Wilma Port facility Clarkston, Washington
June 25, 2007.
Last night we stayed at the Clearwater River
Casino & RV-Resort. The RV-Park is an old KOA and in bad shape. We would NOT
recommend it. There are several parks in Clarkston,
Washington that would be much preferable. Cell phones work in Washington.
If you have Verizon or Alltel and possibly Sprint you are probably going to be
roaming in most parts of western Idaho where they are serviced by an "off-brand"
cell service that does not have contracts with the big carriers like Verizon and
Alltel. Things return to normal in Washington. TV is bad to nonexistent at Clearwater
River Casino & Resort. I could go on but won't. Yes I will, the electricity
supply was wired backwards with the hot and neutral wires reversed.
This
morning we moved the motorhome to Hells Canyon RV Resort in Clarkston,
Washington about 8-miles west. We were paying $25 at Clearwater River
Casino and will pay $30 for FHU, cable, wifi, paved spots & pads with immaculate
grass. The difference between the two parks is night and day. My recommendation
would be to stay in Clarkston, Washington
at Hells Canyon RV Resort and if they are full there are at least two other RV-Parks
within 5-blocks that are MUCH better than the Casino Campground outside Lewiston,
Idaho.
This morning we drove across the Snake River to
the Port of Wilma. This barge was taking on a load of grain. You can see grain
dust rising from the vent holes in the top of the hopper barge.
Instead
of filling this barge with grain stored dockside, in large silos, tractor trailer
trucks are delivering truck loads of grain and unloading dockside. It takes a
lot of 18 wheel tractor trailer rigs to fill a barge like this. I don't know how
many but this barge has been loading for several days and will be for days to
come.
We dropped by the port a day later to check on the
grain loading process. Today, we didn't see any grain being loaded during our
visit. The back end of the barge is sitting lower today than yesterday indicating
that the stern is loaded with grain.
The forest products facility is turning out
these huge stacks of lumber.
Barge load of woodchips at Wilma Port
Facility near Clarkston, Washington
This
barge load of wood chips was being unloaded and hauled off by tractor trailer
rigs. The Potlatch pulp mill a few miles upriver in Lewiston, Idaho is where these
chips are heading. The chips are going to be used in press board and or pulp manufacturing
at the Potlatch plant. It would be so much more efficient if the barge could just
deliver the chips to the Potlatch papermill, lumbermill, pressboard plant, pulp
mill, and whatever else the plant produces. Whatever, the chips are being unloaded
off that barge and hauled off in tractor trailer trucks.
Unloading barge load of
woodchips at Wilma Port Facility near Clarkston, Washington
That clam shell operator is dropping
load after load in that green hopper where a conveyer belt is loading it into
the trailer. It will take days for this barge to be unloaded.
Unloading
barge load of woodchips at Wilma Port Facility near Clarkston,
Washington
We
stopped by the next morning to check on the process of unloading this barge. It
looks like they have it about 1/3 unloaded.
Unloading
barge load of woodchips at Wilma Port Facility near Clarkston,
Washington
Not
far away this conveyor belt is creating a wood chip pile.
We did not see
these chips being loaded and delivered to the Potlatch pulp/paper mill and press
board manufacturing facility but that is the logical destination.
Until next time remember how good
life is.
Mike
& Joyce Hendrix
Until next time remember how good
life is.
Mike
& Joyce Hendrix who we are
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