Category: Idaho

Practicing more “social distancing” today by driving through the vastness of Idaho. Grabbed a few photos of old structures.

One of my favorite half day trips is to take I-84 east and exit onto Blacks Creek Rd, following it into Elmore County. Eventually it starts following the South Fork of the Boise River. The views are spectacular regardless of the season. Eventually you will arrive at the lovely town of Prairie and the Y-Stop Country Store and Restaurant. Today we did not travel that far, but far enough to see a bunch of deer, some antelope, couple of hawks, sort sort of wood chuck and a whistle pig. Not a bad day!

We came home via Kuna-Mora Road.

Photos are below. Click to enlarge.

None of the roads were straight longer than 100 feet. They were all winding roads through the mountains and forests, with not one guardrail in sight. But it was a magnificent drive. Our primary destination was Placerville, Idaho.  We drove up Idaho 55 to horseshoe Bend and then turned onto Harris Creek Road which interestingly enough, followed a stream. We left the brown hills and climbed into the mountainous forest. Harris Creek had snow and ice along its banks. The road quickly became unpaved and bumpy but our brave Kia Soul kept on going. Harris Creek Road turned into Placerville Road and we entered the city of Placerville. In the 1860s this was a gold mine town with a population over 5,000. Today it is a Near Ghost Town with just 54 residents. It has a fire department, a grocery store and city hall. Actually, a combination grocery store/City hall. The city has a mayor, three city council members and a City Clerk/Treasurer. A nice webpage too.  History buffs visit often, as well as recreationists and some people who maintain a summer home there.

We captured images of the forest, streams, mountains and old buildings. We returned by way of Idaho City and then route 21 to I-84 to our west Boise home.

Enjoy the photos!

Out today for a drive along the Owyhee Front we discovered the road to Silver City, Idaho. Silver City is not open now, but we were excited by the views and the smooth pavement at the beginning. Also, the sign that warned travelers if they passed it and had to be rescued that the cost would be on them! C’mon, you see a sign like that you just gotta go investigate, right? Besides, it was a cool day, no fires anywhere, no chance of any kind of precipitation, A beautiful clear blue sky above us.

Keep in mine, unlike everyone else in Idaho, we don’t own a three story 22 cylinder pick-up truck. We have a tiny Kia Soul. 4 Cylinder engine, low ground clearance, designed for good paved highways and city traffic. Not a road from hell. Yet, we have taken the Kia on many such roads, and it has thrived. As long as you can deal with a top speed of 7 miles per hour. Occasionally a burst to eight.

This map shows you about where we stopped. Five miles from Silver City. The paved highway turned into a rocky dirt road hugging cliffs and hills where no guard rail has ever lived. And that was the good section of the road. We were eventually strongly encouraged by some locals in one of those three story pick-up trucks to turn back, that the “road” up ahead turned into just a pile of large boulders. Also, our Kia Soul did not have much ground clearance and sagebrush being everywhere we did not want our car to start a fire. Because in Idaho, they will charge you for the cost of putting the fire out.

See Boise in the upper right? That’s our home. Toward the bottom you see the red marker? That is Silver City. The blue X? That is where we turned around. Do you see the highways there? No, we didn’t either! Enjoy the photos below!

Today Suze and I attended service at Eagle Christian Church where Dr. Crane was teaching from the book of Acts. Then we went for coffee at Bobbie Jeans, a coffee house inside an old house in the city of Star. By the way, they serve grits! Real Southern grits!!!!  Anyway, then we continued west through Canyon County on West State Road, turned onto Old Highway 30, then Idaho 52 and eventually Idaho 16 which brought us back home. All together we crossed into five counties: Ada, Canyon, Payette, Gem and Boise.

This Fall seems brighter and more colorful than the last two years. Or, maybe I am brighter and more colorful!

Photos from our drive today to Initial Point, then Dedication Point followed by Swan Falls Dam.

Click on photo for larger image.

Last Sunday Suze and I met a good friend for breakfast in Twin Falls, Idaho and then proceeded to Shoshone Falls Park. It is about a two-hour drive from Boise, mostly on I-84 with an 80 MPH speed limit. In the mornings the highway is pretty empty so cruising along is easy. Afternoons the 18-wheelers and the RVs come out competing to see which one can overturn first. But if you stay away from them you should be OK. Keep in mind, 18-wheelers are restricted to 70 MPH so you might want to settle in behind your favorite truck and just cruise at 70. Otherwise, you will be passing one truck after another. And out west, they have triple 18-wheelers! 

But, Shoshone Falls is a must-see if you ask me. There are plenty of opportunities to see rocks and giant gashes in the land all through Idaho and much of this area, so seeing green trees, beautiful waters and those magnificent falls is a real treat.  

Feel free to click on the photo to see a nice enlarged version.

The Snake River

The Snake River with yellow flowers below and great sky above.

Close up of the falls

Shoshone Falls

These are very small images. Full-size prints are available at our Fine Art America website. You can order prints, frames, coffee mugs, T-shirts, notepads, even shower curtains!

Or, if you want to purchase just the digital image and get it printed yourself and find your own frame, email us at humeston *at* gmail dot com.  Most image files go for $25

Dart