It's Day 117.......It's also August 31, 2019.....and we are in Quincy Washington

It's Day 117.......It's also August 31, 2019.....and we are in Quincy Washington

Well this has been a pretty amazing few days...in so many ways.

After an evening of reading about everything from other-worldly creatures in the Uinta Basin...offering the mortal man a peak into another universe....to how man has learned to master the science of damming a river in high desert regions in an effort to bring life to the people that want to call that place home..... We pulled out of our spot along Strawberry Lake in Utah early that next morning...and as is usually the case....didn't get very far before we found ourselves pulling off along side hiway 40 to Admire the Daniels Summit Lodge. It's a beautiful place...tucked into Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest....A quick read will tell ya that this place offers year round adventure. The area boasts over 200 miles of groomed trails...with side by side and snowmobile rentals available at the lodge. I imagined how fun it would be to book a room at the lodge for a few days explore yet another part of the country....a very different kind of wildnerness....then the one we had discovered a couple of episodes back in Rangely.

After snappin a few pics....I'd hop back in the rig with the boys and we would drop down off that pass......into and thru...a place called Heber Utah....as we passed thru I was, of course, thinking....and wondering about why those 17 thousand or so folks had decided to calling Heber Utah Home......I also imagined....we'll probably be back to find out.

We kept rolling.....Heber would pass through the rear view and the windshield would open back up into the vastness of these mountains....and it can be hypnotic....just taking it all in....before we knew it there were signs tempting us to pull off the hiway and check out places like Park City....and Perry Utah....but still..... we kept going....Oh....quick side note....I had no idea that Park City Utah is home to the largest Ski Resort are in the US....with over 7000 acres of groomed, and lift accessible runs. Over 3 million people each year come here to strap on their ski's....or snowboard....or intertube....to hit the mountains of Utah. Not to get off on an entirely different topic....but since I'd likely never have guessed that the largest ski resort in the United States was in Utah....I wondered....where does all the skiing happen...by volume of visitors in the country. I guess the answer Colorado....wasn't a surprise. Places like Breckenridge, Vail, Steamboat Springs, and Aspen all call Colorado home....and equal some 27 million skiers each year....

Putting all this behind us before we knew it we had crossed over into Idaho........and were driving thru...for the second time this summer....a place called Pocatello... And we kept going this time....passing thru Dubois Idaho....and then...yet again...another state line would be in the rearview....

This time....It was Montana in front of us. There is so much here that needs to be seen....and done....in Montana.....but no time for all that this trip. When I come back to Montana....and I will....very soon....it will be when I have the time to look into what needs to be learned here...specifically...in a place called Craig Montana....

It had been a long day...and by the end of it....we had put nearly 400 miles....and two states behind us...

We had trekked our way through those Uinta Mountains of Utah....up through a sliver of Idaho just skirting Wyoming....reading all the signs ........Silver Summit.....Strawberry Mountains.....Salt Lake....Ogden....on....and on...

Then the sun starts to drop nearer that horizon.....I saw the reflection of my face in the dash.......There was so much openness in front of me...but so little daylight left.

I pulled off to gas up in a place called Dillon, Montana. Leaving the gas station and headed back towards the hiway I saw a sign that read Apex Road. Apex? Ha Ha....Apex...by definition.....the top....or highest form of something.....now there's a sign.

Needless to say....we didn't get back on the hiway that evening.....we hooked left and headed up Apex Road. Didn't get very far when we realized that Apex Road was also the entrance to a wildlife refuge. Coming to the entrance of that refuge....we had just crossed over a set of railroad tracks and under the hiway above us when I saw a huge graveled area just to our left. And there it was....our address for the night... Dillon Montana. We would level up...have some dinner....and plop a chair next to the door on the rig for an evening of staring into that Big Sky that Montana.......

The boys and I had run around all over that big graveled area. The occasional car would drive out of...or back into...that wild life refuge in the mountains in front of us. There was a ranch house so far off in the distance that as nightfall encroached.....it became smaller...and smaller...and smaller.....as if disappearing into the darkness.

Once the darkness had fully surrounded us...the sky....it became....well I don't even know how to explain it....it became endless. There's no white noise out here....zero. Absolutely nothing to distract you from what is above you...what is all around you. The sky seemingly wraps you up in it's arms......the hugest...warmest....longest...tightest....most loving hug....you've ever experienced. I sat in that chair just outside the RV door with no sense of time. I had not a single urge to get up....and I knew it was real when Dougie and Billie had no urge to move either. The three of of us sat there.....on August 31st of 2019....and let that Montana Sky hug us. Staring into the depths above us was hypnotic. The darks were unimaginably dark...and deep. The stars ...... those lights.....It was as if the stars were reaching down through the darkness and touching me on the face....telling me everything's ok...in fact...everything is pretty amazing...why would you be anywhere else on the planet in this moment in time...... because Finally....after a lifetime of hearing the expression "Big Sky Country"......we know what that is....it's Montana

A glorious 78 degree...sunny day had faded into an even better evening....and as the temperature dropped...it became time to pack it in for the night.

As I closed the door on the Rv.....I opened every single window. The three of us would crawl up into the bed...under some covers....and go to sleep.....in Montana...

We woke up to a 39 degree morning...which explained why I was rolled up in a ball under a couple of blankets, 80 lbs of dog.....another 12 pounds of cat....and my head buried under a pillow.

After the morning walk with the boys...we'd spend a quiet morning back out under that Big Sky...with a cup of coffee....and the laptop...reading about this place called Dillon...

constantly distracted by gazing out over the Billions of years of evolution around us. It is always interesting to read how many area's of the country spent millions of years under water....In this area, geologists refer to the Belt Sea....a large body of water that advanced and retracted over a massive area for millions of years. Eventual shifts in the earths crust, climate shifts, and volcanic activity would work for millions of years to eliminate those inland seas and transform the area into what it is today.

In this part of the country, The Native American tribes such as the Shoshone, Bannock, and Salish lived in the area for thousands of years before American Settlement. The Lewis and Clarke Expedition would be their first contact with the American Settlers in 1805. It caught my attention to see the Salish Tribe listed as an early inhabitant of the area. In episodes 3 and 4.....when I learned of the native American tribes in the Pacific Northwest...the Salish Tribe was discussed as prominent in the area Further reading here I would learn that the tribes in both regions are indeed very connected....in that, they are part of the larger Salishan language family...which at one point were a great Salish nation. It was an extensive group of tribes that lived on lands all across the Midwest...spanning all the way to the Pacific coast...shared heritages and linguistic roots, as well as historical interactions between the tribes were common across the entire western portion of the country. After the Lewis and Clarke expedition had documented the area....exploration and settlement would begin to increase until 1862 when Gold was discovered in an area mapped as Grasshopper Creek. This would kick things into high gear in the area causing a flood of activity....as mines began to pop up all over the region, Dillons location was strategically chosen due to its proximity to these gold mines, which played a crucial role in its development.

The story begins to sound very familiar at this point. This increase in settlements would lead to conflicts with native Americans. The Great Sioux War would be one of the most notable conflicts in this region and included the battle of little big horn...which, as we learned about in episode 18, was the result of the US not honoring treaties in the region.

Dillon was founded as a railroad town in 1880, originally named "Terminus" before being renamed after Sidney Dillon, president of Union Pacific Railroad at the time. Early survival of the town relied heavily on the mining activity in the region... and sheep farming, which had been introduced in the region in 1869 would contribute as well...in fact, at one point in time Dillon was once the largest exporter of sheep wool in Montana.

Moving into the modern era...the railroad, talc mining, and a robust cattle industry would all play pivotal roles in Dillons continued success.

Today, the towns population is around 3800 and growing. The prime industries remain ranching, farming, and some mining. In recent years, tourism has increased throughout the area given the towns proximity to the massive mountainous regions nearby, including Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest. This national forest is Montana's largest and spans a mind boggling 3.3 million acres....and Dillon is considered the Gateway to this outdoor adventurists dream. Over 3 million people each year come to experience Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest for themselves....and I'm guessing a lot of them discover Dillon as well.

What about this RedRock Lakes...National Wildlife Refuge just across the road from us? Located at the foot of the Centennial Mountains, it covers some 53,000 acres....just over 32k of which are designated wilderness. I remembered learning about designated wilderness during out stop just outside Fairfield Idaho. RedRock Lakes, here in Montana is known for being the largest wetland complex in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.. It also serves as a crucial habitat for a variety of wildlife including...grizzly bears, elk, deer, pronghorn, migratory waterfowl, and songbirds. And this refuge is particularly important for the conservation of the endangered trumpeter swan.

Visitors are welcome.....it's open to the public....but only if you are looking to immerse yourself in wilderness. Sounds like my kinda place. But I chuckled a bit when I read that roads are few within the refuge....and most of them are dirt and gravel....4WD and high clearance vehicles are recommended.....dang.....do I need a 4WD RV? There are a couple of primitive campsites within the refuge....so don't come here looking for full hookups.....this is all about nature....oh...and be bear aware!

We left Dillon headed north....we would pass by Butte, Helena....and eventually after curving west a bit....Missoula.

But....before leaving Montana this trip....I needed one last trek off the asphalt.....one more night in Montana. That opportunity would show up about 30 minutes into the Helena National Forest....when I saw a sign that read "Public Access"....it pointed to a gravel road heading up into the mountains....another one of those "signs"

Helena National Forest covers nearly a million acres of west central Montana. The area showcases Montana at its rugged best. Paved roads are few, and folks know how to cohabitate with both black bears as well as grizzlies.. The area is dominated by the Big Belt Mountains…which is home to Gates of the Mountains Wilderness Area. This Wilderness area protects nearly 30k acres and remains nearly as untouched as when Lewis and Clarke trekked thru here.....and told the rest of the world about it..... over 200 years ago.

Our campsite would be creek side in an area called Copper Creek. 15 miles of gravel road winds through the forest presenting camping opportunities like no other. And just a heads up.....Cell signal drops off about 5 miles in…so you can be sure your time is your own...here....

It was an awesome afternoon and evening.....Poor Billie didn't get out much....and obviously on the harness on the short couple of walks we did take. Even Dougie had to endure the leash. "Be Bear Aware" signs posted everywhere....well that can shift your mindset. This is not the wide open spaces type of wilderness we had just come through....this is indeed wilderness....but a heavily forested one....not taking any chances here. There would be no lounging around outside into the evening hours....when dark came....we were packed up safely inside....but with the window open so we could hear that copper creek just outside ....and sensing Montana....all around us.

We were up early the next morning....stepped out of the RV realizing that not a single car...truck....not another human had been by here since we pulled down in here the previous day. I love this. I love that these places still exist in our world....in our country. Dougie and I went for a quick walk to take care of the mornings business...but for the most part...my buddies had to hang out inside.

After Breakfast I grabbed my razer ..... walked out onto the rocks along the creek....splashed that icy cold water on my face and shaved...right there on the river. Constantly looking up into the mountains around me...wondering what might be watching me.....In my universe the propane water heater would kick on and I'd shave in the shower....but not here....no hot water in this icy creek.....I wanted to imagine what it might have been like....on this very creek...who knows...maybe in this very spot. I wanted to imagine what it might have been like....to have been a prospector here...a couple hundred years ago....relentlessly chasing dreams of riches and finding gold in that pan of mine.

Riding in on horseback with my mule in tow....the trusty workin dog running about on patrol....the evening before setting up camp...pitching the canvas tent...tossin in the blankets, furs, pelts...I dunno...whatever I had for warmth at night..... a top that makeshift bed I'd just constructed using branches and leaves....then scouring the area for firewood and Lighting that campfire....... the one I'll diligently keep burning through each night to fend off the nearby grizzly that might take a liking to the smells coming off my cast iron skillet....or coffee pot in the mornin. My trusty workin dog does his job well...alerting me to any potential danger at a moments notice...I thought about Dougie for a second....it's likely built into his DNA to be that trusty workin dog....but the irony....I likely do not have it in mine....to let him.

My colt revolver never leaves my side....and the trusty Hawkins Plains Rifle is likely never more than three steps away either. A guys gotta stay on his toes out here. It is, after all...the wild west..... But a guys also gotta shave....so I shaved. In Copper Creek....in the early morning hours of August 30th 2019. And it was pretty awesome. And...lets not get hung up on the fact that a prospector had likely never heard the word...Gillette.....and I don't own a straight razer. But close enough.

We'd pull out of that spot along copper creek midmornin.....and trek that 15 miles of dirt road back out to the hiway...exilerated.....made that right hand turn and entered another full day of sights.... leaving Western Montana. We would cross through Idaho at Coeur d'Alene and back into western Washington just outside Spokane.

After last night at Copper Creek I was not looking forward to the boredom of pulling into a rest stop or RV park for sleep. But as things seem to be goin for us these days...a little gravel road.... would change everything for the night...and the following morning.

We got off the hiway at an exit marked Sprague, Washington. Took the exit because under the name Sprague...it proclaimed "RV Park". But at the Stop sign....one sign directed us left, to the RV park. But what I noticed...of course.....was the county road sign marking a graveled road winding south into the horizon….you’ve met me right? Off into the dusty evening glow we went. I'd guess about 15 or 20 miles later we had passed only a couple of farm houses and two graveled intersections…still searching for a spot off the road large enough to pull off and turn around. It was full on dark at this point.... around 10 pm when I saw a spot that looked like it could work. Got out, walked around with a flashlight to make sure we could turn around safely and face the road…it was....and we did. Checked for a cell signal but had none so we crawled under the covers and went to sleep anxious to see our surroundings by the light of day. We awoke to incredible views of hay fields over rolling hills as far as the eye could see. This was a part of Washington states personality that I had never met….. Many of the fields had just been harvested.... but the automated irrigation systems just kept rolling along, the scattered spots of lush green, and occasional John Deere Tractor sitting idle signaled that there was still a bit of work to be done here before packing it in for the winter. It seemed almost rude to break all this glorious silence and beauty with the sound of a generator firing up…..so instead I pulled out the french press and brewed up some coffee on the stove. Crawled up on top of the rig and enjoyed that first cup gazing around at nothing but hay fields and sky. Meanwhile….down below in the dirt…Dougie and Billie couldn’t get enough of the tall grassy stuff…ditches…dirt…and countless new scents.

While the boys criss crossed their newly found backyard....dad watching over them from atop the RV.....from atop the RV I checked the phone again and had just enough signal to pull up maps and learn that we were in a place called Quincy...Washington

if you live in Washington State....then of course you've heard the terms Eastern Washington.....and Western Washington. Depending on which region you live in...for us....Western Washington....just because you've heard the term Eastern Washington...doesn't mean you know anything about it. And I....certainly knew nothing....of Eastern Washington. In my head....Eastern Washington meant Spokane...the second largest city in the state with a population of just under 230k. Just another big city right?.....wrong. Spokane might be a part of Eastern Washington.....and where most of the people over here live.....but the heart....the essence of Eastern Washington....you find that right here...in places like Sprague....and Quincy Washington.

I started with the deliniation between eastern...and western washington.....but quickly realized I could get immersed for days in the formation of the Cascade Mountain Range. And don't even get me started on how fascinating the Pacific Ring of Fire is.....but that's not what this moment was about...so suffice it to say for now...some 5 to 7 million years ago...volcanic activity in the region....an area that would become known as that Pacific Ring of Fire....would shuv a mountain range up through the earths crust creating a clear deliniation between the semi arid climate of eastern Washington and the temperate maritime climate of the western region of the state. And while well over 7 millions folks call washington home....just shy of 2 million call eastern washington home.....the rest....well they are over there on the western side of the state..... but when looking at size...the tables flip....of the states total land mass....nearly 47k square miles of it belongs to eastern washington...the other 25k square miles...again...over there in western washington.

But climate, geography...population....those aren't the only things that make eastern Washington different.

Sitting here on a 63 degree morning....atop the RV....hay fields as far as the eye can see...in any direction....I'd learn about the other things that make places like Quincy different. First...the area in general is considered part of the Columbia River Basin...and I guess I had not even realized that we were so close to the Columbia River....just some 200 miles or so up from where we had spent nearly two weeks....boondocking on the shores it in Rufus Oregon....earlier this year

I would also learn that the town of Quincy Washington was founded as a railroad camp during the construction of the Great Northern Railway in 1892. It would be incorporated in 1907 and named after Quincy Illinois. I've learned all over this part of the country that if a town relies soley on the railway...things could shift in either direction pretty quickly....but in Quincy's case...The arrival of Water in the area from the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam in the 1930's would open up the towns future to agriculture.

It's fun how it always happens....reading and learning about one thing.....leads to another. In this case I would end up spending a couple hours learning about the Grand Coulee Dam here in Washington.

Not sure I was even aware of the dam's existence prior to right now.....which is hard to believe given the milestones marked during the construction of it.

A massive project that began in 1933 with many insisting it was a waste of money and resources. Those skeptics believed it was fools play to attempt to harness the sheer force of the Columbia River....and the costs it would incur could never be recouped. But thanks to the folks that insisted on moving forward with the project, Stage one of the dam completed 9 years later, ahead of schedule, and under budget......but that is not the impressive part of the Grand Coulee Dam.

The project was originally conceived in the 1920's as an irrigation project. An attempt to divert waters from the Columbia river north, into the area known as the Columbia River Basin....and Quincy lies in the heart of that region. Once mining in the basin had begun to die off...many saw the area as just a baren, arid, high desert wasteland. Were it not for the Grand Coulee Dam project....it likely would look much different than it does today....the agricultural powerhouse it is in Washington State

The advancement of technologies leading up to and through the construction of the dam...would ad power generation to the list of things the dam would accomplish. Upon it's completion in 1942 the dam would be the largest power generating source on the planet. But the folks at Grand Coulee didn't stop there. Construction would continue .....state of the art pumping systems would be deployed resulting in the successfull irrigation of over 600,000 acres in the basin helping it to shift from being known only for the gold mines of the past...and providing a path into the future.

In addition...a third power house would be added in 1974 which would ad some of the largest generators on the planet to the complex....and help the Grand Coulee project hold on to its status as the largest energy generating plant in the united states....right thru today.

In total....construction on the dam...including future additions and improvements would last some 50 years and employ over 11,000 people during peak construction. The dam itself consists of a lower....and upper section..... and is over 500 feet tall and over a mile and half long.

Lake Roosevelt, created by the dam would end up extending some 150 miles, has over 600 miles of shoreline, and a surface area of over 82,000 acres.

The power generated at the dam was critical....and played a pivotal role during WW2 in ensuring that manufacturing plants in the area had the power necessary to produce the massive amounts of aluminum needed to produce the planes and ships needed to support the war effort.

The list of what was accomplished during the construction of this dam literally goes on and on.

A pretty awesome documentary style film was put together by the bureau of reclamation....it does a great job of telling the story of the Grand Coulee Dam...I'll put a link to the video on youtube in the show notes if your interested in learnin more about it.

$ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BU4qw9zYX9Y&t=367s$

I'll quote from that film when I say "The Grand Coulee Dam remains a testament to American engineering and a symbol of the nation's ability to harness natural resources for the benefit of society. It continues to be a significant source of hydroelectric power and a vital component of the region's irrigation infrastructure." (close quote)

The Grand Coulee Dam would go down in history as a man made marvel....they had built the biggest thing on earth at it's time...using technologies that were literally developed as they were needed....from temporary bridges.....and mini copher damns...a series of mini dams that were built to redirect the massive force of the Columbia River around the construction sight....all done during the country's great depression...employing thousands from across the country that would come to call the Pacific Northwest home.....in towns that were literally built to house them during the project....and remain there today. I could, and did get lost in learning about the tenacity required to pull off a project of this scale nearly a century ago. Check out the full video on Youtube.....I'm literally just scratching the surface here when it comes to the Grand Coulee Dam

And all of this happened....and is happening just 77 miles away from where I am sitting atop the RV this morning reading about it all.

Sitting in the middle of endless hayfields here this morning....it's obvious the role agriculture plays in Quincy. But I also read that in recent years....technology has come to play a role in the towns economy. the towns Motto... "Where Agriculture Meets Technology". Another interesting benefit for Quincy...as a result of being so near the power generation at the Grand Coulee Dam....low cost electricity has drawn Multiple Data Centers to the town...Massive players in the tech industry like Microsoft, Yahoo, Dell, and Intuit have established Data centers in the area employing hundreds in Quincy alone. The 7000 or so folks that call Quincy home today enjoy the diversity of the area that has resulted in the meshing of these two industries. And as if Quincy needed one more feather in it's cap....The Gorge Amphitheatre is just 16 miles outside the city limits.

The Gorge was initally part of a vinyard opened as a private venue in 1986...with a seating capacity of 3000 folks. The natural accoustics of this "little gorge" would lead to the concept of holding larger concert events in the venue. MCA would purchase the property in 1993 and seating capacity would steadily climb to it's current 19,000. In 2006 the venue would change hands again when acquired by a company called "Live Nation"....and their merger with TicketMaster in 2010 would mean the little gorge in Washington State was now a part of a global entertainment company. In the following years the Gorge would receive ""The Best Outdoor Venue" award from Pollstar Magazine....9 times.

Today....some 50 million dollars are generated each year via "The Gorge"....and that comes as no surprise when you take a quick look at the muriad of festivals and celebrations that take place there each year.....big names in most any music genre have likely played at the gorge.

Reading thru all this I kept finding myself adding stops to our travels....to our adventure.....Now I gotta go see the Grand Coulee Damn.....and this place called the Gorge...in fact....I'm kinda surprised I haven't already been there given it's just 160 miles away from where I lived for 23 years......but this trip....had to get back for that work on the rig.

Eventually...I'd climb down off the roof of the RV....and pack things up to hit the road. Took a left on that gravel road....took that last few miles of gravel road nice and slow....soaking it all in.

Eventually we'd pull back out on I-90 continuing west towards....... (sigh…) civilization.