Hell's Canyon

We drove through California, Nevada, Oregon, and into Idaho in the last three weeks. We entered the state of Idaho through the south end traveling north on Highway 95. It was a long drive from Nampa, Idaho, in the South, to our destination of Naples, about fifteen miles from the Canadian border. We traveled through small towns and smaller towns. The countryside rolled and rose around us. The highlight of the trip had to be the drive through Hell’s Canyon along the Salmon River. It was breathtaking.

We arrived at Mike’s father’s home, in Naples, close to 11:00 p.m on Saturday, September 11. I stayed in the RV while Mike said hello to his father for the first time in fifteen years. It was an emotional moment for both, a joyful moment. They talked late into the night while I slept. Once the talking was finished for the night Mike came to bed and couldn’t stop talking about the experience, the happiness and the relief he felt being with his father again. He has been longing for parental acceptance. Who can’t understand that?

My own parents were the best. Simply the best. I am sure that they had issues and I know that I didn’t always listen or appreciate them but I always knew that I had their love and that they “had my back.” No matter the wrong directions my life often times went they accepted me and loved and supported me. I know that Mike longs for that same feeling of affection and acceptance from a parent. He is hoping that he has found that in his father because he knows no matter how hard he works at it he will not get these from his mother. I wish him the best.

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September 24 found us in Tahoe. It seems somehow we always end up back here in Tahoe. Don’t get me wrong, it is an utterly beautiful spot, but that does not mean that the experience is just as lovely as the scenery. Tahoe is a transient town. It is a small town where when you turn around you bump into someone you know, even if you wish you didn’t. Tahoe is a town that has as many DEA agents running around as city police. Tahoe, and I should make it clear, South Lake Tahoe is home to more than its share of meth manufacturers and meth dealers. It is a town with a 17.7 % unemployment rate as compared to the national average of 9.6 %. For all its scenic splendor South Lake Tahoe is a city in distress. Too much unemployment and too many illegal, immoral, or unhealthy avenues of escape.

Hopefully we will only be here in town for a few days. We have had to change our plans time and again and now we changed them again. We arrived in Tahoe last night after driving down from Bonner’s Ferry, Idaho. The week we spent in Idaho was relaxing and refreshing. It was also productive. Mike finally managed to rearrange all the storage bins and put things away that he had cluttering up the living space of the RV. He also spent quality time with his father and has come away with a renewed sense of purpose and self.

While in Tahoe I have been able to visit my second daughter and her husband and my three granddaughters. It has been a good visit. My granddaughters are all gorgeous and bright. The oldest will be fourteen in November; the other two are eleven and nine. They are all good students and involved in school clubs and the Boys and Girls Club. The second one plays the violin and the youngest will start an instrument next year. Yesterday the two oldest volunteered to help give water to marathon runners in exchange for donations to Club Life.

We move on to the coast by the end of the week and some business to deal with in Marin County. I will miss my daughter and her family here in Tahoe as I miss my youngest daughter and her family now in Kansas, my son in West Virginia, and my oldest daughter in San Francisco. It seems like so long ago that they were children and home with me. I miss the laughter, the squabbles, the tears, and the love.