Yo Idaho People!

“I just bought my airfare to Spokane from Jan 1 to Jan 9....

Anyone interested in a dayhike or overnighter somewhere in Central to Northern Idaho during that first weekend?

Anybody want to mention places I should check out around Moscow?”

“Snowshoeing time anyone?”

“They are hiding from you Adventurist...lol”

“yeah..thanks a lot”

“I thought this was a thread about Adventurist claiming he was a ho. Guess not.”

“You ain't the ho! I be the ho!”

“no”

“Don't want to atleast mention some of the secret spots??? Yeah, I guess than they wouldn't be secrets.”

“Abventurist, don't feel ignored or not welcome. I just didn't see the post for awhile. Man, Spokane in January, let see. Northern Idaho in Januaray, that limits the options. The high country will be snowed in. I'd probably go to Dry Falls. In times past, a huge glacier blocked the Columbia River near present day Bridgeport, and created a huge lake from the backup. When the river finally broke through the glacier, it cut through fast, and let loose a montrous flood that scoured across the basalt covered plains. Canyons were carved, monster sand dunes transported, and huge geologic "modifications" were made in a matter of weeks. This happened a number of times, as the glacier reformed and blocked the river again and again. One feature thus made was Dry Falls, where a branch of the backed up Columbia River poured down across a plain and gouged out a coulee. It made a huge falls, bigger than Niagra, that is now a huge rock fall, with a tiny trickle of a stream falling over the edge of a big cliff. A nice little pool is at the bottom. There are hiking trails to get there, and you could spend a pleasant day there in the winter.

The ski area 49 degrees N is also near Spokane. Schwietzer is a bigger place (ski area), and is in Northern Idaho near Spokane. I'll bet there is good cross country skiing there, as well as downhill.”

“Around Moscow, there is Moscow mountain, which is a big hill, maybe 2000-3000 above the surrounding terrain. There should be cross country skiing there in Jan. There are several monster hills that stick up out of the wheat field in that area. Some have roads (Steptoe Butte) or trails (Kamiak Butte) to the top, and have a nice view of the rolling hills of the Palouse, which is what that wheat country is called. You can see for 200 miles from the top of either.”

“Cool! Thanks for the info.

I'm going there to check out the Univ. of Idaho but I figured I would check out the surrounding area at the same time....”

“Yo Idaho People!

You're all a bunch of Potato Heads !


j/k”

“U of I is great. I was there for 3 years, and my wife and I really enjoyed it. There is fly fishing not too far away, day hikes on Moscow mountain, the buttes mentioned above, and Elk river. There are a lot of paved country roads for bike riding. The good backpacking is at Riggins, in the Seven Devils, but they will be snowed in come January. Summer hiking in the St. Joe Mountains, the Bitterroots, and the Cour d'Alene mountains. There is some great alpine country in N Idaho, at Priest Lake, in the Selkirk range. Those take a few hours driving from Moscow, however.”

“I spent 5 years in Pullman, I remember doing some nice day hikes along the Snake River. I also vaguely remember the drive across the state line to Moscow. Drinking age was only 19 in Idaho then.”

“Soooo....when you say that areas are snowed in....do you mean the roads are closed? Or that you would need 4WD to get in to those areas?”

“In a lot of cases, the roads are closed. In the mountains, they are only open if they get plowed, and they only get plowed if there is a good reason to plow them, like people living along the road, or a popular trailhead for snowmowbiling or skiing.”

“The high country will be snowed in."
~Ideeho Bob

So? I didn't let two feet of snow and sub-zero temps keep me out of the Crags last month.

C'mon, man! Grow some, ummmmm, you-know-whats! LOL!”

“thanks...

How close can I get into the Sawtooths?”

“The road from Boise to Stanley is usually open all winter. When it has to be closed due to avalanche danger, you can get to Stanley from Kethcum year round. From Moscow, those are pretty inconvenient approaches. From Stanley, there are roads plowed to various places pretty close to the Sawtooths, such as Redfish lake. From there you have to snowshoe or ski in.

From Stanley, the view of the 'Tooths is awesome! For convenience, I'd be looking at visiting the Priest Lk area, and the Selkirks. You can call the ranger district there, or in Stanley, so see what roads are open.

Tell me a roadhead where you are interested in, and I'll send you a topo of it.

What are you majoring in?”

“thanks again

I'm going to look at the Management of Natural Resources program...”

“Major dork that is!!!!!”

“Adventurist, I know that is a program they specialize in, so I can see why it is of interest to you. The town is definitely in a pastoral setting, with pine trees and wheat fields all around. I used to say you could see a cow from anywhere in Moscow, an exaggeration, but not much.

When I was in school there from 1992-95, I was just too swamped with work to see much of the countryside. My wife loved the community, and hated to leave. Must dos include a visit to Mikey's Giros on the main drag, and have a gyro with fetta cheese. We specialized in finding places to eat for less than $10, and Mikeys was a hit. Also visit the food co-op, if you are inclinded that way.

For burgers, the drive-in on the main drag, on the way out of town to the north, is the best. Its an old converted A&W drive in. You'll see it fill up with construction workers at noon, a good sign.

A good day trip is to go straight west, past PUllman, and continue to the Snake River. There is a nice little state park down there.”

“Thanks! mmmmmm....Gryos......”

“Made all my lodging plans today...

From Spokane I'm driving East to Missoula,

Staying in Hamilton, MT one night,

Then heading South to Stanley, ID for one night,

Then to Boise for 3 nights,

Then North to Moscow for 4 nights.....

That should me a good overview of the area....”

“Anybody have any of the coupon #s I can use for rental cars?

I'm looking for a good deal for a rental!”

“I can lend you my bike

BTW tried calling you last night. Phone was busy, ya musta been on here.”

“I heard it's custom for out of state visitors to buy a bag of potatos, and hurl them at residents while shouting "the wrath of the potatos are upon us, repent now vegetarian hethens!". If you do this, people will give you gift certificates that can be redeemed for local goods and services.”

“Rotten Potatos?

I heard its customary to place potatos in tailpipes of cars?

I'm going to glue potatos all over the rental car...they will love it!”

“Uh-hem”

“Adventurist, you trader, how dare you leave to head west.
j/k
Have a good trip. Be safe.”

“Go West Young Man”

“Wish I could afford to. Right now I can barely pay for gas to drive the 90 miles to Lake Placid. Oh well. Some day.”

“Yeah...this trip is costing quite a bit and I'm not really doing anything all that exciting....”

“It's all what you make of it. Of course I got excited when I crossed the Mississippi three years ago even though it was only for about five minutes. lol”

“yeah...just getting away is a great thing in itself..

And I am going to be driving through the Rockies...its hard to beat that!”

“You will love the drive you have selected. The views from Stanley in partucular are great. There is a hot springs between N Stanley and S Stanley. There are also 3 nice hot springs between Stanley and Boise. I assume you are driving by way of Lowman to Boise? The other route is to go through Ketchum and Fairfield. Let me know if you want some directions to the hot springs. YOu are going to like what you see, you lucky dog!”

“Adventurist, can your wife go with us to the Catskills?

We're a little short of women for that trip.”

“Tom, did you just ask to borrow Adventurist's wife?”

“So what are you going to do in Boise for 3 days? Let me know your interests, and I'll tell you what to see in Boise.

You will find that Idaho is actually 2 states, N. Idaho, and S. Idaho. There are mountain ranges between the two, and the road between them is called "the goat trail." People in N. Idaho look to Spokane as the cultural and ecomonic center of their world, and people in S. Idaho think the state ends at Riggins.

It will be COLD in Stanley if you are sleeping out. Interested in some day hikes from Stanley? Where are you staying in Stanley?”

“They don't call Mrs. Adventurist "rent-a-wife" for nuthin!

but you have to get by sirpete first.

Byebye Adventurist! Are you looking for a homestead while you're gone?”

“Idaho Bob,

I was thinking of going through Lowman to Boise...I'm hoping its pretty scenic as compared to the route through the Sun Valley area..

How are the hotsprings set up, are they the tourist attraction type or ones that you hike into?

TomT,

I'm not sure if the Mrs can go...I want to leave on Friday and she has to work..so it all depends if she can take off.”

“Bobo,

Yeah...I'm going to look at towns and maybe rentals, houses etc...

Are you going to visit if we move?”

“Do you really want me to visit?”

“ummm...sure...you always bring good food....”

“Thanks Adventourist, you're a real sport!”

“The route from Stanley to Boise via Ketchem is mountains to Ketchem, then plains to Fairfield, them hills to Mountain Home, them freeway to Boise.

The route from Stanley to Boise via Lowman, is mountains to Lowman, then either 1) hills and a pass to Idaho City, then hills to Boise, or 2) river canyon and river views to Banks, and down a river valley to Boise.

Where are you staying in Stanley? What do you want to do in Boise? If I know what you want to do, I can tell you some things to do and see in Boise. It will be very COLD in Stanley.”

“I got a basic room at the Valley Creek Motel in Stanley....

In Boise I'm going to be looking at some apartment complexes, the college etc....

Same thing in Moscow...

TI think I'll take this way to Boise:
"The route from Stanley to Boise via Lowman, is mountains to Lowman, then either 1) hills and a pass to Idaho City, then hills to Boise"”

“Why look at apartments in Boise? Its a long way from Boise to Moscow. I've been looking at apartments here for my daughter, and I can tell you that a two bedroom apartment is around $550 to $650, with all kinds of extras possible, like washer dryer in the apartment, pool, workout room, etc. There are a lot of vacancies, so its a buyers market.”

“The Boise Area would be plan B if we can't find jobs near Moscow........”

“Won't the airfare get expensive if you live in Moscow? Wouldn't it be easier to just move to Idaho? Jeez, you're wierd.”