Boise, Idaho: Enjoying the Heat

We spent last night at a US Forest Service campground without any hook-ups (no electricity, no water, and no septic) . RVers call it boon docking; MLA calls it no fun what so ever. In addition (or would it be minus?) we did not have cell phone coverage or Internet connectivity; hence no blog for Saturday.


Saturday started early with a free eggs and pancakes breakfast at the Mountain View RV Campground in Arco, Idaho. The best; really hit the spot. And did I mention it was free? We left Arco and drove a short distance to the Craters Of The Moon National Monument.


Wow, what a sight. It really is just like those lava fields you see of Hawaii on TV, except it's no longer flowing here in Idaho. Miles and miles of lava field. We hiked to two of the lava spouts. Even though it was hot out today and throughout the summer, one of them still had snow inside. Apparently lava is a great insulator plus the snow was about 20 feet down inside the lava spout out of direct sunlight. Still very cool (no pun intended) to see snow here.


In another part of the park we hiked back to the lava caves, which are really lava tubes. The park service has a paved path you hike on to get to the lava caves. The path is there for two reason: 1) believe it or not the lava is fragile and 2) the lava is so sharp it destroys even the best hiking boots in short order. Talk about hot. Everywhere you look, you are surrounded by black. Black rocks, black sand, even the path, which is made of asphalt, is black.


It was actually a relief to crawl down into the lave tube. MLA was a little apprehensive about scrambling up, over and around all of these lava rocks, however she hiked through the longest lava tube, about a tenth of a mile. Doesn't sound like much however there's no Park Service installed path. You just work your way through, trying to see where others have gone before you. Oh, did I mention you needed a flashlight.


They suggested helmets however, in light of the fact we did not have helmets, we wore our hiking hats. They offered at least a small amount of protection. Actually, according to MLA the hat didn't protect your head all that much. Remember these are lava tubes and the ceilings dripped molten lava. Once the lava source 'dried up', the lava emptied from the tubes leaving these tubes behind. And of course the lava dripped from the top of the tube which left the 'ceiling' covered in 1-2 inch drips that acted like spikes.




At the very end you had to crouch down and crawl through a narrow tunnel. MLA explored another smaller tube and when she turned around, she forgot the tunnel was now only about 4 feet tall. Ouch!

This place is the largest lava field o fits type in the continental US. It was created because of a rift in the earth's surface. Without the gas pressure of a 'normal' volcano that ejects lava high into the air, you get lava that flows out of the ground for miles. In fact this rift stretches ~50 miles. There are ~60 of the lava cones.


Craters Of The Moon National Monument was soon in our rear view mirror (camera actually) as we headed towards Ketchum and Sun Valley, Idaho. Sun Valley is where the rich and famous come to relax; many own homes in the area and locals talk about seeing Bruce Willis, Arnold Swarcheneggererererer (OK, you spell it), Demi Moore and many others in the small town. We didn't see any stars in town however we did see four para-sailors take off from the mountain top and drift down into the valley. Very cool.


We camped just outside of Sun Valley, Idaho. Many of the campgrounds in the area have shut down for the season, especially the public campgrounds, however we found a US Forest Service campground. It was a beautiful spot with great views of the Sawtooth Mountains.

My friends in Boise suggested we take the scenic route to Boise through Ketchum, Sun Valley, Stanley, Idaho City and then down the Ponderosa Pines Scenic Byway into Boise.

This morning we left early and went up the mountain to Galena Pass and down into Stanly Valley. Spectacular! Around Redfish Lake and Stanley Lake, the Salmon River, and then the Payette River. Wow.

It amazes me that we were 800 miles from the Pacific Ocean and yet here was the beginning of the Salmon River. And yes, some of the salmon do swim 800 miles upstream to spawn. The Salmon River was labeled the "River of No Return" by Lewis & Clark when they realized no single river flowed from the heart of the country into the Pacific.

The scenery is beyond my feeble attempts to describe: vast flat valleys sprinkled with clear sparking streams and rivers; mountains that erupt from the flat lands and soar far into the sky, so far up portions are above the tree line. Foothills and mountains covered in some type of bright red bush, similar to the Burning Bush shrubs we have back home, but smaller. The hills covered in reds and browns and pine greens.

And switchbacks, followed by switchbacks, with a few switchbacks in the middle just to keep things interesting. Almost four hours straight of switchbacks. About 20 miles outside of Boise MLA had had enough. "Don't they have any straight roads in Idaho?" she asked (more like shouted however I'm too much of a gentlemen to mention that). It was a lot, especially trying to wrestle a 58 foot long package of RV + Motorcycle+ Car. Some of the drop-offs took my breath away, especially those without guard rails; and there were quite a few without guard rails.

Still, Idaho ranks among the most scenic states we've been to so far; right up there with Colorado. It's amazing how much diversity and beauty this country holds. And few people never get to see just how beautiful. A shame. So MLA and I are committed to seeing as much as we can in our travels. It's a tough job however some body's got to do it!

We arrived this afternoon in small town near Boise called Caldwell. We are staying at the Ambassador RV Park which (to MLA's delight) has a pool, hot tub, and great weather in which to use said facilities. Looking forward to seeing some of my friends from work who live in Boise. And exploring more of the spectacular scenery Idaho has to offer. We'll stay at least a week. Then maybe head down to Reno to see some more friends.

See Ya!