Heaven's Gate
Activities in and around
Riggins Id.
July 23rd and 24th, 1998
Having seen the northern end of Hell’s Canyon, we
pulled out of Chief Timothy State Park Campground in
Clarkston Washington and through Lewiston Idaho.
I was prepared for the 288 mile drive to Boise down SR95 to
visit with some friends we hadn’t seen in sometime.
The road was up and down with many turns, but nothing
like the climb out of Lewiston and the Snake river.
117 miles down the road we hit one of those cross
roads towns in the middle of nowhere. Riggins, Idaho
can’t have more then 200 people living in it
permanently. The Salmon River, which we had been
paralleling for some time suddenly shot off to the
east and was replaced by a strong brook we later found
out to be the Little Salmon River. There are almost
no side roads to this community. Everything is right
on the strip. Three or four restaurants, a boat
livery, a few gift shops, and a real estate office.
After a short conversation about lunch which slowed me
down enough to see the municipal parking lot, small
but amply suited for large RVs, we pulled in. There
is not a lot of decision making to be done here. We
stood out in the middle of US95 and looked up and down
the street.
Everything available was pretty much in
view. A hundred feet away was the Corner Bar. We
decided to chance it and eased up to the front door to
peak in. No warning lights came on, so we walked in
and sat down to a very rustic but clean interior. The
bartender, waiter, and Lord- knows-what-else delivered
menus promptly with a warm welcome and smile. We
picked something safe and sat back to take in the
surroundings. One of the endearing qualities of Laura,
is that she will strike up a conversation with anybody
within normal speaking range, and as usual had started
a conversation with a couple who arrived just after
us. Tim and his wife Vickie, who ran a real estate
office across the street, were as open and friendly as
anyone would have wanted them to be. Within the
length of the meal, these two had told of a
fascinating place in the mountains not far away,
called “Heaven’s Gate”, and suggested we check out a
“hidden” RV park, just a matter of feet from where we
were sitting.
Although there was no plan for stopping, we slowed
our rig to a creep at the very south end of town
looking for the small sign indicating the entrance to
the Riverside RV park. Right where Tim and Vickie had
said it would be, was the sign, and the paved road
leading into the park. Twenty feet into the park, and
it was a unanimous decision. It was absolutely
beautiful. A small box at the entrance announced that
the park was on the honor system. Put $15.00 in the
box for each day you stayed, and have a good time.
Huge sites, 60 foot trailers would have no problem
here. Water and electric only. For the most part, the
park was empty. We later learned that a screw up in
the TL listing had caused a bad phone number entry so
no one could make a reservation. Unfortunately this
problem has been fixed and we are sure the park will
soon be booked solid. We walked the twenty or so
sites looking for the perfect view. We selected site
#1, at the southern
most point, with the window end of
the trailer overlooking the river. I added this to my
list of “sites with a view”, sat down at my back
window, pulled up the blinds, fired up the computer,
and began to write. Laura went to deliver the
evening’s payment while I watched a traveler walk down
to the river to fish. He caught several trout in a
matter of minutes. Shortly, Laura was back munching
on something. “OK, what are you eating”, I asked.
“Apricots”, she replied. “They’re growing on the tree
next to the payment box.” T
This I had to see, so off we went to the tree and sure enough, there they were,
hundreds of the them just waiting to be picked. Ripe,
juicy and sweet, and from the bug activity, obviously
not sprayed. I selected a half dozen clean ones and
munched right in. Absolutely delicious.
