Horsethief Reservoir, just east of Cascade Lake.  There is a really nice campground run by Idaho Fish & Game. No utilities but very nice sites for $20.

I even caught a little Rainbow Trout.

We stopped by the dam for a picnic lunch.

There are some private owned homes on the east side of the lake and the YMCA has a camp on the southern end.  It's a quiet spot.

The only one else on the lake besides us was this sailboat.

Afterward we drove up to McCall to check out the McCall Brewing Company.  We split a delicious Mexican Chicken Salad and a French Dip.

I thought this sign was so funny.  I laughed each time we'd pass it.

We kept hearing how the Elk would come out in the forest at the north end of the lake.  After Steve finished work for the day we took a drive on some of the dirt roads up to the Viewpoint high above Donnelly.  We never did see an Elk or even a deer.  Pretty drive though.  Not too bad.  Just a couple of rough spots with the truck.

Looking down at Lake Cascade in the distance.

As we get to the top we can see the lookout.

There's a gated radar area before you get to the lookout, no admittance.  There is an old cabin up here with a fantastic 360 degree view.  It was all closed up when we visited.  I wasn't able to find any information on it.  There is a geocache hidden here too but we were unable to find it.

Loved this fir tree growing out of a rock.

This is Payette Lake and McCall looking north.

It was late when we headed out and we knew it would be dark on the way back home.  The setting sun over the town of Council to the west was very pretty.

Funny, as we were kidding that we hoped we would maybe see a bear on the way, we see this big black thing near the road when we came around the corner.  Ha!  It was just a young steer.

As it got dark there was a misty section to the dirt roads that looked kind of spooky.

Our final day we spent kayaking back on Cascade Lake.  Once again, the weather was perfect and the reflections amazing.

We tried fishing once more but not much of anything. 

And then it was Steve's turn to catch something.  A little Large Mouth Bass.  So at least we didn't get skunked this trip.  :-)

Another couple fishing and enjoyed the end of the day on the lake.

I loved how the clouds framed the peninsula in this picture. 

Our last dinner was out at Cougar Dave's. A delicious Double Bison burger and a Wedge Salad that we shared.  Plenty of food and so tasty!

Gotta have one last campfire for.

Bye-bye McCall.  We sure enjoyed our two weeks here in Idaho.  There is plenty to do to keep you busy.  There are more lakes and many more backroads.

Chipmunk Rd, Marsing, ID

Boondocking

It was about a 3 1/2 hour drive from our campsite in Donnelly to this large dirt lot just off Hwy 95.  There were no signs posted and it didn't look like private property.  We had it to ourselves.  Just in time to eat some leftover chili and watch a stunning sunset.

The coordinates to this lot on Chipmunk Rd, south of Marsing, Idaho are: 43.33443N, 116.95877W.

The moon rising over the last of the nights color.

After a good nights sleep we continued south on 95 through the SE corner of Oregon before crossing into Nevada.  We pulled over at another large pullout so Steve could do some work calls.  This interesting memorial was at the end and I walked over to read it.  Always sad.

McDermitt, NV

Say When Casino

Another overnighter as we return to Placerville.  Tonight we are staying in the parking lot of the Say When Casino.  We had a pretty good dinner and gambled $20 each.

I got lucky.  I cashed out when it got down to $100.  This paid for our gambling, dinner and 

breakfast in the morning.

If you blink you'll pass right by McDermitt.  It is one of the only towns located on both sides of the border.  Partly in Oregon and partly in Nevada.  It was mostly a mining and ranching town.  Their population is now barely over 100.  An interesting bit of info: The state line goes through the White Horse Inn.  It used to be a saloon, hotel and brothel.  When it was open you could order food on the Oregon side and avoid paying the Nevada state sales tax.

It's falling apart, like most of the few historical buildings but they are trying to restore them.

There is a museum filled with odd artifacts and "stuff".

The Original Jail. Circa 1890.

Further down the road we passed this strange dirt devil?  It went quite a bit up, sucking a lot of sand.

We stopped off for gas in Fernley (although not at the above pictured station.  We paid under $5) at one of the cheapest spots along I-80 and got the truck and trailer washed at the nearby Blue Beacon.  It sure needed a good washing after this trip.

Truckee, CA

Alpine Meadow Campground

Back to Truckee and the Alpine Meadow Campground once again for our final overnighter.

This is a beautiful campground and we love staying here.  For $20, $10 for us with our Sr. Discount, it is a new favorite!  We had site #11 and really like this one.

Some fall color here too.

Coloma, CA

Ponderosa RV Resort

And here we are.  Back to our default campground here in California. It's close to my parents and we have been needed here this year.  Probably be more of the same next year.

Italian Sausage, Tomato, Spinach & Tortellini Soup

Since there wasn't much going on the two weeks we were here, I had a lot of fun trying new variations of recipes I make.  We sure had some great soups, dinners and deserts even.

Shrimp, Mushrooms & Farfalle.

Apple Pie Cake

Last year Steve had Detached Retina Surgery which had the chance of increasing the odds that he'd need Cataract Surgery sooner than later.  Well, his last eye appointment said it was time, so he got that done the end of our stay here.  All is well and he loves seeing out of his "new eye"!

Our next trip will be to back to Arizona but first we have some fun stops and a meet up with Lee & Trace, part of our original Class of 2014.  We haven't seen them for a couple of years.