Ken Fitzgerald
10-04-2007, 12:52 AM
My co-workers and I are allowed 1 annual get together at company expense and the expenses are limited. The past couple of years that get-together consisted of a night in a motel, a nice dinner and attending a hockey game. Not my cup of tea.......so this year when the subject came up I said "How about a jet boat tour of Hell's Canyon?" They said ...get some estimates of costs. I did and they said "It's your baby. Give birth!" I made the arrangements with a local jet boat outfitter and a local Holiday Inn Express. The day was last Saturday.
Friday a cold front moved in and it rained (here in this dry climate it's really not rain like others know it!) and high temps for the day was 58º F. I started sweating.....The jet boats they use have heaters, canvas sidewalls with clear plastic windows, a toilet.....Saturday dawned with temps around 48º F and clearing. We departed at 0745 and returned around 6:00 p.m. The weather continued to clear and the temps eventually got up to 65º F. It was nice.
During the trip we saw snow in the high country around us, golden eagles, mule deer and bighorn sheep. We stopped at the Kirby Creek lodge for lunch and later stopped the famous Kirkwood Ranch. It was once operated by Len Jordan who later became Governor of Idaho and a US Senator representing Idaho. There were a few hearty rafters (or crazy as you may think) and even one crazy kayaker! Check the pictures for the kayaker. We went through a number of class 3 and class 4 rapids and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. 26 adults and 4 children.
Later 22 folks invaded our home for supper. Our oldest son, the deputy sheriff and his wife came over about 3 hours before we returned. They assembled several of the salads Sharon had prepared and then cooked burgers, braut and hotdogs to go with the pork ribs Sharon had in the slow cooker (6 racks of ribs). Everyone had a good time.
After everyone left, we collapsed.
Sunday, I insisted Sharon let me do the cleanup. She remained in bed all day while I did dishes, put away chairs, tables etc.
The weather sure cooperated better than I expected!
Here's some photos of Hell's Canyon....Idaho on the east side...Oregon and Washington on the west......God's country IMHO....
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Friday a cold front moved in and it rained (here in this dry climate it's really not rain like others know it!) and high temps for the day was 58º F. I started sweating.....The jet boats they use have heaters, canvas sidewalls with clear plastic windows, a toilet.....Saturday dawned with temps around 48º F and clearing. We departed at 0745 and returned around 6:00 p.m. The weather continued to clear and the temps eventually got up to 65º F. It was nice.
During the trip we saw snow in the high country around us, golden eagles, mule deer and bighorn sheep. We stopped at the Kirby Creek lodge for lunch and later stopped the famous Kirkwood Ranch. It was once operated by Len Jordan who later became Governor of Idaho and a US Senator representing Idaho. There were a few hearty rafters (or crazy as you may think) and even one crazy kayaker! Check the pictures for the kayaker. We went through a number of class 3 and class 4 rapids and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. 26 adults and 4 children.
Later 22 folks invaded our home for supper. Our oldest son, the deputy sheriff and his wife came over about 3 hours before we returned. They assembled several of the salads Sharon had prepared and then cooked burgers, braut and hotdogs to go with the pork ribs Sharon had in the slow cooker (6 racks of ribs). Everyone had a good time.
After everyone left, we collapsed.
Sunday, I insisted Sharon let me do the cleanup. She remained in bed all day while I did dishes, put away chairs, tables etc.
The weather sure cooperated better than I expected!
Here's some photos of Hell's Canyon....Idaho on the east side...Oregon and Washington on the west......God's country IMHO....
72977
72978
72979
72980
72981