The first thing we did after pulling in the slides, was drive down to the picnic area right at the base of these huge sand dunes. The lake in the area, with the dunes towering above it was quite a magnificent sight to see early in the morning. The epitome of serenity for sure. I took a few more pictures from this perspective. Nature is quite amazing ! I took a photo of the beautiful silver-grey trees around the lake. I don't know what they are but I loved them.
Leaving the State Park, we continued on our way north on Hwy 51, crossing over the beautiful Snake River (which we have done so many times in all of our travels between North and South !). It is a beautiful spring morning and the greens are green and the snow capped peaks in the distance are white as white!
We wind our way pass areas of massive farm production with fields full of grain growing. Then, all of a sudden we will be surrounded by Rocky, craggy lands covered in sage brush and lava rock outcropping a. Quite the contrast for sure. And then, over another hill, it's green pastures full of content cattle and sleepy little farms and far a communities once again. Such a beautiful land this Idaho is!
One of the prettier little cities we passed through was Mountain Home. It is here where we hopped back on to an Interstate. We head back West on I 84 until we get to Boise. What a beautiful city this is to drive through. Especially once we turned off of I84 and headed north on Hwy 55. The neighbourhoods are bordered by an array of trees and manicured lawns which are so beautifu on this spring morning. We will drive 111 miles along this highway. North of Boise, we begin the "Payette River Scenic Byway". Again, I am wowed by the amazing scenery all around us.
We wind our way up and up then down and down through the most munificent hills and valleys. Some beautiful homes perch on top of the surrounding hills which are spattered with beautiful yellow flowers. I might add that along this first 30 miles or so there are many 'runaway lane ahead' signs so you can imagine how long and steep the grade is going down out of these mountains into the valley. (More breath holding and closed eyes !!). But the valley below is so green and lush with a beautiful Payette River running through it.
This byway is a real outdoor enthusiasts area. For sure, the river Rapids are a big draw to kayakers, white water raft companies, fishing, and even dirt bike riding. I took a picture of the sign which describes al that this Scenic Byway has to offer. We climbed out of the valley and were in the Boise National Forest. I don't know how many times I verbalized how beautiful it was ... but it was many !
By afternoon, we are back into cloudy skies and strong winds. This has not been the kindest road trip home to BC for us in the weather department. In fact, we think it is the coldest return trip we have had on our way home to Predator Ridge.
Once we got to a lovely little town called New Meadows, we turned on to Hwy 95 north. We passed a sign that said we were at the 45th parallel - half way between the equator and the North Pole. We had about two more hours to go UNTIL ..... Joe said, "look honey - there's a hot spring. Should we turn around and check it out!"... and we did just that. Pulling into Zim's Hotsprings, we weren't sure what to expect.
What a pleasant surprise to be camped in a grassy meadow, satellite hooked up, wi fi working just fine, and a wonderful natural hot springs pool to soak in. We've had our afternoon soak and after dinner, we will have a pre-bedtime soak. Talk about relaxing. This is one of our favourite things to do and we, for sure, we do brake for hot springs even if it means cutting our day of driving short!
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