Day 2 of the cruise brought us to scenic Salmon, Idaho and our hotel rooms there were right on the Salmon River. Very relaxing to hear the rush of the water after listening to Cobra exhaust all day long! Dinner was a 20 mile scenic drive away at North Fork, Idaho, and was served outdoors, buffet style. A beautiful setting for a great meal … the ride back to the hotel was fun, as well. Adult beverages were enjoyed at outdoor tables next to the river to finish off a very pleasant evening. Day 3 had us following the path of the Salmon River, with a lunch stop at the Old Sawmill Station in Clayton, ID … lunch was grilled burgers with all the fixings, served buffet style by Curt and the crew. After lunch, we made a stop at a rustic bridge for a photo-op along the Salmon River. We got all 13 cars lined up for a high-angle photo, which involved a little climbing thru the rock and sage-brush for the intrepid photographers … won't even mention the bullsnake we almost stepped on … After the photos, back in the cars for a run near the Sawtooth Range of mountains and incredible scenery and ended up in Hailey, ID for the evening. Dinner was on our own that night. Ended up at a great pizza pub. Day 4 started with a short drive to the Craters of the Moon National Park … lots of black basalt lava flows … very dramatic. From there, we headed to the Shoshone Ice Cave. Yes, there really is ice in the cave year round. The cool temp in the cave was very welcome after a day of 90 degree temps. Another short drive brought us to Twin Falls, ID for the evening. We gathered for dinner at a great new restaurant called Elevation 486, right on the rim of the Snake River Canyon. The dinner was memorable as our group ran a little contest for the wait-staff at the restaurant … we picked a number and had all the workers write down their guesses on slips of paper and the one closest to our “secret number” won a Cobra ride! Of course, management approval was required and that required a ride for managers. We ended up giving 4 rides that night. Day 5 was an early departure for Shoshone Falls with more stunning scenery … then mounted up for the ride back to Salt Lake City. Stopped at the Cracker Barrel in Ogden for a farewell lunch. Said goodbye to a bunch of great people with many thanks to Terry and Sandy Stapley who organized this wonderful trip. Spent the night in Salt Lake City then trailered back to Healdsburg to park my rig at Rick and Diane's place. I'll be back in NorCal in time for the Monterey Historics in August! A lot more pics to follow ...
