On Wednesday, September 1, 2021, we drove the short ten mile distance from Lake Wallowa State Park to the City of Joseph City Park Campsite. This was one of the shortest trips we have made from one campsite to another. We are dry camping for $20 per night. We had planned two more nights at the Lake Wallowa State Park campground, but the campsite that we had planned to use for the last two days was impossible to get into; so, we aborted and went to Joseph. 

The campground provided by the City of Joseph is very nice. We parked in the shade of some cottonwood trees that grow along a small, babbling brook of clear water. The cost was $20 per day, with no services; we were "boondocking." We were able to walk into town and then walk up-and-down the main street. There are lots of deer walking around the town. They seem to be the "town pets" since the seem to be everywhere. There were also several bucks seem amongst the does. We then returned to the RV and relaxed into the evening.

Thursday, September 2, 2021 - We went to breakfast in Joseph at the Cheyenne Cafe' that just opened today after being closed due to a lack of workers available to open the restaurant. The food was excellent and served up in large proportions. We ordered one Denver omelet with toast and hash-browns and then added one pancake to the order too. Even though we shared the meal, it turned out to be enough for two meals and we took a lot of food home. Very nice people there and lots of fun to talk to the staff.

After breakfast, we went to the RV and changed clothes to handle a warming day. We then drove over to the start point for the Joseph Branch Railriders where we were scheduled to take a 12 mile ride on the rails from Joseph to Enterprise, Oregon. You pedal the car which can handle two, three, or four people. The route to Enterprise is six miles and virtually all downhill at about a two percent gradient. That means that the way back would require a lot more energy. For the trip back, the guide activated the EBike portion of the rail car so that we got assist coming back "up the hill" to Joseph. Turns out that the ride to Enterprise was a "piece of cake" since it was downhill all the way. We could just work up a "head of steam" and then stop pedaling and coast for a long way. Pretty easy. Coming back was not as easy. Once you start pedaling, the electric motor will begin to kick-in with assistance at three miles per hour and then stops completely at seven miles per hour. So, then I began to put in a lot of power and, as I did, the motor began to provide less assistance beginning at about five miles per hour. What I had to do is to not provide as much power as I wanted to and the motor would then provide more help to us. This is kind of "backwards" from what you would expect. The less power I provided, the easier it was to move along the rails. Once I figured this out, about halfway back, the trip became a lot easier. Overall, it was a lot of fun and we had a great time. The weather was perfect and the skies were clear. This organization has several other longer rides that we plan to take part in during out next trip to the Joseph area. Be sure to see the photo gallery and video once I get them posted. Right now, our WiFi is terrible and I cannot upload any photos. I plan to go into town today to find a WiFi source.

Friday, September 3, 2021 - We are off and running to Nampa, Idaho near Boise. We are going there to visit with Ryan and Sue Owens who moved from the Redding area of California to Nampa about a year ago. Ryan is a store manager at the Sportsman's Warehouse in Nampa. We hope that he can get some time free to visit with us while we are there. His store is suffering with what many stores are suffering with; the inability to hire new workers. They have jobs, but many workers are still drawing unemployment that is near or more than they would get by working. Hence, they won't apply for work.

The drive to Nampa was uneventful (the way we like it) and took about five hours. We were easily able to get into our slot at the Abundant Life RV Park. There are two of these parks in the Boise area.