WHITE BIRD BATTLEFIELD WALK

A tour of the White Bird Battlefield will take place this Saturday, November 14, at 10am PST. Plan to meet at the entrance to the Battlefield on Old Hwy 95, about two miles north of downtown. Kevin, from the Nez Perce National Park Service headquarters in Spalding, will be guiding the 1.5 hour walking tour, and is a fountain of information about the Nez Perce, and the White Bird Battlefield site. This is a rare opportunity to learn more about our area’s history, and so far, the weather looks to be good. It is advised to wear good walking shoes and bring water.

FUN in WHITE BIRD, IDAHO

Costume events this past weekend were lots of fun at two different events in White Bird. Friday night - Oct 30 - at Canyon House during the wine tasting and sing-along by the bonfire, the best Witch prize went to Charlie ‘Chas’ Becktoll from Kooskia, and the best Non-Witch went to local Christy Brown, as Molly Mobster. Winner of the Gift Basket Raffle went to Dale Brege, from Grangeville, and it was nice to see he and Mimi at the event. As the past school teacher at the White Bird Elementary School before it closed, MImi misses her students and their families, so it was a treat for to be in town, and now they’ll be back to pick up their basket, which contains miscellaneous gifts and a gift certificate for one night in the lodging suite at Canyon House.

The other big costume party, on Halloween evening at the Silver Dollar Bar, featured plenty of very creative costumes. Winning first place was Larry, who owns the stables. He was ‘Bait’, outfitted to look like roe, with a big hook and line, attached to his girlfriend, who was dressed like a fish. Then, Rich Beckstead, as Barack Obama, placed 2^nd, and 3^rd place was a tie between Steve Kernutt as a doctor, and Polly Mozingo.

In case you're wondering about fishing...yep...those steelhead are still coming, with counts over Lower Granite Dam higher than normal. One guest said it was the best season so far in 15 years. Good fishing!

Just around the corner, on Sunday November 15, is the Annual Rebekkah’s Turkey Dinner, starting at noon at the IOOF in downtown White Bird. In addition to a fabulous home-cooked meal, the ladies have put together a great fundraiser by raffling off 3 quilts, sewn & created by local quilters, Kelly Rosenbaum, Laurie Bonwell and Sandy Lambert. Tickets are available from any Rebekkah member, and at the Turkey Dinner, after which the winning names will be drawn.

Cribbage games begins this Saturday the 7^th in the afternoon at the Silver Dollar Bar in downtown White Bird. Call 839.2293 for more information.

STEELHEAD COUNTS 2X the 3 YR AVERAGE!

http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/fish/steelhead/dam_count.cfm

Now you know why anglers are swarming along the banks of the Salmon River! Fish counts over Lower Granite are twice the three year average.

The good news is that the White Bird area is still fairly quiet in contrast to Riggins and other 'combat fishing' areas.

FALL FISHING and MORE

Fall weather has arrived in north central Idaho on the Salmon River with cool nights and daytime temps in the 50's-60's, and the steelhead anglers are in heaven! Know why? Because they're catching steelhead fish like never before. It's almost like the fish are jumping into boats - naw...just kidding. But fishermen are saying they can see the fish in the river and there's lots to choose from. The hatchery steelhead counts at Lower Granite in the past five days have ranged from 4,500 to 6,600 - that's per day! (here's the link: http://www.fpc.org/currentdaily/HistFishTwo_7day-ytd_Adults.htm)

Now, that's a reason to enjoy the camping accommodations at Swiftwater RV Park - we're right on the Salmon River, in Idaho, and right where the action is! 208.830.2700 to check availability for spaces. We take 'em all - big rigs, small trailers, tenters. For non-fishing spouses, we have free tv, free wifi, a laundromat (well - not that we want spouses to be stuck doing the laundry, but just in case the dirty clothes pile up), a book exchange, great walks nearby, and a nice front row seat to watching the action on the river.

Steelhead education: 'Wild' steelhead are a subset of steelhead and are counted separately from hatchery steelhead at Corps dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers. Wild steelhead are identified as fish with an intact adipose fin. However, a small number of hatchery fish may not have had their adipose fin removed. - As you might guess, that text is straight out of the IDFG text book!

Leave a comment - would like to hear from you!

LETS GO FISHING !

The fish are jumping, literally, on the Salmon River, and fishermen are beginning to seriously toss their lines in the river attempting to reel in a steelhead. More jet boats are cruising along, and bank fishermen are starting to dot the sides of the river. Folks are beginning to catch ‘keepers’, and one that I saw was over 25” long. One guy reportedly has caught 24 already this week - can that be real - WOW!!

WINTER STORAGE in Sunny WHITE BIRD, Idaho!

Brrrr....when the temps did into the teens and the snow is falling, there's nothing better than knowing your rig is stored safely at Swiftwater RV Park, where snow rarely falls! Better yet, you can hop in the pickup and drive to the Park for a cozy night or two. Try some steelhead fishing, which is supposed to be absolutely fabulous this Fall and Winter. We offer 8 stations of free TV, so another choice is snuggle up with the beverage of your choice and watch some TV with the Salmon River flowing right outside your trailer's window.


Our Winter Storage rates are CHEAP! Spaces are still available, so give us a jingle. Float on over to our website: www.swiftwaterrv.com, and click the email link to contact us.


I revised the look of this blog by adding summer photos to the side...how do you like it?

CATCHING UP WITH THE CYCLIST

Thought I'd post about cross-country cyclist, Linda der Weltenbummler, who stayed at our Park earlier in the summer. From Florida, she spent the summer cycling from Oregon to Florida, hoping to make it back home before her leave from the Air Force concluded. She didn't quite make it in time, so is resuming the final leg sometime this coming weekend (Sept 26) - after she retires from a 23-year career.

She has a great American story to tell, and she welcomes you to check out her adventures at http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=3Tzut&doctype=journal (always look for the 'Journal' tab). Great photos too!

Here's a great picture grabbed from her blog when she was cycling in the rockies (isn't that background awesome):

Then, earlier in the summer when we first met her at Swiftwater:

Enjoy the last remaining dashes of summer as Fall is around the corner. The temps this morning were 42 degrees F.....brrrrr!