Good Morning! I hope you’re enjoying riding along with my husband and I as we retrace the steps of my grandma’s 1913 trip out West. What an adventure for her, but an equally fascinating adventure for the two of us 111 years later.
If you haven’t read the first three posts, I’ll insert the links below. Simply click on the link to read the post and see the pictures.
“All Aboard” Revisited – Part One
“All Aboard” Revisited – Part Two
“All Aboard” Revisited – Part Three
We’ve been through Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and Southern Idaho. What a fun (but exhausting) trip. I tend to try to pack SO much into my days so had to eliminate some side trips, for lack of time. There was just so much we COULD have seen. So much I wanted to see. Oh well!
One destination was Hells Canyon – a day trip, but we didn’t have another day to spare. Google it. It sounds GREAT!
The deepest gorge in North America, if I remember right. Alas, no time. I learned we had to have some ‘down’ time because we were ‘on the run’ constantly. We also planned to attend church at either Caldwell Friends or Greenleaf Friends, but decided to head north instead. There was a ‘party’ being planned half way to our next destination and I couldn’t miss it. More on that later…
As we were traveling north, we came up behind a truck hauling a load of “something.” It was green, relatively small, and took a while to figure out, because it’s not something we see in Kansas. My first guess was cabbage. No. I had Jim get a little closer. There was a netting across the load. As the truck hit bumps, the load shifted and an occasional green thing would slip out and splatter on the highway before us. OMGoodness!
These little green bombs exploded upon impact. Thousands of bell peppers! GRACIOUS! How many bell peppers does it take to fill a semi? A LOT! I could have easily had stuffed peppers for a month if I’d caught the ones that slipped through the netting. It was quite a sight to see (and the smell was great, too!). Amazing! Just one type of produce in that area. Later, we saw a semi filled with potatoes, but I couldn’t grab my phone to take a picture.
Even the fields in Idaho were different than back home. One crop intrigued me. I had no idea what it was and planned to ask my Ratcliff relatives later in the day, BUT I was chatting with my son and he knew what I was describing. I guess it’s called “hops” and it’s used in beer? That’s what he said. It sure looked funny to see fields and fields of it, though. Here’s a pic for others who may have never seen it growing.
What we saw the most was trucks hauling loads of lumber. EVERYWHERE. Especially the further north we went. Thousands and thousands of wonderful straight trees, harvested for lumber as well as other products. Idaho is definitely known for lumber, lumber mills, and such. The efforts to replant after harvesting were noticeable, too – which is good.
We learned that the Indians, especially, are very good at conservation efforts and replanting on their land. While we saw some areas burned by wildfires, we also saw acres of young trees. Conservation at its best.
One short ‘side trip’ on our trip north was to drive into Oregon at a small town named Nyssa which is just South of Ontario, Oregon. I’d been to Oregon before but Jim hadn’t so we added another state to his list. And, to Shotgun’s. LOL!
When Grandma made her trip, she had to go through Oregon and Washington to get from her first stop in Caldwell, Idaho to her second in Woodland, Idaho. The two were only 250 miles apart, but the train didn’t go there! There were so many instances in her trip that she had to ride out of her way to get to her destination, but the scenery she saw was exquisite.
Speaking of which – one thing that I thought about over and over was this. How in the WORLD did Grandma – a native flatlander from Kansas – travel in this beautiful, diverse area full of mountains, rivers, forests, and canyons, yet never mentioned what she was seeing? The word “Wow!” escaped my mouth several times on our trip. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. Just WOW. I love seeing God’s creative genius as evidenced in nature, no matter where I roam. There is beauty in the flatlands of Kansas – truly, there is – but there are so many other fantastic sights to see across our great country and I’m blessed to have seen so many of them. I pity the poor souls who don’t have a chance to travel. I’ve seen many but long to see more.
I reread Grandma’s journal and found one weak comment. Very weak. When Grandma left Lewiston and headed to Pardee (page 36 in the book), she met up with her uncle (Q. V. Moon, a.k.a. Uncle Tilly). Quintilius V. Moon had been in Spokane on business but was heading home, so he boarded the same train at Arrow Junction. Grandma writes: “We just talked and saw country to Pardee.” Saw country? Oh my, what country she saw. It’s gorgeous.
Jim and I were on the road (which parallels the railroad and the Clearwater River from Kamiah to Lewiston) four different times (later in our trip). Each time I saw something different. Each time, I was in AWE of the scenery. Yet, that’s about Grandma’s only reference to what she saw! Unbelievable.
But, back to our trip north on Sunday…
Remember when I introduced the Ratcliff family in my book? My grandma – Bertha A. Ratcliff – was a birthright Quaker, the third of eight children born to Albert and Ann (Hollingsworth) Ratcliff. She was born and raised in North Central Kansas in a Quaker community (Burr Oak or Northbranch). Some of the eight siblings moved West as they married and started families. One died early. One stayed in Kansas. And, my grandma – after her trip – married and moved to Iowa.
For the sake of genealogy (in Biblical style!): Thomas Ratcliff begat Job; Job begat Elias; Elias begat Eli; Eli begat Albert; Albert begat Bertha; Bertha begat Arden (my dad); and you can finish that list – right? But, back up a couple of generations, Bertha had a brother named Eli who had a son named Albert (named after his father). The younger Albert has a daughter named Cari born a few years after me. Cari and I became friends on social media but had never met. Her dad and my dad (Albert and Arden) were first cousins. I had met him when my family of origin was on vacation in 1963 but that was the year before Albert married. He was single, living at home, and helping on the farm. That was 61 years ago! I was but a wee girl. Albert was a young adult.
Albert and I met again at Cari’s home in rural Idaho and I would have known him anywhere. Not because he looked like he did back then, but because of STRONG Ratcliff genes.
OMGoodness. It was the first thing I noticed when I walked in the door! “You’re a Ratcliff,” I said, as I gave him a big hug. He’s one of very few who remain in that generation. He and my aunt Carolyn (the only of Bertha’s children). Perhaps there are others, but I won’t research it right now. In any case, it was great to “meet” Albert again.
Cari recently bought a home/farm in the country near Indian Valley (shown above). It’s just down the road from where Albert and his sister Sue were raised. Everyone was eager to see Cari’s new place – especially her dad – so she planned an impromptu reunion inviting all the Ratcliffs who lived within 100 miles or so (IDK). So fun! We were glad to be a part of it.
Pictured here with Jim and I are Cari, Albert, and his wife, Shirley. (And, of course, Shotgun!)
The group picture includes all who were there (except Jim, who took the picture). Cari’s son Brandon and his family plus three of Cari’s first cousins with some of their kids and grandkids. And, a niece of Cari’s, too. I think that’s all, but I’m glad there wasn’t a test. I don’t think I could remember all the names and where they fit into the family tree, but what a great group of people. I was THRILLED to meet each one of them; these Idaho relatives I didn’t know I had!
Before we left for Kamiah that day, Cari took us down the road to the land once owned by her grandparents (Albert’s parents). How fun for Eli’s three grandkids to return to their grandparents’ home place.
Most of the buildings are gone now, but the terrain is hilly and wide open grassland, sagebrush, with a few trees here and there. Beautiful countryside. So peaceful. Actually, the focus picture for Part Four (this post) is the view North and East near Cari’s home.
What a wonderful valley in which to live. Ahhhhhh!
We left that afternoon refreshed and excited about what we’d already packed into our trip, and the adventures we would soon discover in the Kamiah area. That was where we would be by sundown at a lovely loft just outside of town, our home base for several days. There was much to explore in that area, too, but I’ll leave that for my next post.
All for now. Thanks for following us.
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