The Sawtooth Mountains

Last Thursday I took a day trip to the Sawtooth Mountains. I went Southeast and then North from Boise to Idaho City. Right before Idaho City the stupid warning light went on in my car telling me it was below 37 degrees, but by the time I left Idaho City it had warmed up enough for the light to go off and it stayed off for the rest of the day. Idaho City looks pretty much like it did in the 1880s,



Mr. Dog watched me park and seemed to be really hoping I would let him outside.

Then I went North to Lowman and East to Stanley (elevation 6300 feet.) This is the Ponderosa Pine Scenic Route and that is what the drive was, pine tree after pine tree after pine tree. The Fall color is mostly in the underbrush and there were a few hills covered with dots of yellow, but not much color. There was a long stretch where there had been a fire and where tall blackened sticks stood up over desolate ground and this made me think of The Road again. I seem to be haunted by that movie.

One problem with day trips is that you end up at your destination mid-day and this is not the best time of day for picture taking. I read that Redfish Lake Lodge is one of the best places to view the Sawtooths, but I think the best view is in the morning. I was looking West at the mountains and into the sun and looking West in the morning, with the sun rising behind me would have been a better picture. This is the Sawtooths right before Stanley,


This is from Redfish Lake Lodge,


Redfish Lake Lodge closed for the season on October 9. It was not cold (after Idaho City) and a beautiful day on Thursday, but I hardly saw a soul all day and most of the lodging and restaurants were closed. I would love to go back and stay at Redfish Lake Lodge and get those morning pictures, they have several packages with hiking, biking, and riding. They re-open in May.

You can see where the Sawtooths got their name, they are really jagged and steep. I could even see this from the views of the Sawtooths from Craters of the Moon.

This is another side of Redfish Lake, look at that clear, clear water,



This is on my way back out of Stanley,



There was a big fire and by the time I got back to Boise, the smoke was hanging over the city. That wood fence went on for miles and miles and it looked like work to put up and maintain. I figured it had to be pretty old, but I did not see one rail out of place and I did not see any barbed wire on the entire drive.

On my way back, I went through Lowman, but then I kept going West to Banks and then South down to Boise. This takes the same amount of time and I thought I would see something different, and this part of the drive I saw more farm houses, less pine trees (what a relief), and more color. This is Crouch,


Even Crouch had done the same thing as everyone else and tried to build a planned community that was now mostly empty.

After Crouch my allergies started to kick in on top of my cold and I was glad to get home. I think my 3rd month review is going to be about adjusting to the climate and the pollens.

A storm came in this morning and is supposed to last through Tuesday. The weatherman does not predict snow for Boise, but I bet that drive I just took will be covered with snow soon.