We head East on Interstate 80 for about 70 miles. Drove up and down lots of big hills and through many valleys. The surrounding hills on this part of the route are displaying more grass than the sage and creosote bush. Despite the misty weather, the green spring palette on these hills is lovely. And the cows look ever so happy !
At Elko, we turned north on to Highway 225 towards Boise, Idaho. I have to say, now that we are at the end of our drive for the day, this is one of the the prettiest drives we have taken on our many trips to and from Arizona. We climb out of the city of Elko and end up in a high plains area, once again covered with sagebrush as far as the eye can see. There are cows on the road when we least expect it and unfortunately, we drove by two calves that had been hit and were becoming food the the Hawks and Ravens.
There is a spattering of ranches and farms along this stretch of road and they are all quite soggy from the rains and snow of the past few days. We passed one house with two very neglected horses in a very wet corral by the house. One of them looked so sick and starved. These are the sights that are hard to get out of my head. Why do people have animals if they can't feed them or care for them !!!
Heading north, we have a smaller range of mountains to the east which is the Shake Mountain Range. To the west, is the snow covered, and very large, Independence Mountain Range. They are covered in so much snow.
As we start to travel along the Owyhee river, from North Fork up to Owyhee, we drive through miles and miles of the most stunning rugged valleys and river passes that we have every driven through. The speed limit is 25 mph and with all the bends and tight curves, it truly is the maximum speed. But the beauty of everything around us was breathtaking. I took so many pictures along this route and even after editing, couldn't reject any more. I would definitely like to take this highway another time. Once we got to Owyhee, we were welcomed to the Shoshone and Paiete Reservation. What contrast to be in this junky, beat up little town just a couple of miles from such stunning beauty.
We finally reached the Idaho border and the highway turned into Hwy 51 N. The road sign also told us we were at the 42nd parallel at the Idaho border. The roads have been dry all day but there is a lot of snow all around us and right down to the highway in many areas. I think Owyhee is at 5400 feet so we are at higher altitudes in this high plain area which is why there is snow rather than rain.
A little further north, we drove through Bruneau on our way to Bruneau Dunes State Park. It certainly is a WOW as you come around the bend and see these record big dunes in the middle of the plain. This park boasts the tallest structured sand dune in North America. It looms 470 feet above the desert floor and is quite magnificent ! There are other smaller dunes (but still very large) as well and a couple of small lakes. The state park has wonderful campsites and all are good. The pictures really don't do the dunes justice but I wanted you to see them. Google Bruneau Dunes Idaho and Bing will provide you with some stunning photos.
We will go for a nice walk and get closer to the dunes despite the cooler weather and wind. Then I am going to pour a glass of wine and do some reading. The drive hasn't been as long today so we have some nice down time.
For my fellow RV'ers... staying in State Parks is so much nicer than parks in towns and cities! Much less expensive, much nicer and bigger campsites, and picnic tables (which we find many city parks don't provide). This park even has really good wi-fi! Something of a bonus for sure.
Until the next blog entry... I remain fascinated by the journey and thankful to have my own little house on wheels to keep me warm and comfy.
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