DartScape – Page 9 – Dart's View of Life, the Universe & Coffee

Freaking Earthquake!

I am in Idaho missing my beautiful and quirky Florida. Spring has been delayed and the last week it has been solid gray and cold. Ugh. Oh yeah, there is a freaking pandemic circling the planet. Idaho and all of the planet is on lock down. The President today say be prepared, the worse is coming.

Then late this afternoon Idaho has a stinking earthquake!!! The second strongest in it’s history! A 6.5 magnitude earthquake hit southern Idaho around 5:52 p.m. Tuesday, the U.S. Geological Survey reports. The quake, which lasted for 23.5 seconds, hit 19 miles northwest of Stanley — or about 78 miles northeast of Boise, according to USGS.

I was in my office on the computer and my wife was in the bathroom. I hear rumbling, sort of like when clothes in the dryer get out of balance only 17,333 times louder. I see the cats whiz by to hide under the bed. I go running down the hallway trying to figure out what is happening. I have absolutely no experience with earthquakes. Hurricanes yes. Lightning strikes, yes. Twisters, sort of. But earthquakes? Nope.

I see the floor and walls rolling slightly. I see books on shelves dancing and I hear what can only be described as a aching howl from the house itself.

What. The. Fuck?

In about 20 seconds it is over. My wife and I hug and laugh. Me more out of nerves than anything else.

Strangest feeling. The earth itself is not stable. Very emotionally unsettling.

So, what’s next? Locust? Zombies?

Give me a good old fashion hurricane. I know how to handle them.

Hoping for no aftershocks.

Chinese Bat Flu?

Would make a great name for a band, right? But probably hurtful to someone, somewhere. Maybe bats. So, let’s call it COVID-19. Or Corona-virus. Whatever.

It is March 30, 2020 and Idaho is mostly locked down. Liquor stores, gun shops, grocery stores, Home Depot/Lowes, Walgreens, Walmart, Target, gas stations and more are open. There are probably about a hundred drive-through coffee shops in the valley, and they are open. Restaurants doing take out only.

But many people in Idaho are slow to adopt the social distancing thing the federal government is seeking.

People from other states don’t understand Idaho.

Personal responsibility and personal freedom trumps most other things here. Especially if it is the federal government issuing orders. This feeling of personal independence runs deep in people here, except for the newcomers like myself.

Ruby Ridge was in north Idaho. That was a long time ago. But as recently as 2014 Ammon Bundy led an armed standoff against federal officials at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. Ultimately arrested, a local jury set him free. People in Idaho and western Oregon cheered.

He lives in Emmett, Idaho about 30 minutes from my house.

So, distaste and distrust of the federal government, or government of any kind, runs strong in these parts. When the federal government says stay indoors, many people in Idaho ignore them.

Just saying.

I am hoping we get through this mess sooner rather than later.

Barns & Structures

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

Elmore County Drive

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.

Drive to Placerville, Idaho

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!

To Silver City – Almost

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!

Five County Sunday Drive

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.

Fall in Boise, 2019

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