We woke up to our last day of the journey – trying hard to extend any second possible of this incredible trip. We strolled back to stretch over the tranquil blue water of Lake Tahoe in Zephyr Cove, soaking the mountains, water, and fresh air. Yet, just before leaving the area – with an impulse decision (debated all night) – we hopped on our F-150 and drove back to Carson City’s Costco – for a farewell present from the trip. We loaded a beautiful firepit – so that we could continue our outdoor nights in Sunnyvale.

Fully loaded – we went on the road for the last time on this trip. HWY 88 is by far the most beautiful road to Lake Tahoe we have traveled, arguably one of California’s most amazing roads. The road accents 8500 feet of alpine elevation, with pristine rocks, abundant lakes, and multiple great vista points. Upton descending from the Sierra Nevada mountains, we stopped at the semi-deserted town of Lockeford. The local sausage factory and store are unique- there is always a line, and the sausages are delightful. It is an experience to get in – and see the wall signs in this store.

As the road joined HWY 5 – it was time for the last road snack. Another tradition we have developed in our HWY5 trips is to stop at El Mayita Mexcian Food Truck in Stockton. We truly love this truck, and apparently, many others do as well – as the line here is never ending every time of the day.

Epilog: We are home again. 10,611 Miles long journey commended. We are so grateful for the opportunity and experience. We are now great to repeat the same trip at a 50% slower speed. We will be back!

The End

To be continued.

It is time to head west and start the final stretch back to California. The storm from last night has gone, and we took off early to drive the long HWY80. It was much more rewarding than we had expected. The desert was stunning. The city of Winnemucca brought some great memories from last year’s stay on the same road (where we could also catch the Horseshow pitching world championship). The desert was fresh from the rain last night, and the drive was easy – as we headed towards Lake Tahoe.

The inevitable refreshment stop at Costco (we missed it so much) in Carson City was a great decision. We found a magical ancient car show perfectly organized by the local scouts on the opposite side of the road. Hundreds of old-school cars, decorated and remodeled to perfection, offered fantastic encounters with the car owners and their stories. As you can imagine, this opened our appetite, and we looked for some decent BBQ. That was another great decision. Red’s Old 365 Grill and BBQ is an excellent place for food and a great attraction by itself. The fantastic decoration, attention to detail, and tons of old fire trucks, tractors, and posters, added to the unique bar and restaurant atmosphere. I will go back there- as it was too much fun.

As the long 341 miles drive commended – we arrived happily at Zephyr Cove – on the bank of the majestic Lake Tahoe. It was time for last evening beer on the water, winding down, watching the sunset, and appreciating all the incredible sights we had seen on this trip.

Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve is a very different place. Endless fields of frozen lava with varied formations and textures. We joined the Ranger lead tour – that was interesting but could have been compressed to 10 minutes of content (instead of the one-hour talk for an 800-meter hike). Thanks to him, we paid attention to the extremely light and shiny stones – that are frozen Lava foam-like stones and learned about the different forms of volcanic activity that created this plato, with its small cones. We visited the Devil’s Orchard trail, the inferno cone, and the spatter cones, and our significant hike was the Broken Top Loop Trail- that was short and nice, but at 90F+ it was very, very hot. We finished our visit with a cool (temperature and vista-wise) visit to the lava Caves. We continued to be amazed by Idaho’s diversity.
Still – we were happy to get back to the car, turn the Air Condition and drive- seeing scattered clouds spouting massive rain on the horizon.
As we passed via Twin Falls, we could not resist stopping at Shoshone falls. We visited this place last year when we returned from Yellowstone, and the place was as impressive this time.

The long drive to Elko got us over the 10,000 miles driving distance for this trip. Driving 10K Miles in one trip is quite an achievement – and it was the first real sign that our trip was approaching its end.
The day’s highlight occurred as we parked our RV in Elko’s very good RV park. Then, the sky turned dark red- a massive rainbow painted on one side of the sky, and a scary and spectacular thunderstorm lit the sunset. Mother nature is glorious.

The morning was as beautiful as a postcard, and it was time for a last big hike before the long travel days back home. So we headed back to Redfish lake and took the shuttle speed boat (one-way) for a scenic ride to the other end. The Sawtooth mountains were above us, and we started to hike below Grand Mogul and Braxon peaks. Lily Pond and the waterfall around us were an uplifting start, and we hiked back to the lodge via the beautiful alpine Bench Lakes. The trail was long (10 miles total) with a fun elevation of ~1500 feet (500 meters), and after the Bench Lakes, the route followed a rim- where the lake was just below us on the right, and the mountains were overlooking us from the left. As we got close to our car, the sound of rolling thunder started to get closer, and the first rain drops began as we hit the road. Great timing, after a very good hike.

Now, after such a good effort, we felt we deserved to refresh in some hot springs. So we drove towards Sunvaley, searching for them. The Closer we got, the worse the weather got – the temperature dropped from 90F to 56F in 20 min, and rain with hail was pouring.
After the boiling experience yesterday at Sunbeam screaming hot springs, we thought it might be a good idea to stop at Easley Hot Spring – that was a commercial establishment. We wanted consistent warmth- and were willing to pay $7 for that. The nice-looking pool tempted us, and the low price, ignoring the warning signs (on the wall saying – you can check the temperature of the water before payment, no refund after). A few minutes later, we sat in nicer weather, with a lovely view and not-so-warm water.
We had no other choice, and despite the long-distance drive ahead, we headed to Frenchman’s Hot Springs. To get to these springs, we took a detour of 10 miles (20 miles out and back), mainly on a dirt road, not knowing what to expect. – The payoff was great! Frenchman’s Hot Springs are another type of free, natural setting springs. Again, we got into what looked like a cold running stream, but this time the hot water was coming up from the ground up, so the warm water from below and the cool running stream were balancing in the natural stone-circled pools. Again, Idaho does not stop to surprise.
We got to Arco at sunset, the first city to be lit by atomic energy, happy and tired.

Stanley is a small town (69 people only) – that serves the many tourists who come to see the Sawtooth mountain rig area. We saw many trailheads and were obsessed with finding open tourist information to advise us on which one to take. Unfortunately, the primary tourist information in town was closed at 0900am- as expected. So we continued south 4 miles to the ranger station – that was open, to our surprise. We learned about some possible trails – and as we were just next to the famous Redfish Lake – we checked the Lake and were happy to see they also had open tourist info – that gave us exactly opposing recommendations on trail selection. So we defaulted to AllTrail App (amazing) – and headed to try the most popular hike in the area.
The trail to Sawtooth Lake from Iron creek trailhead was chosen – but it was long (10 miles round trip) – so we hiked only to the first nice alpine Lake (only 8 miles). Most of the trail was set in rather a standard and not very interesting forest, and the steady climb was not difficult. Only late in the trail, we saw magnificent views of the majestic Sawtooth cliffs (impressive), and breathtaking wildflower bloom.
Upon returning to the city – the main tourist info was open- we entered to learn about the local hot springs. Yet most of the time, we interviewed the host couple about life in Stanley. It’s incredible: They buy and ship vegetables via FedEx, there is only one student in the 8th grade, and 20 in the whole school. and 3 teachers. They go to school only four days a week, out of which only one three days are for study, and one day for outdoor experiences, and unfortunately – families with high school students – have to relocate – as there is no high school around.
We now deserved a soak in a hot-springs, and we continued our survey of them. Sunbeams were not hot springs; they were boiling springs. The water came at high pressure from a pipe below the road and spilled into the river- where circles of stones marked the “tabs’ with different temperatures. They were all too hot, and you had to mix the water with the cool river water with your hand to stay in it. Just as we were going to leave- we saw on the other side some small tab – that was just fit for a couple, and the spring was warming the water in it. The people of Idaho have funny ways to enjoy the geothermal benefits.

This day could have filled three separate days in our trip. It was insane.
It all started last night – when the friendly neighbor from the next RV site told us about a place not so far (mile-wise) – called Seven’s Devil – and we woke up very early to see it.
15 Miles later, on a dirt road and 1 Mile elevation gain, we found ourselves at the foot of seven pristine alpine peaks called Seven Devils. 5 Mountain Goats were welcoming us from 10 feet safe distance. They were surprised to see the early visitors and escaped quickly. A short two-mile drive got us to the fire overlook station. We hiked to the structure to find Ron Bishop, the ranger in this isolated place that lives there just with his wife, from June through September, to watch for wood fires caused by lightning or people. He is using a turn table that is 100 years old to set the coordinate of each fire start and sits on chairs with glass stands – to isolate him from the lightning. Ron was a great host and showed us around: The overlook is located on the one side just above Hells canyon (where the Snake river storms), the Salmon River on the other side, the seven devils peaks in front, and you could see for miles and miles away: into the four states : Idaho, Washingon, Oregon, and Montana. The place is called Heavens Gates – and Bishop explained: “They were putting the Bishop to watch the seven devils above Hells Canyon, from Havens Gates.”
After returning from Heaven’s Gate, we enjoyed breakfast on the Salmon River and started our journey towards Stanley. Our first stop was at McCall- a really charming town on the Bank of a beautiful lake – we enjoyed to kayak a bit – but as our inflatable kayak had a hole we could not patch, we returned quickly to the shore and moved to swim.
Road 55 winds along the Payette river – which looked like heaven for rafting – and was full of them – but the devil’s spell came back when you turn at Bank to rout 17: for 30 miles, we were convinced we were driving downhill, while the river below us was flowing up-hill. When we asked locals how-come they swore, they did not ask themselves this question. It guess – Ruti and I were still under some sort of spell – as we both were convinced we were traveling down. I guess It’s a fantastic illusion (as the road accents, but it feels like going down as the mountains rise)
Just behind that, we saw a sign for hot springs – that were our first in Idaho – a fun circle of stones on the river bank for a soak. 2 big people that were sharing with us the experience told us we could not miss Kirkham hot springs – 40 min later – we were in the most beautiful hot spring waterfall, with perfect temperature, and fantastic location – having the time of our life!

Yesterday – we lost our pace a bit as we pulled our excursion plan by one day, and we really did not want to ride the same road twice (the Hiawatha trail we biked yesterday is located almost halfway to our planned destination today). It was time for plan B. Yet, we did not really have one. As we did not really do our homework for Idaho properly, we counted on getting some good advice from the local tourist information offices. Yet – ALL the tourist information offices we visited were either closed or useless: some did not have staff, some did not work over the weekend (when do they think people travel?), and some were just clueless on everything other than the 10 Km radius around them. So we plugged “Stanly” as the destination into the GPS ( the place we will plan to sleep tomorrow), and we tried to hit as many scenic byways as we could using some booklet we had. Idaho is a fascinating state; the drive across Lake Couer D’Alene was terrific. Harrison, on the bank of the lake, was a good stop for a big (and not very tasty) ice cream. Next, we drove the White Pine way – that was less interesting. Finally, as we were hitting Elk River byway – the excitement went up, and so did the temperature. By the time we got to the Salmon River, just where it connects with the Snake River in Hells Canyon- the temperature was hitting 109F (42C)- an excellent opportunity to stop the car and jump into the Salmon River for a cool swim. Evening time came, and we found a great campsite, just by the river for an enjoyable evening by the running water, and got some interesting tips from other campers for our day trip tomorrow.

Farragut state park is a great place- it features a huge lake, swimming beaches, places to kayak, a small town with restaurants, and a Disc Golf facility (like playing golf but with a Frisby disc). However, considering this opportunity to rest a little and recharge after the great adventures north of the border, and because the weather was perfect for a day in the water (~90 F) – we decided we didn’t want to do it.
Instead, we pulled in our plan for “tomorrow” and headed to Wallace to bike the famous Hiawatha bike trail. In 1909 the train company decided to make a fortune and break a rail path in the mountains to get to the White Pine and Cedar trees in these forests in the area for lumber. Unfortunately, A year later, the entire forest was taken by the massive fire of 1910 (known as the “Big Burn” – one of the most significant fires in US history). For years later, the train evolved to cargo, and passenger, becoming one of the first routes to get electrified (mainly as sparks from the diesel trains set more fires) – until the train company got bankrupt – due to lack of profitability and fraud at the management level. The rails were taken out, and Idaho now has many fantastic bike trails like this. Hiawatha is considered the best; it costs 36$ a person over the weekend and only $13 during the week- of course, we were there during the weekend. and : 15 miles of downhill bike rides in cold ten tunnels (the longest was as long as 8900 feet ~3K), tall and beautiful sky-high trestles( bridges), great forest, and inspiring views. The best part is that the train is running the hill at a constant slope of 1.7% – so the trail is not steep, and we finished it without burning any calories, other than the power we applied pressing the hand-break. We can not recommend this trial more. If you wonder how we got back to our car – there is a bike shuttle service taking the biker up in old school buses. So really no need to work hard.
To refresh from the intense fun, we stopped at Wallace, a friendly old city that looked very vibrant in the morning and very empty in the afternoon, for a nice beer in the local brewery.

Last moments in Canada – before crossing the border to the US – we stopped at nice Cranbrook – starting with the inevitable “Dollar Rama” store and some other nicer shops that offered bulk spices and pasta. We found out that the farmer’s market took place downtown – and we were surprised to find some more authentic (aka with real farmed product) markets. What got our attention for the Fire-Hall kitchen and tap – that offered tasty salmon Poke and beer to arm us on our way. The highlight of the visit was a stop at Rick’s fine meats – where we bought some of the most amazingly looking Tomahawk steaks ever.

The big advantarure was,, as usual to cross the boarder back to the US with our RV. This is like playing Russian rollete on things that our RV was loaded with. The rules seems to be changing all the time , and between territories. So while we tried to dispose all firewood we got in Canada (and keep only the sealed bags we had from the US), we learned we just need to stop at the boarder and declare everything we have. The Agriculture officer was not very friendly this morning – and he wanted us to declare by heart whatever we had:”anything you don’t declare will cost you $300 he said”. Thank god Ruti never forgets, and a few minutes later, he came back with a list of all that he disposed of (Tomatoes, papers, eggs, etc). The problem was – that he found 3 small parts of the wood in the truck (really small) that he said could not come to the US – and he could not dispose of them – so…. he turned us back to Canada to dispose of them ourselves. that was hilarious to get deported back to Canada, cross the border, and the Canadian officer was smiling – pointing his finger to the pile of wood they had just 1 meter next to his gate: where we added our wood, made a U-turn, and made it safely to the US!

No wonder the first thing we did in Idaho was to buy food again and head to the fantastic state park of Farragut for a spectacular sunset on the lake , and great dinner at extra large and quite campsite