Three Scenic Idaho Byways

Emma and I headed out fairly early today because the plan was to drive three of the scenic byways in Central Idaho.  We ended up doing the entire length of the Peaks to Craters Byway, and good portions of the Salmon River Byway and the Sawtooth Byway.  I have to say that I’m thinking I really got spoiled with my two months in the Yellowstone area.  It’s hard to top that area for scenery and wildlife.  I’m not sure I can ever beat that in the lower 48.  With that said, today was a gorgeous day and the scenery was enjoyable (all 300 miles of it). 
One of our first stops was along the Salmon River.  The drive goes through National Forest and BLM land.  This river got it’s name from all the Chinook and Sock Eye Salmon that have historically migrated up this river, after years in the Pacific Ocean, to spawn.  It was common for them to reach a length of 4’ and weigh 40 lbs.  Of course, then we had to build some dams, and over fish the population, so that by 1994, only one salmon was spotted at this point in the river.  The dam has been taken care of, and the fish have been put on the endangered species list.  This year, locals are very excited because they have seen quite a few salmon.  They travel upstream from the ocean in June and July, and begin spawning here at Indian riffles in late August and September.  I’m happy to hear about the improvement in numbers.  I, however, did not see one fish.  :(

As I headed down the grade into Stanley, Idaho, after following the Salmon River for about 40 some miles, I pulled over to get the header picture of the Sawtooth Mountains.  Of course, the Salmon River and those wonderful Idaho fences helped with the picture composure.  :)
Getting these pics in May or June would have added that snow capped extra.  Timing can be everything.  :)  All of the roads on these three byways are two lane with very good pavement.  I believe the worst grades were only 6%, so all the roads are do-able with big rigs.
The last portion of this circle tour of scenic byways, was spent on US 20, and took us through the Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve from a different direction.  Today, we went through the portion that was used as Goodale’s Cutoff in the mid 1800’s by those pioneer folks heading for Oregon.  I just can’t imagine driving a covered wagon over this terrain.  Dang!  Those folks had some Chutzpa!!
The mountains surrounding the monument just grab my attention.  They have such varied colors and textures.  They look smooth and soft, but looks can be deceiving.  This is a very harsh desert environment.
Pictures, of course, don’t do them justice.  So, you’ll just have to come here and see them for yourself.  :)  I did see two big black tailed bucks, a fox, and too many chipmunks today, but none were interested in posing for a portrait.  :(  I think Emma and I will sit outside tonight and see if a hummingbird will be more cooperative…

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy

License Plates, the continuing saga

So, here it is, getting close to three months since I bought my new to me rig, and still no license plates.  Since I have cell phone service now that I left Red Rock, I did have a message from the Minnehaha Treasurer’s office that there was a problem with sending my plates.  Okay, so this morning I gave them a call.  They told me that I needed to have a notarized affidavit  of non-residency sent to them, and also a weight ticket.  After asking what a weight ticket was, I figured out I could do that.  Seems to me Universal RV in Minnesota could have provided that!  After telling the woman that I am a South Dakota resident, and have a SD driver’s license, she told me I still had to have the affidavit, and that I should just go to their website, print one off, and take care of it.  She also told me I was lucky she still had my paperwork on her desk.  Normally, she would have already returned it to I don’t know where.  Ugh!

I went to the website and viewed the form.  What jumped out at me was that it said if you had a SD driver’s license, you didn’t have to do this form!  It also made you swear before a notary that you didn’t have a SD driver’s license or a license anywhere in the US.  OMG!  So, I called the lady back in  Minnehaha County, and told her what I found out about the form.  She said, “oh, I thought you didn’t have a SD driver’s license.”   Duh!!  Didn’t you listen to what I said???  I must say that she was not the most friendly person to work with.  She also made some disparaging remarks about folks that register their rigs in SD, but don’t actually live there.  Get over it lady!  Anyway, I sent her the weight ticket today via snail mail, so I’m hopeful that I’ll finally have plates by the time I make it to Malheur NWR.  We’ll see.  :(

On a more positive note, when I visit a National Park or Refuge, I usually buy a tee shirt to commemorate my visit.  Well, I think the folks at Craters of the Moon National Monument need a new tee shirt designer.  :)   So, instead I bought this book…
Luckily, I’ve been to quite a few of the places listed, so I won’t have 1000 of them to try to squeeze in!  :)  It’s fun choosing a state, and seeing what this author thinks is worthwhile to see.  She also suggests the best time to be at each place.  Malheur NWR is listed with September and October being among the best months to visit.  Alrighty then, I guess I’ll be checking that one off!  I got the maps and campground guides out again this evening, and I think when I leave here I’ll spend a week in the Boise, ID, area to see some things and take care of getting a tall enough ladder at Camping World.

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy

Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve, Idaho

I had to leave Emma at home today as I headed out for Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve, as I knew I would be doing a little hiking, and the temps would probably be too high to leave her in the car.  Once again, no dogs are allowed on the trails.  I really don’t have a problem with this rule since many folks don’t seem to pick up after their pets.

What an unusual place this is.  It’s also very hard to convey, with pictures, the magnitude of the lava flows in this huge area.  My first stop was the visitor’s center where I was one of the first to arrive.  I had to wait about 45 minutes to view the film on the monument.  It was time well spent, however, going through the displays in the center that explained the evolution of the volcanic activity along the Snake River Valley so long ago.  Volcanic and rift hotspots have moved from west to east over thousands of years, and the present hotspot is in Yellowstone.  That means that at some time in next couple of thousand years, Yellowstone will erupt, and who knows what will happen.  Too bad I won’t be here to learn about that!  :)

Due to “Your recovery dollars at work”, about half of the areas to stop and hike at the monument along the auto tour route are closed.  :(  In the long run, this is a good thing, as it’s obvious that all the roads are being re-paved.  Much of the road work has already been done, so it’s a very smooth ride around the loop.
It’s a crazy landscape, and the designs of the long ago lava flows are interesting.
All of the trails are paved, which is a good thing.  Walking on the lava would just rip your shoes to shreds! 
One of the trails I took led to Indian Tunnel.  This was the only trail in the Cave Area that didn’t require a flashlight and hard hat.  The caves in this area are the result of lava tubes.  The picture on the right shows the natural environment of rock pigeons, which are more than abundant in urban areas.  Violet green swallows were also nesting in the lava tubes.
After walking down those stairs and looking at the cave, I decided to not hike through this lava tunnel.  I’m just not as agile as I used to be, the monument discourages doing these caves alone, and the thought of climbing over all those rocks was more than I felt capable of.  I guess I should have come here several years ago.  :( (you can click to enlarge to get a better feeling of this tunnel)
As I said before, it’s hard to get a real feeling for the magnitude of this place without being here.  You can just imagine the lava flowing and rolling over as it progressed along.
I stopped for lunch at a secluded picnic table and enjoyed some non lava items as I ate.
This is a harsh environment, but some plants and insects have adapted to it.
I’ve always been fascinated by pine cones, and these cones from the pine tree shading my picnic table caught my fancy…
as did this flowering plant.
I bet you didn’t know that NASA’s Apollo Astronauts Alan Shephard, Edgar Mitchell, Eugene Cernan, and Joe Engle learned basic volcanic geology here in 1969 as they prepared for their moon missions.  Yep, they did, and I didn’t know that either.  :)  It was a rather ‘out of this world’ experience today.

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy

Mountain View RV Park, Arco Idaho

Today I decided to take a day off…no packing up, no setting up, no driving, no nothing!  Instead, I’ll tell you about my first full day at Mountain View RV Park.  When I pulled in yesterday afternoon, the sign out front said $30/night.  That’s kind of high for my budget, so I asked about a weekly rate.  It turned out that with full hook-ups with 50 amps, the price was $130 for a week.  That’s less than a $20/night average, so I paid for a week.   Since there is a small cafe on the premises, they also include two free breakfasts with your stay.  For a couple, that would mean one breakfast, but for me that means two days of someone else doing the cooking.  :)  The free breakfast consists of two very large pancakes, and two eggs done the way you prefer.  So, this morning I took advantage of that offer.  It was tasty, and I think I’ll go there for dinner one of the nights I’m here.
The sites are really spacious for a private campground; especially if you are located in the D lane like I am.  The sites are all pull throughs, and I’m estimating that the sites in the D row are about 60’ long, furthest from the road traffic, and have nice views…(you’d think with all that space, I wouldn’t have smushed my car yesterday :( )
such as this one.  While Emma and I were sitting outside this afternoon, I took a look another look at the graduating class mountain:
This time, I was able to find the class of 1922!  I’m thinking there aren’t many, if any, graduates left any more from that class.  :(

While we were sitting outside, a couple of hummingbirds buzzed me.  Okay, you know what that means!  I hopped inside and filled my hummingbird feeder!
Within an hour, the first visitors came to the Hard Rock Bird Cafe!  Wahoo!!  I’ll be continuing my quest for the quintessential humming bird picture.  :)
Of course, you know who (the leader of the pack) came ambling by looking for a handout this evening, and sent Emma into joyous fits.  Sorry, goat, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow for another apple drop.  :)  So, after my day of R & R, I’m thinking I’ll pack a lunch tonight and head for Craters of the Moon National Monument tomorrow.  I hope you’ll follow along.

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy

Hitch itch planning

I mentioned a day or so ago that I was feeling the first pangs of hitch itch.  That usually gets me into the planning stages of my next route, and today was no exception.  I guesstimated  that it's about 600 miles to Malheur NWR in Oregon, and I will have about three weeks to get there.  If you always have numbers going around in your head like I do, then you've figured out that it's an average of about 30 miles of travel a day.

Of course, since I have an appointment in Idaho Falls on August 9 to take my rig in for some issues, that will knock off at least 100 miles the first day.  I don't know how long those repairs are going to take, assuming they have any needed parts.  So, I'm kind of in a quandary.  :(  What to do??

After looking over my book of maps, and surfing the internet, I've decided that I definitely want to spend a few days visiting the Craters of the Moon National Monument.  It's not too far from Idaho Falls, so I thought I'd make some tentative reservations at a campground in Arco, ID.  It's only 18 miles from the Monument, and 66 miles from Idaho Falls.  I've just sent them an email since I can't call them, so we'll see what happens.  If I should have to wait for parts, I'd rather do it where I can be out and about seeing things rather than just waiting at the dealership.  I'm hoping this repair facility works at a faster pace than Universal RV and Marine in Rochester, MN!  I'll let you know.

It was another beautiful, but buggy, day in the neighborhood today.  Other than my rather lengthy planning session, I really didn't do much else today besides taking Emma on several long walks.  I've decided to try setting the alarm again for tomorrow morning (ugh) and venture out early into Yellowstone.  When I drove the motorhome through the park on June 6 from Cody, we didn't stop to see any of the sights along the way from the East entrance because we were on a mission to get to Red Rock.  My plans are to take that route to the East entrance tomorrow and take my time.  We'll see if I pay attention to the alarm or not.  :)

Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later,  Judy