Challis

August 14th, 2024

Early on a Friday, I headed up the Salmon River. As I entered the canyon between Salmon and Challis, I observed a cow elk and several yearlings grazing the grassland along the shoreline. The sun was peaking over the mountains to the east and shining brightly on the grassy golden hillsides to the west. I drove the winding road for quite a while without seeing another vehicle.

Eventually, I reached my destination at Cottonwood BLM Campground. This is another very nice campground. My asphalt paved site was on the shore of the river and I could here the sound of the water cascading over boulders. After setting up, I walked over to the restrooms and was shocked upon entry of the men’s facility. I have never before seen a mural on the inside of a vault toilet. This was a really nice wrap around scene of Sockeye Salmon and Cutthroat Trout swimming in a river, done by teenager Helen Seay .

The grounds around the campground and raft landing were manicured green grass with an automatic sprinkler system. Small flocks of Canada Geese flew up and down the waterway. An eagle flew over, just above the treetops. All this was included for the price of $5 per night. I signed up for 6, as that would place my departure on the following Thursday, a optimal day for finding a new site further south with openings (best to relocate Tuesday through Thursday to avoid the weekenders).

The neighbor, in the site next to me, let me know about the Farmers Market in Challis. I figured Saturday morning would be a good time to take a look.

Before checking out the market, I went on a short drive and hike to the Bayhorse Mine off of Highway 75, between Challis and Stanley. There is a very nice Visitor Center and Museum with displays from the mining era (late 1800s and early 1900s) on the way. A short walk to a Bison Jump can also be accessed there. The jump is a cliff where native Americans would force small herds of Bison to the meadows above the cliff, and then run them over the brink. Below the meat and skins would be harvested.

While shopping for groceries in Challis, I found the people to be very friendly. Both employees and shoppers always had a greeting as you passed in the aisles. The other campers also were very friendly and talkative. The couple next to me gave me their phone number and asked that I stop by their home in Havasu City, Arizona as I pass through this fall. I met a retired couple from Peoria, Illinois. We talked about the cost of living in Illinois versus Idaho.

The friendly woman camped on the other side of me was a solo RVer like myself. Where I was traveling in a trailer by choice, I believe she was living in her trailer more out of necessity. She traveled with a Lhasa Apso and an eight month old Husky. We started a conversation about the Husky, as my son also has one. This conversation turned into many hours of tales over the next 5 days. It seemed as though we were racing through stories of our lives, trying to tell them all. But, we realized there would not now ever be enough time for that. Five days of conversation was like a cheap camera. We each could only convey a snapshot of who we are, not a quality, lasting photograph. So, on the sixth day, we said our goodbyes and went on our way.