Remember when that Biker Babe suggested I take ID 21 to Idaho City about a week or so ago? Well, that’s what we did. It turns out this route is the Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway. Now I understand why she suggested it. It was a gorgeous drive. Idaho has quite a few official scenic byways, and all of them have been well worth my time to travel. I wish all states had such publicized routes. This view is from a little ways past the Boise Diversion Dam. The water is pretty low right now, but you can see that it can rise much higher. 
If you take the Ponderosa Pine Byway the whole length, you end up in Stanley, ID. I did the Sawtooth Mt. Scenic Byway in early August, so I chose to only go about half way today. Stanley is part of that byway.
I imagine that the spring snow run off would change the look of this scene dramatically.
I’m not one for taking too many pictures of old buildings, but I couldn’t pass this unusual place up. The lady at the Visitor’s Center said that lots of people like to stop and see this building with all it’s “junk” attached to it. :) Idaho City was a booming gold mining town in days of yore, and was once the largest city in the west. It’s not much now. |  |
Today’s 100 mile excursion provided a welcome relief to my crankiness over being stuck here for a while. If the weather cooperates, I just may do another of these wonderful scenic byways around Boise before I leave.
Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later, Judy
Posts
What bright blue skies you had on your ID Scenic Byway Drive!!
ReplyDeleteI am glad the weather cleared up enough to give you a break from dreary gray!
Thinking of you stuck there in Idaho!
That is one of the drawbacks of having a larger motor home. We camped at some of Oregon"s State Parks and they were lovely.
ReplyDeleteCalifornia's don't seem to have hook ups.
I was going to do that scenie byway last year, but maybe the coming year it will happen. If I get to travel again, I'm going to collect info from select blogs, yours being the first of them, and pick some great places to go.
ReplyDeleteHOLY MOLY THAT HEADER IMAGE! I would cry if I saw that. I can't even fathom the power of the driving force of water, wind and earth behind such incredible formations. Nature is a beautiful thing.
ReplyDeleteAs far as publicized Byways are concerned, I own a book called America's Scenic Highways and Byways that I'd recommend to everyone. It has all 50 states with a great description of the Byways along them. You can also visit http://byways.org for tons of info on some great scenic roads if you don't want to invest the money (or the space! it's a big book) in the book.
ID is on our list of places to explore next year so keep up the great posts. And I'm glad you had sunshine finally. That makes the whole world look so much better.
ReplyDeleteIf you hadn't been "stuck", you would have probably missed that beautiful drive. Beautiful photos.
ReplyDeleteTHAT'S what I'm talking about! National Forest campgrounds. Those beautiful trees, and they smell so good. That's where I want to camp! And that's why I want a smaller RV and no toad. Or one of the reasons, anyway.
ReplyDeleteThe photos are great, but I'd like to see that house up close. Quite a place.
Barbara
When we get a bit of cabin fever, nothing cures it like a little daily road trip to see something beautiful or interesting. Great pics of your byway trip.
ReplyDeleteOur trips are usually through Idaho and not TO Idaho, but we intend to explore the state in more depth in the future. Thanks for giving us a road to add to our exploration list!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful place and amazing pictures. I would love to see it during the spring thaw.
ReplyDeleteI 2nd Sarah's comment about the book, America's Scenic Byways. We have one and I think it's one of the few hard cover books that will go with us when we full time.
Judy, got my old guys gold card at the National Park here, the other day, can't wait to start getting half price admission to Park & BLM facilities, to bad your not old enough yet. be safe out there. Sam & Donna.
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice drive you took us on thanks.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures, looks like you enjoyed the drive. You asked about us being caretakers for the KOA this winter. TC will be taking care of things and I'm going to try to find a job somewhere in Hagerstown. We will see how it goes.
ReplyDeleteMy "old guy" has had his Golden Age card for 6 years now! Now THAT is a card well worth it!! I just read your older post...I love Jiminy Cricket..and remember his song!! If you get a little nervous..just "Give a little whistle"...(a little scary that I remember that!) Great photos as usual!!!...and we loved Stanley Idaho!
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to see these pics when there's no snow. I took that same drive 2 years ago in February, and the snow in Idaho City was about 6 feet deep (they'd had roofs collapsing under the weight). It's a nice drive!
ReplyDelete"Today’s 100 mile excursion provided a welcome relief to my crankiness over being stuck here for a while."
ReplyDeleteImagine my crankiness level of being stuck in one place for over 6 months every year when I would love to be on the road.....!!
I LOVE the old building with all the junk on it - have to go see it!
ReplyDeleteI'm with Sarah ... that's one great header image. And I really like the way the road snakes through the second photo.
ReplyDelete