Thur/Fri Oct 16-17 - McCall and Ketchum

Since we were staying two nights in McCall, it gave us Thursday just to explore and relax.  McCall is located on beautiful Payette Lake -- and I took this shot from a view point inside the nearby Ponderosa State Park:

Fridays trip was spectacular -- traveling over the Sawtooth Mountain range to Ketchum (map here). As I have described in prior blogs, traveling in this part of Idaho provides real life examples of Thomas Kincade's beautiful mountain scene paintings. Deb caught me here getting a snack from the hidden and convenient tailgate compartment:

We got into Ketchum early enough to do some exploring including a visit to nearby Sun Valley -- a resort developed in 1936 and celebrity destination for many years.  Both McCall and Ketchum give Deb and I the same feeling that Bend, Oregon gives -- except on a smaller scale.  Popular -- upscale destinations.  Ketchum  definitely has lots of "upper crust" shopping opportunites which don't interest Deb or me in the least.  Thankfully, rolling into town without a reservation -- we were able to score a reasonably priced motel room on the main drag near the center of town.

During our travels today we listened to the audiobook "Earth" by Jon Stewart which we both loved.  Of course we are avid fans and regular watchers of Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show" but I think anyone with an appreciation for sarcastic humor would appreciate this book that purports to describe our planet, people, cultures, religions, traditions, etc to aliens AFTER the end of human life on earth.

Tonight we ventured out to the local theater to take in "The Social Network," based on the book "Accidental Billionaires: the Founding of Facebook" which has been getting great reviews.  Deb and I found it to be delightfully interesting entertainment without regard to its accuracy though it did prompt me to want to do some research into its accuracy both regarding the beginnings of Facebook AND the depiction of Harvard's secretive "Final Clubs" societies.

We're headed to somewhere between Blackfoot and Idaho Falls tomorrow -- again without reservations.

Wed. Oct 13 - Reminded of Why I Love Idaho Roads

With only about 140 miles to go today to get from Orofino to McCall, we decided to take a 50 mile detour on a wonderfully curvy mountain climb to the plateau where Lewis and Clark first made contact with the Nez Perce tribe members that were crucial to the success of their journey.  For a motorcyclist, what's not to like about a road that looks like this on the GPS:

The Smart Car continues to be a blast to drive -- and though I miss the "uncaged" view and addictive cornering on a motorcycle, the Smart Car's easy transition between automatic transmission and five speed shifting (complete with steering wheel paddle shifters) makes for a fun drive.  The detour rewarded us with spectacular views:

and led us to the small town of Weippe and another interesting "Discovery Center" about the Lewis and Clark expedition.  From there we backtracked over the same curvy road and continued our journey on a wonderful riverside journey to our destination (map of entire route here).  For  much of the trip, the views were like this one:

Most of the route was familiar to me because of prior motorcycle trips in 2008 and 2009 through the area.  I loved Idaho roads when I wrote about them in those blogs, and today reminded me once again.

Monday/Tuesday Oct 11/12 - Couer d'Alene to Orofino, ID

On Monday we enjoyed exploring downtown Couer d'Alene and retraced our route back to Post Falls to attend a Buck Knives factory tour (street view photo of factory here).  Both fun and interesting, as was a stop at the nearby Cabellas store.

On Tuesday we visited both Princeton and Harvard as well as several other small rural towns on our 140 mile journey (map here) from our condo in Couer d'Alene to Orofino, Idaho.  I'm sure there is a story behind the naming of those two little hamlets but I haven't researched them yet.  Orofino, on the other hand, is full of interesting history as the place that Lewis and Clark left their horses for the winter and built 5 dugout canoes departing downstream on October 5, 1805, just 205 years and 7 days ago!  Within 55 years gold was discovered in the area which led to the initial growth/popularity  of the area.  We arrived in Orofino early enough to visit the local museum -- and had a good laugh watching many locals at the nearby Napa store staring out the window at our diminutive car.

The beauty of the scenery and the sunny weather was spectacular but we did have a minor scrape with some road trash today.  On a straight section of roadway, I noticed a tent-shaped item in the roadway without sufficient time to avoid it and hoping that I would clear it.  Well, I didn't clear it and it lodged underneath the frame of the car necessitating an immediate stop and some on-the-ground time retrieving it.  Not exactly sure what this hard plastic item was -- though it does have a toll-free number inscribed on it (I'll call tomorrow just out of interest).  No permanent damage was done and we were on our way pretty quickly.  I posed this photo of the item in front of the car so you can see what I am writing about.

As prearranged, we easily found a newish Best Western and settled in for a comfortable evening with wonderful view of the Clearwater River off our balcony.

It was fun to think of what it must have been like for Lewis and Clark 205 years ago -- though for sure it was much different as the area didn't yet have the nearby 3rd highest dam in the US.

On to McCall, Idaho tomorrow -- another easy 140 miles -- where we have yet another Worldmark condo reserved for a couple nights (off season rate of $46.50 a night).

Sunday, October 10 - On To Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

We finished up our visit with Staci and Martin by both making a jack-o-latern and enjoying lunch together before pointing "Nuggle" towards Coeur d'Alene, Idaho -- about 50 miles away.  We stopped enroute for a brief visit with a friend from Noel's work days and then enjoyed the scenic drive around Lake Coeur d'Alene to the Worldmark condos where we had reservations for two nights.

A word about Worldmark because we have planned this trip to take advantage of several Worldmark locations.  Worldmark is a point-based time share organization which some may also know by the name "Trendwest."  Rather than "owning" a particular unit and swapping it for others, one "owns" points that are used to reserve time at any of the many complexes developed by Trendwest or swapped.  As a practical matter, allow me also to offer my opinion that timeshares are generally a tricky, problematic way to spend one's vacation dollars -- deserving of the poor reputation their high-pressure marketing techniques engender.  However, in our case, we had the opportunity to learn the details of the tricks/benefits/shortcomings because a dear friend was an owner (a former husband had been a Worldmark salesman).  Through her membership, I committed myself to studying the ins and outs of Worldmark.  The result of my study has prompted these OPINIONS:  (1) Worldmark is NOT a good deal for anyone who only has only traditional holidays, weekends and summer vacations.  Weekend, holiday and summer availability of units is tricked up with complicated rules and reservation requirements that limit availability to only those willing to learn and play the reservations game some 13 months ahead of time AND desire minimum 7-day vacation; (2) Worldmark can be a good deal for someone who has weekdays available for vacation time AND who is willing to learn their complicated reservation rules AND who is willing to make and change plans on relatively short notice AND who prefers to vacation off-season.  The buy-in can made incredibly affordable IF one is willing to buy in on the secondary market (craigslist, ebay) rather than at a timeshare presentation.  I'll spare you further details in this blog -- but am always delighted to share my opinions if you are interested.  Bottom line is that during this trip we've been able to score many high-end, fully equipped condos at Worldmark locations for less than we would pay for cheap motels.  So, Sunday and Monday nights we have enjoyed a gorgeous 2 bedroom condo overlooking Lake Coeur d'Alene.

Saturday, October 9 - In and Around Cheney

Enjoyed a fun, beautiful trip to Cheney yesterday -- most of the way on Highway 14 along the shore of the Washington side of the Columbia River.  Martin posted this photo of our arrival on his blipfoto site:  http://www.blipfoto.com/view.php?id=761154&month=10&year=2010

We took an early morning tour of Eastern Washington University's campus,

followed by visits with friends and a trip to a few of the many local pumpkin/apple farms that populate a nearby mountain -- and are set up this time of year to provide a range of entertainment and seasonal delights.

We capped off the wonderful day with lots of great conversation -- both reminiscing about the past year that Staci and Martin spend in China (and our visits there) and their plans for the coming two years in Cheney/Spokane.

Friday, October 8 - The Trip Begins

The "Nuggle" trip got underway today!  Our first destination -- the home of daughter Staci and her husband Martin on the campus of Eastern Washington University in Cheney, Washington, about 25 miles west of Spokane, Washington.  Cheney is about 360 miles from our home so today's drive is expected to be the longest of our entire trip. Staci and Martin moved to Spokane in August so that Staci could begin a two year program to obtain a Masters in Social Work.

Smart Car - Dispelling The Myths

Myth 1:  Size matters.

The most frequent question I get about the Smart Car is whether it is all-electric.  The answer is "no."  It's not even a hybrid.  It's a regular 3 cylinder Mercedes built gasoline engine that gets around 40 miles per gallon.

The second most frequent comment/question is whether it is safe.  People in the USA have been conditioned by the USA automobile manufacturers to associate size with safety.  I've found it very interesting that sometimes the person asking the question about safety is himself or herself driving a vehicle that has failed or gotten low marks on standardized US Government and Insurance Institute tests.  The answer for the Smart Car is that its design meets or exceeds US Government crash test standards including a 5-star side crash rating, and the highest scores for front and side crash worthiness and roof strength.  The details are on the Smart Car web site.  And for those of you who might have seen the rampant internet forward that purports to show a Smart Car squished between two semi's for gas-guzzling propaganda purposes, just know that the photo is NOT of a Smart Car.

I won't wax on and on about the Smart Car -- and I fully admit it's not for everyone.  I'm happy to admit that it does have it's drawbacks as a car -- but none of the drawbacks relate to its safety, especially not for me/Deb who essentially use it as a motorcycle subsitute.

In addition, contrary to popular misconception, the Smart Car does NOT have a small passenger compartment.  The passenger compartment (for two only) is very large -- larger than many other cars.  The cargo compartment is on the smallish side -- but still larger than people assume when first seeing the car.

Deb and I are very light packers anyway -- most often backpackers in our travels -- but in getting ready for this trip we decided that we could easily pack our regular carry-on rollers -- as the photos here show.

Don't misunderstand me -- I do notice the size difference when passing a semi on a freeway -- but like my motorcycle riding -- the awareness only makes me remember that I'm traveling on roads that I'd rather not be traveling on -- freeways/highways.  That's why this Nuggle trip has been planned to avoid freeways just as I do on the motorcycle.

And we love the expansion moon roof, shown below.