~ Marsing ~
This weekend, Josh and I went on a mini-vacation to Marsing, the Gateway to the Owyhees. We have been through Marsing numerous times, having thrown some money down at their eating establishments after a hike or bike ride in the Owyhees. While Marsing might not seem like the most amazing place to go on a mini-vacation, it holds a warm place in our hearts and is much more quality than a superficial view conveys. We left Boise on Saturday morning, after procuring some good coffees for the road. Josh had made reservations at the only hotel in Marsing, the Whitehouse Inn. I suppose that from the name, I had expected something slightly more grand than what was the reality. Somehow, the name "Whitehouse Inn" compelled me to assume that we would be staying in a beautifully renovated historic building with a view of the stunning Owyhee mountains. Yet, as I pulled up to the front door, I was a tad surprised to find that the so-called Whitehouse Inn was nothing more than a trailer park, with trailers that had been sectioned off into multiple "hotel rooms." After seeing our portion of the single-wide trailer, I was greatly relieved that we would at least have our own restroom. While I may be harshly judgemental, I'm not much of a snob and I don't insist on existing always with a silver spoon crammed into yee olde netherparts. At the same time, I found that staying in a converted single-wide trailer was to be one of several white trash experiences.
After settling into our accommodations, Josh and I hit the town. We walked "downtown" where we got some very affordable soft tacos from Freddy's Taco stand (a joint that we've eaten at a few times before). Freddy's Tacos is wonderful. It appears to be a family-run establishment that offers affordable food at incredible quality. Ah, just the thought of my tastey tacos makes my mouth salivate. Josh, who is WAY more social and outgoing than I, chatted with some local Marsingians, found out how to pronounce some Spanish words, and through the interaction I was able to get my hands on some homemade salsa for my tacos. I probably applied too much of this homemade salsa, but it was amazing! Zing! Then, we located a park and had all kinds of fun. We swang on swings, teeter-tottered, slided, and I managed to persuade Josh to let me into his fort which he was protecting by throwing rocks and twigs at all of the enemies.
Then, we went down by the lovely and radioactive Snake River. Marsing is also a check point for motorcycle enthusiasts. At the river, there was some kind of motorcycle congregation which we took pains to avoid. The ground was littered with goatheads and I spent several moments plucking them from the soles of my shoes. The most notable landmark in Marsing is Lizard Butte which is basically a hill with some volcanic rock that looks like a giant lizard. It's pretty cool. As you recall, Easter was on Sunday, and while neither Josh nor myself are big followers of Easter, we had planned on joining the locals at the top of Lizard Butte at sunrise for their Easter Sunrise Service. While we were walking along by the river, we took the opportunity to people watch some of the locals as they were fishing in the lovely and radioactive Snake River. Now, it's not as though I am this neat-nick clean-freak, but the polluted waters of the Snake River is not the source from which I would like to get my fish.
On our way back to the "hotel", we stopped by the grocery store, where I was a little surprised at the numbers of dead animals hung about. The entire Marsing adventure had undertones of white trashedness, but this grocery store which displayed dead animals alongside food and beverage for sale was the second clear demarcation of a white trash experience for me. You know how when people hunt and kill animals, they display the dead animal carcass as though it was a trophy...I've never much understood that. Above the greeting cards, in this grocery store, were moose and elk heads, above the candy and pre-packaged baked items, stuffed turkeys. Along the cereal aisle, there was even a dead mountain lion. I know that it's hard to judge taste sometimes, but I prefer to not live around dead animal carcasses, so I've never quite understood the many people who choose to swathe their walls with dead animals. I mean, why not display a family photo or a replica of some famous painting? What is the appeal of dead animal carcasses as décor? …Yet another mystery of life.
That afternoon, we utilized Marsing's Gateway to the Owhyees, to enter into the Owyhees for some mountain bike riding. We went to someplace a bit west of Jump Creek and explored some motorcycle roads. It was a lot of fun. At some point, we rode up to this plateau to take in the view. Josh noticed, in the distance, that the wind was causing a mighty dust storm. And by the look of the clouds, and the smell in the air, it was apparent that we were about to be caught in a sudden torrential downpour. We immediately started to ride back to the car, but the wind was so strong that it proved to be a harbinger of the difficulty that lay ahead. Twice, the wind coming at me to the side was so strong that it literally blew me off the trail and the rain came very quickly. Rain plus strong wind made every exposed part of my person freeze, and then the wind would whip up the sand against my leg, which stung my frozen flesh. What is more, our lack of structured exploring made me feel slightly concerned that we would lose our way. Nevertheless, we made it back safely and returned to our trailer section for a shower before going out to eat.
For dinner, we chose Marsing's finest restaurant, the Sandbar, which is beachside of the lovely Snake River. The meal truly was lovely…it just took forever to arrive. I was concerned about gorging myself on the appetizers. The vegetable soup that came first was divine, and my salad that came twenty minutes later was incredible. An hour later, when my entrée arrived, I was quite uninterested in continuing to sit at the table. Yet, the food was good (though, Josh's was better than mine). Throughout our dining experience, there was a group of real and old school cowboys next to our table. They were having some conversation about the good old days of being a real cowboy, when you could herd your cows in the open range...or whatever. At some point, it was the most obvious thing I've ever seen, one of the cowfolk turned around, looked up Josh and I, turned back around and started saying something about "ferners." Again, I'm not a snob with a silver spoon, but sometimes it takes a bit to understand some of the regional dialects. It was very apparent that he had said the word "ferners" in response to seeing Josh and I, and I was able to deduce that he was poorly enunciating the word "foreigners." I thought it was rather rude. Anyhoo. After we were finished eating, we thought about going to one of the local dive bars, but didn't. We went to bed feeling fully satisfied. Ah…but I probably should mention that the freak torrential downpour which had disrupted the bike ride had not abated by bedtime. In fact, all throughout the night when I would wake up with insomnia every ten minutes, the torrential downpour continued. This put a damper on our plans of attending Easter Sunrise Service at sunrise on Lizard Butte. In fact, it put a damper on the rest of our Sunday plans, which had included a hope of returning to the Owyhees for more mountain bike exploration. Instead, we returned to the big city where I remained exhausted and lethargic all day from my lack of sleep.
You will be pleased to learn that I managed to post a variety of photographs of the adventure.