River Games
by Christina King
The Weakest "Idaho" Link
Explanation of Game: The game is played using the TV concept but we didn’t bother with voting people off. We had one person calling on everyone in the group equally. I explained that each person was competing by answering the most correct answers and winning a "semi-valuable" prize. The entire group voted one person as answering the most correct answers at the end of the game.
We did have an Idaho library with us on the river and most of the answers were in several books (we had about 6 books). It really gives the group a more in-depth appreciation for the area we are traveling through and even our Idaho natives were "incorrect" lots of the time. It was a lot of fun.
State information:
- What is the capitol of Idaho? Boise, Idaho's City of Trees
- What is the population of Idaho? 1.3 million
- What is Idaho known as? The Gem State
- Where is Idaho’s seaport? Lewiston, sea barges via the Snake and Columbia rivers
- What are Idaho’s top two crops? Potatoes and trout
- Highest elevation? 12,662 ft. (Mt. Borah)
- Lowest elevation? 738 ft. (Lewiston)
- Number of River Miles? 3,100 - (more than any other state)
- State Flower? Syringa
- State Horse? Appaloosa
- State Bird? Mountain Bluebird
- State Gem? Star Garnet
- State Tree? Western White Pine
- State Dance? Square Dance
- State Fish? Rainbow Trout
- When did Idaho become a state and what number state was it? 1890, 43rd
- What two trail ruts are still visible in Idaho? Oregon and California Trails
- What color is a camas flower? Blue flower, bulb eaten by Indians
- What is a chukar? A partridge
- How narrow is the narrowest point in Idaho? 50 miles
- How wide is the widest part of Idaho? 300 miles
- How many hours does it take to drive from Woodland Park to Boundary Creek? 17 hours
- What mountain range is seen from Stanley, ID? Sawtooths
- Twin Falls is named after what? Shoshone Falls of the Snake River
- How many feet does Shoshone Falls drop? 212 feet (52 feet further than Niagara Falls)
- Who attempted to jump the Snake River near Twin Falls? Evil Kneivel
- What are the ice caves called between Twin Falls and Sun Valley? Shoshone
- What famous skier grew up in Hailey, ID? Picabo Street
- What famous writer is buried in Ketchum? Ernest Hemingway
- What river flows along Sun Valley? Big Wood
- What pass do you travel over from Sun Valley to Stanley? Galena, bonus points elevation? 8701 feet
- What is the valley known as in the Twin Falls area? Magic Valley
- Who has an Idaho creek, road and crossing named after them? Pete King
- What do BZ initial’s stand for (at River Rat Express shuttles)? so you think you want to know what my "real" name is.....I am named after a Western writer. He had a sister with my name and also wrote a book with my name as the title. He has a hiking trail in Idaho dedicated to him and wrote quite a bit on the Rogue River -- his place on the Rogue is now a museum. Answer is Betty Zane!
River:
- How many dams are on the Snake River? 23
- What is the deepest river canyon in North America? Hell’s Canyon on the Snake, at 7900 feet deep, yes it’s deeper than the Grand Canyon!
- How long is the Middlefork float trip? 99 miles
- What wilderness area does the Middlefork flow through? The Frank-Church River of No Return wilderness area, the largest in the 48 contiguous states.
- Who was Frank Church? Idaho senator
- What does "River of No Return" mean? Indians told Lewis and Clark that anyone who traveled down river never returned.
- What are Lewis and Clark’s first names? Meriwether and William
- What river did Lewis and Clark begin to explore and turn back from? The Main Salmon
- What was the main Indian tribe that inhabited the Middlefork corridor? Sheepeaters
- What precipitated the Sheepeater Indian war? The murder of 5 Chinese miners (most likely the work of white robbers)
- What two creeks form the Middlefork? Bear Valley and Marsh Creeks
- What three forests does the Middlefork traverse? Challis, Payette and Salmon
- What jolted Challis in 1983? A 7.2 earthquake
- What are the river ranger’s names? Pat and Sarah
- What was Dagger Falls original name? Sulphur Creek Falls
- When was the road to Dagger Falls built? 1959
- When is the high use season considered to be on the Middlefork? June 1-Sept 3
- What are the maximum number of days you can take on the Middlefork? 8
- Where is the Middlefork put-in? Boundary Creek
- Where is the Middlefork take-out? Cache Bar, pronounced cash
- When did the forest fires occur on the road into Boundary Creek? 1987
- What three Middlefork rapids are very difficult at high water? Murphy’s Hole, Velvet Falls and Rubber
- What are the first hotsprings on the Middlefork? Trail Flats
- What are the last hotsprings accessible from the Middlefork? Mormon
- What Middlefork hotsprings are named after an Indian tribe? Sheepeater
- What kinds of lures are okay for fishing on the Middlefork? Single, barbless
- Why is the Middlefork catch and release? Logging (excessive silt) and downstream dams inhibit spawning.
- What was the first vehicle floated into the Middlefork? A VW bus and they couldn’t eddy out until Mile 25
- What Middlefork rapid sneaks up on the careless drifter? Velvet Falls
- Velvet refers to what? Soft deer antler membrane
- What was Powerhouse rapids named for? Stampmill and water wheel on the right bank used for gold ore mining
- Whose gravesite is located just below Joe Bump’s cabin? Elmer’s
- Who or what is a Pungo? Shoshone word for pet or horse
- What can be found at Pungo Creek? An old fluorspar mine used to make hydrofluoric acid or a steel additive
- When did the forest fires occur between Pistol Creek and Indian Creek? 2000
- What is the name of the 1st ranger station below Boundary? Indian Creek
- What was Dolly Lake named after? Dolly Varden trout
- What are the wily squirrels that typically inhabit the Upper Jackass? Golden mantle squirrels
- What is a sweep boat used for? Haul lots of gear
- Does a sweep boat go slower or faster than a raft? Much faster and they are hard to stop
- What is scientific name for Fool’s Gold? Pyrite
- What hotsprings features lots of poison ivy? Sunflower
- What was the Middlefork Lodge formerly called? The Thomas Place
- What celebrities stayed at the Middlefork Lodge (when it was Harrah’s)? Bill Cosby, Loretta Lynn, John Denver, Glen Campbell, Steve McQueen, Sammy Davis Jr, Lawrence Welk, Pres. Carter, VP Bush
- Where are the first pictographs on the Middlefork? Cameron Creek
- Where are the last pictographs on the Middlefork? Stoddard Creek (and on the takeout road from Cache Bar)
- What are the deepest hotsprings on the Middlefork? Big Loon
- What are the 3 camps that access Big Loon hotsprings? Shelf, Big Loon and Cow creek
- What is the hottest hotsprings? Hood Ranch
- How did Whitie Cox die? Crushed by a ditch cave-in
- Where is Whitie Cox buried? At the hotsprings
- What was Whitie Cox’s first name? Elvis
- Who owns Big Loon ranch? Simplot
- Who buys all of Simplot’s potatoes? McDonalds
- What does Aparejo rapid mean? Spanish for a type of trail pack saddle
- Where did Zane Grey camp for 2 weeks and what bounced? Camas Creek, his check payment to the outfitter.
- What book did Zane Grey write while camping at Camas Creek? Thunder Mountain
- Who was Flying B ranch named for? Mr. Bennett, a WWI fighter pilot that laid out most of Idaho’s backcountry airstrips
- Where can the most arrowheads be found? Below Flying B airstrip
- Rattlesnake cave contains what? Pictographs
- Waterfall Creek has a pack bridge in the middle of it and what else below? Usually river otters
- What marks the high walls underneath Veil Falls? Pictographs
- President Carter camped here? Elk Bar
- Elk Bar has poison ivy and what else at low water? A wonderful sand beach and more pictographs
- What does Redside mean? A colloquial term for cutthroat trout
- Who was rescued by helicopter at Weber? Tom Brokaw
- Who was Earl Parrott? A hermit
- Papoose Creek and Tombstone wall mark what? More pictographs
- Where is the heaviest whitewater on the river? Rubber rapids
- Who will visit at Otter bar? Otters
- Why was Hospital Bar named so? Easy place to ford and grass cattle
- Why is the last section on the Middlefork called Impassable canyon? Because the trail leave the canyon at this point
- Where does Impassable canyon begin? Haystack rapid, trail leaves at Big Creek
River knowledge:
- How do you dispose of dishwater on the Middlefork? Strain and broadcast in the bushes
- Where do you urinate? In the river
- Where do you bathe with soap? Above high water and away from hotsprings
- Where do you spit out your toothpaste? Above high water and make sure to add water at the white spot so it doesn't look like a flock of gulls pooped near camp.
NFL Football:
- Who is the KC Chiefs head coach? Dick Vermeil
- Quarterback? Trent Green
- Running back? Priest Holmes
- Wide Receiver? Named after 2 cats (Sylvester Morris)
- Finest football coach of our time? Marty Schottenheimer
Misc:
- What does the J stand for in the Flying J? Jay Call, pilot and founder of the fueling stations
- What does AARP stand for? Association of Retired Persons
- How old do you have to be to join AARP? 50
- What is a chigger? A pest
- Where does the word "groover" come from? Early days of rafting we sat directly on rocket boxes to poop and it left grooves on our behinds