We were scheduled to raft down the Salmon river this morning. The operative word in that sentence is were. When I got up, there was the barest hint of frost on the sliding glass door to our balcony and the temperature read 32°F. Much, much too cold to go rafting.
Fortunately, the fantastic folks at Idaho Adventures were kind enough to reschedule us for the afternoon. That left most of a morning to kill in Salmon, ID. I want to be kind, but the best I can say is that Salmon has seen better days. And it probably wasn’t entirely fair that our first exposure was on Labor Day, when nearly everything was closed. Let’s just say, I was running out of ways to entertain Molly.
We arrived a bit early at the Idaho Adventures office — which seems to double as the best coffee shop in the area — and got changed for our adventure. While we waited for our guide, Martine, to arrive, Molly roped me into a live-action medley of some of her favourite graphic novels including elements of Jeff Smith’s Bone series, Spiderman’s adventures in the Secret Wars and the Amulet series by Kazu Kibuishi. We were chased by arachnopods, had to face the Beyonder, and retreat to Old Man’s Cave.
At last, it was time to raft.
We all donned our life vests. Mine had to be loosened first; I guess that’s a slight hint at what awaits me upon my return to Seattle. We put in just under the bridge across the Salmon river and floated downstream. The water was very mild; we barely got wet at all. After seeing some deer and enjoying the rock formations, Martine gave Molly the opportunity to take the oars.
Given what a nut my little sweetie can be, I was surprised that Martine was not only able to keep her patience, but actually maintained a smile the entire time.
In addition to guiding us clear of the deadly Salmon river crocodile, Martine gave us a good suggestion for a short hike tomorrow: Gold bug hot springs. About 30 minutes south on US93 is a collection of natural hot springs. They’re a short hike away from the road, but she assured us they were well worth the effort. They’re not exactly on our way to the Grand Tetons, but I’ll give Molly the option tomorrow.
After Martine dropped us off back at the office, Molly and I hit the pool and hot tub over at the hotel. Molly showed off her swimming prowess and earned an ice cream by swimming all the way across the pool by herself. She’s got a little way to go before she’s tapping on Mark Spitz’s toes to pass, but it won’t be too long.
After dinner, as a special treat, we went to see The Sorcerer’s Apprentice at the local theatre. Molly has seen it before, so I was a bit annoyed at her when she’d blurt out things like: “Daddy, is this when he gets eaten by the carpet?” I don’t know if the other six folks in the theatre had seen it before or not, but that’s just not cool.
Well, the little stinker is sleeping blissfully now. Moments after we got back to the hotel and she declared she wasn’t tired, the snoring began.
Now it’s my turn.