Sawtooth Mountains 8-9-07

Today was our longest field trip day mileage-wise since we started full-timing! We did 410 miles and we decided we won’t be doing that again, especially when the first half of the trip was mind numbingly boring. We took 55 out of Marsing and hooked up with 84 south to Mountain Home where we picked up highway 20 east. That was just miles and miles of sage brush and brown grass. We picked up 75 and headed north into the Sawtooth Mountains. They weren’t much to look at in the beginning but after we got past Ketchum it was prettier. Up in Stanley we hooked onto 21 and followed different creeks and rivers down the mountains, at Lowman we headed west on 44 and then south on 55 and took that all the way back into Marsing. There is a lot of rafting in this part of Idaho, no dams like all our creeks and rivers in California. The creeks were deep and fast flowing, very pretty.

Now it is getting dark and there are quite a few thunderclouds all around. There are several fires burning north of the Sawtooths in the Salmon River Mountains. One is so big it has created an enormous mushroom cloud that can be seen for miles.

The Sawtooth National Rec area is very popular and there were people everywhere and it was hot today around 95. I guess as far as mountains go we are prejudiced because nothing has really compared with the Sierras. So many mountains that we have seen in our travels reminds us of some part of the Sierras and we have traveled the Sierras from top to bottom, west to east and they are magnificent.

So that was our day, now to watch the lightning and hope I can get this posted before a huge cloud blocks our satellite signal. Just as I am getting this posted we had a lovely soaking rain!