June 19 - On the Snake River

We all had nightmares due to the heat overnight – what a change. The campground was gloriously quiet so we dozed and read books late into the morning. It will be busier now that the weekend has arrived. Mike and I walked to the post office to mail some postcards and give Rocky a walk. We left for the Hells Canyon Dam just before 1pm so that we would be on time for our jet boat tour down the Snake, below the wall. We passed many campers on our 22-mile drive along the reservoir. It is really narrow. We were told that the reservoir filled within 3 weeks after completion of the wall. We saw how fast the river was running but can that really be true? On our river ride we spotted some otters playing near the salmon catchment area at the dam wall. We also spotted both a bald eagle (pic) and golden eagle. We passed the site of an old homestead. We ran a class 4 rapid (pic) and watched another tour boat climb up-stream through another class 4. It was fun to see. On our return to the dam we stopped to see some Indian pictographs. We also learnt how the canyon had been flooded 12000 years ago when Lake Bonneville drained from the south. When we started the tour it was raining and the canyon was shrouded in mist, by the time we finished, things had dried up and the clouds lifted. The light was wonderful. We were all pleased that we did the tour. Mark was a wonderful tour guide.
Rob has been itching to make a campfire but the rain has had us stuck in the camper. This evening was dry so he finally got his wish. The s’mores he makes are really good!