Adventure Travel Photography Blog
Dom, Sue and I took the “scenic” drive through Ponderosa State Park one evening while visiting McCall, Idaho. I put “scenic” in quotes because while the park is located on a peninsula in Payette Lake, all we could see were trees. There was nothing scenic about it except the plethora of deer.
EXPLORE!
While in McCall, on two different occasions, the locals mentioned that they hiked to Boulder Lake this week. They were excited to report there was minimal snow at this juncture, Memorial Day Weekend. They seemed so enthusiastic, that I added Boulder Lake, located in the Payette National Forest to my hiking list.
Happy Hiking!
Bear Basin is a Nordic center located in McCall, Idaho. In the summer, it is a popular mountain biking and hiking area, though more so for mountain biking. After having driven a decent amount to get to trailheads recently, I decided I wanted a place with an easy hike that was easily reachable. Bear Basin met both of these objectives.
HAPPY HIKING!
We thought our hike yesterday to Goose Creek Falls was awesome, and while we hoped to find another good one, we didn’t expect to find one even better. The six-mile, moderate Hazard Creek Trail with two waterfalls and wildflowers was spectacular!
HAPPY HIKING!
Goose Creek Falls is located in Payette National Forest near McCall, Idaho and the Brundage Mountain Ski Area. There are a few ways to hike it, one hike is 5.8 miles round-trip and another is 3 miles roundtrip. We were going to take the longer way, but after seeing a couple of mediocre reviews on AllTrails, we took the shorter route.
After having been there, I’m uncertain how this hike could be called “boring”. We loved it! We began on a soggy Wednesday morning around 10:30. Only two others were in the large parking area with a pit toilet when we arrived. Perhaps the snow/rain mix for the previous five days had something to do with it! Regardless, it was great to have Dom and Sue join me on my road trip adventure for a few days.
HAPPY HIKING!
Some people in the world just love being on boards: skate boards, surfboards, snow boards, skis, sleds and less common, sand boards. While I’m not a huge boarder of any kind, I have surprisingly been sandboarding at a handful of places around the world. Below are a few places for sandboarding:
SLIDE AWAY!
Sun Valley is a small city located in Blaine County, Idaho. But the term “Sun Valley” is more widely used to describe the surrounding region including the Sun Valley Resort, the ski areas of Bald Mountain and Dollar Mountain, the nearby City of Ketchum, and the Wood River Valley which extends to Hailey and Bellevue. It became popular in the 1930’s when the likes of Ernest Hemingway and Gary Cooper frequented the area.
Prior to tourism, the area was a thriving mining and smeltering community. After mining operations subsided, the area turned to sheep herding. With the arrival of the railroad, the Sun Valley resort opened, and the area has been catering to tourists ever since.
I only spent a limited amount of time in Sun Valley and the surrounding area ten years ago while on a yearlong road trip in VANilla. I have now returned in VANgo and really enjoyed staying in and exploring the area.
EXPLORE!
The Murdock Creek Trail is a 6.3 mile hike located in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area (SNRA). In fact, hikers drive right by the SNRA office at the turn off to the trail on Forest Road 146.
The office was closed due to COVID when I visited, but there are still many trail maps and other useful information about the area in the foyer. If it is open, you can see a variety of animals on display such as a wolf, fox, and badger.
Forest Road 146 is dirt, but easily passable by passenger car. The Murdock Creek Trailhead is a little over a mile down the road and on a spur to the right.
HAPPY HIKING
When I saw the trailhead to Taylor Canyon Loop was located of Lake Creek Road, I was immediately disappointed. This was the first road on which I scouted for campsites when I arrived in Ketchum. I found the sites, simply cut into the sagebrush valley without a tree, quite unappealing.
Fortunately, the 4.4 mile Taylor Canyon Loop Trail, located in the Sawtooth National Forest, does not meander through the sun soaked valley. Instead, it climbs up the canyon through a forested area. In the morning, the contrasting shadows on the hillside and sunlight beaming through the shimmering aspen is beautiful sight.
HAPPY HIKING!
Idaho City, located in the Boise Basin off Highway 21 just 40 miles from Boise, is a historic mining town. Gold was discovered nearby at Grimes Creek in 1862. By 1863, Congress established the Idaho Territory, and Idaho City was the county seat of Boise County.
Over the next two years, the population in Idaho City soared. With more than 6,000 people, it became the largest city in the Pacific Northwest, larger than Portland. The gold strike ultimately produced 3,000,000 ounces which is worth almost a billion dollars at current gold prices.
The mining town suffered several fires and of course the demise of the gold rush. Now, however, it caters to tourists over the summer. As a result, there are plenty of things to do in Idaho City for a day or weekend.
EXPLORE!