Idaho: Day One

Ben and Jake woke up late on June 13th, 2007. It was a Wednesday, and the coffee was on. Emma was showing off on a video game in which the gamer is a mountain biker and is going way too fast down some ridiculous mountain. She was good at it, but Ben quickly caught on and game her some good competition. One of Ben's spiritual gifts is video gaming. Mary Ann and Scott made everyone some sandwiches and they all ate in anticipation of what was to come in the afternoon: and hiking extravaganza with Mongo and his crew (family).

Mongo came over and some of got in his rig and the rest jumped in Scott's rig. In Idaho, you call every kind of vehicle a rig. Doesn't matter if it's a 3-cylinder Metro or a Monster Truck: they're all rigs. We drove the beautiful country side to Elk River, where we hiked for a good couple of miles.






One of the things Mongo was very excited about was drinking some Hamm's beer in front of a certain waterfall. Ben and I were eager to comply. There are some pictures of us enjoying Hamm's in the most picturesque way possible.



After the hike, we went to a very small town that used to be a big logging community. The name of the town is Elk River. We saw a nice little restaurant named the Elk River Cafe and decided to give it a try. This small restaurant was like the quintessential mountain dive, and it had awesome burgers. It was a husband and wife running it the night we were there-he was the cook and she was the server. It was all very laid back and in one corner there was a mini general store. It was just some shelves filled with the most random wares one could imagine. At one point, two men walked in, one might have been barefoot, and they picked up a 12 pack of Mountain Dew and told the lady to put it on his Mom's tab. 'Nuff said.

After dinner, the crew jumped back into the rigs and cruised to Moscow, Idaho. This is the town were Josh Ritter is from, and so of course Ben wanted to stop there. I have since become a fan of Josh Ritter, thanks to Ben and Jolynn Goertz, and I am very glad we stopped there.
Driving out of Moscow was a pretty impacting drive for Ben and I. We both agree that the stretch from Moscow to Lewiston on Highway 95 is some of the most beautiful scenery we saw on our 10,000 mile Odyssey. It also helped us understand the song "Idaho" by Josh Ritter. Before driving back into Lewiston, we stopped at an overlook of the city. Pretty amazing, pictures included.


That night we played frisbee with the young ones and just talked with the old ones. Ben and I didn't know it yet, but we needed our sleep for what was in store for us on the next day.


Lyrics to Josh Ritter's "Idaho"

All that love all those mistakes What else can a poor man make? So I gave up a life of crime I gave it to a friend of mine Something else was on my mind The only ghost I'm haunted by I hear her howling down below Idaho oh Idaho

Wolves oh wolves oh can't you see? Ain't no wolf can sing like me And if it could then I suppose He belongs in Idaho Packs of dogs and cigarettes For those who ain't done packing yet My clothes are packed and I want to go Idaho oh Idaho

Out at sea for seven years I got your letter in Tangier Thought that I'd been on a boat 'Til that single word you wrote That single word it landlocked me Turned the masts to cedar trees And the winds to gravel roads Idaho oh Idaho