Idaho Panhandle

     Last weekend, because of expected scattered rain for a couple of days, I decided to stay at Dent Acres, a campground with electricity (electric heat to banish dampness). The road there was mostly a dirt road from Orofino, Idaho. It's only 19 miles but it took me almost two hours to get there. See all those squiggly lines!

     I figured few rigs would attempt that mountainous squiggly road and I'd have the campground to myself. So when I got there, I was surprised to see about forty large rigs! and I also saw this . . .

Uh oh, a handy bear trap! So I asked Alice, one of the campground hosts, about it.

     She told me a Black bear wandered into the campground a few days ago and sat on one of the picnic tables (in broad daylight), so just in case . . . . .  To be safe, I asked if I could buddy-up with her on her daily hike.

We saw lots of wildflowers.

     I've probably traveled up through eight plant zones since leaving Texas in April, so every week further north I get to see a bonus of spring wildflowers. 

The campground is located on the Dworshak Reservoir.

Alice affectionately calls the steep up/down trail "Tough Little Trail"; she grooms and walks it almost daily.

     The 15-mile dirt road north of Dent Acres was more squiggly than the dirt road approaching Dent Acres from the south. Took me more than two hours to drive 21 miles to Elk River, Idaho, population 125.

View of Dworshak Reservoir from a look-out.

     The further north I drove on Idaho Panhandle's roads, the more accustomed I got to this view . . . .

     At another paved road, a large section had dropped about four inches -- will probably completely slide away during the next heavy downpour. The road in photo below is along Lake Coeur d'Alene.

     The problem is the rock formation under the roads; it deteriorates and cracks easily with freezing wet weather.

     And on slopes, it tumbles down when it deteriorates. I hope the head honcho of Idaho's Transportation Department sleeps well at night. Don't think I'd like that job much.

More wildflowers . . .

More Idaho roads to savor!

     Spent a night at a boat launch area along "Medicine Lake" which is remote and peaceful. Even the White Pelicans agreed it's a good spot to rest.

     The Lake Coeur d'Alene Scenic Byway is spectacular. Lake Coeur d'Alene is resortish with many homes, condos, and lodges built on its steep hills overlooking the large bodies of water. See the boat slips? They too can be rented or purchased at a steep price.

I took a walk on a trail near "Beauty Bay" on the Lake.

Also hiked the short nearby Mineral Ridge Nature Trail.

It's not technically a boreal forest, but it's close!

I love the texture of the pine tree bark.

Deep luscious pink . . .

I've determined that I'm partial to hikes in boreal forests or almost boreal with huge "old growth" cedars or pines.

I wondered about this "structure" on top of a mountain, in below photo.

     I suspect the residents of swanky Lake Coeur d'Alene said "Let's build and erect a cellular tower that looks like a pine tree". Anything else would look monstrous, eh?

Savoring Idaho's Roads

     When you savor something, you enjoy it so much that you want to make it last forever. And savor carries a connotation of doing something slowly. I've been driving slowly, savoring Idaho's river roads and back roads.

The sun played hide and seek yesterday.

I pull over when a vehicle is behind me.

Signs continually warn "Watch for Rock", "Watch for Livestock", "Landslide Area", and "Game Crossing".

I also pull over to pour another cup of coffee, and to fix brunch and supper.

The next two photos are near the 1877 Battle of White Bird Canyon.

It eventually did rain. 

Which is good news for crop farmers.

I'd be content harvesting this field . . .

Three mile downhill good gravel road . . .

Stayed in second gear all the way down.

The fast and furious Little Salmon River.

      The Payette, Little Salmon, Big Salmon, Clearwater Rivers have all been running high and fast, ROILING BOILING and FROTHING! I haven't seen any boats, rafts, watercraft, nothing in the water. It's too dangerous.

     The roads I've been savoring the past two days loosely follow these roads (see below photo) in central/western Idaho. I've taken some detours on dirt roads. Traveling from the south, the Payette River Scenic Byway, then to the Route 95 junction where it follows the Little Salmon River north.

Southwest Idaho, Water Water Everywhere!

     It's one of those strange dichotomies in life. Southwestern Idaho is semi-arid, it's hot and dry in the summer, it's rocky and full of tumbleweeds and sagebrush . . . .

 . . . and yet it's blessed with the Snake River Aquifer and "One Thousand Springs".

     I drove on this scenic byway (see poster below) that more or less follows the Snake River, and snapped photos along the way.

    Here's a quiz to keep your interest. In ALL the following photos along this byway, there is one constant. Try to find it.

Hope their mama has a good sense of humor. The rocks are called "melons" in Idaho.

     I stopped to ask a farmer what this very dark green, small-leaf crop was (photo below). He replied "Mint." Perplexed, I asked, "Mint as in mint leaves for cooking?" He said "Yep!"

Near the Malad and Snake River Confluence.

The Bruneau Sand Dunes (photo below).

Find the constant? Here's a clue . . .

Irrigation systems everywhere!