After a little research, we're going to creatively use our resources to make it happen. We're planning to move the motor home south today, so we're floating the Salmon River on our way. Based on a map we found at our campground, we're going to float from Carmen Bridge all the way back to where we're camped in the motor home at Tower Rock.
So we drove the car to our put-in spot at Carmen Bridge. There are so many things to remember on a trip like this. We got the sunscreen and the bug spray and the life jackets, and thankfully Mark remembered the keys to the motor home. We inflated our Sea Eagle kayak and we were on the clear water of the Salmon River on a beautiful morning.
Then we remembered what we had forgotten. We didn't have the good camera in the boat with us. So part of us hoped we didn't have any wildlife sightings, because we wouldn't have the camera to get a good picture. The other part of us hoped we would see wildlife. That is the part that won, as we saw a group of river otters playing in the water ahead of us. It was fun to watch their playful movements as they rolled and somersaulted in the river. We tried taking pictures with our phone, but the results were miserable. The two dots on top of the water are river otters, laughing at us for forgetting the good camera.
Next we caught a glimpse of a young bald eagle, who sat in profile perfectly still for the best picture ever--if we only had the good camera.
We didn't talk to anyone that could give us some recent advice on the river, so we are floating blind today. We didn't know if the water was too low in places, or which way to turn if the water forks in two directions, or if there were rapids up ahead. So every time we came upon riffles in the water, we wondered what we were getting ourselves into.
We got into enough big waves that we had to stop and empty the water out of the boat. After several sections of rapids where waves came over the bow of the boat, we were carrying a lot of extra water weight.
Remember that camera we forgot? Cue the wildlife to show up again as this osprey flew from a dead tree just as we passed.
We are surrounded by hills as we make our way down the Salmon river, but we catch glimpses of the taller Bitterroot Mountains to our east.
Our route today was 6.4 miles long, and the current was moving us quickly down river. It was too soon that we caught a glimpse of Tower Rock up ahead.
Just like the pioneers traveling across the frontier to new opportunities in the west, we were watching for this iconic mountain to lead our travels today. Since our campground is right under Tower Rock, we knew it was time to find our boat ramp and our motor home waiting for us here.
We got our kayak out of the water at Tower Rock, and loaded it into the motor home for now. Then we could use the motor home as our river shuttle vehicle as we headed south down Highway 93 to pick up the car at the Carmen Bridge. It was another successful river float trip using the resources we have to complete the shuttle. We hooked up the car behind the motor home, then headed down the road. We have the Bitterroot Mountains on our left, and the Salmon River on our right--with no room for error when going around its many curves.
Highway 93 is a scenic byway, and the views were great through that big motor home windshield this afternoon. We followed the Salmon River most of the way, and we even traveled through the town of Salmon, Idaho.
Our journey is 70 miles long today, and we have reservations at a Passport America campground in Challis, Idaho. After 3 nights with no hook-ups, we're ready to be spoiled with full hook-ups tonight.
In the last 24 hours we have camped on the Salmon River, we have kayaked down the Salmon River, and we have driven beside the Salmon River. It seems like we've seen this river from every angle, and we like what Idaho is showing us!
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