Central Idaho drive with pics

[Lost River]

I took a drive to meet with a friend and to get out of the house, as I have been cooped up post back surgery. I took the daughters car as it gets much better gas mileage than my land cruiser and there is very little snow currently.

I had meant to take the camera along and snap some pics as it is usually a good time of year for wildlife and this was no exception. I had plugged it in to charge the battery and left it, in my haste to get an early start, which was a real bummer, since there were no shortage of great shots, as it ended up. Really bummed about that. :(

Being only a few weeks out of surgery I promised I would not be wrestling elk hind quarters, even though the hunt is still on for me, I have a cow tag and I would be driving right through the unit I hunt. My luck being what it is, the damned things would tempt me like a fat kid an cake..

More on that in a minute.

I was making good time, so as I got near my cabin I took a side road, and ran into a herd of wild horses. The only thing I had to take pics was my crappy cell phone and the lighting was poor to say the least.

I will apologize now. None of these pics are worth a crap. All I had was my old iPhone, and it does not take good pics, so it is what it is...

These guys blend in amazing well sometimes and I actually was almost on top of them before I even saw them.

https://i.imgur.com/nIEiraU.jpg


Normally you cannot get even close, but this one was fairly old, was not moving too quick, and did not seem to care. I talked to her as I walked slowly at an angle in her direction until I got as close as I dared for a pic. They burn a lot of calories this time of year, so this was close enough.

https://i.imgur.com/wye045y.jpg


Long road to nowhere.

https://i.imgur.com/GvqBL1W.jpg

[Lost River]

Heading out to the main road, with my .308 at my side, and a cow tag in my pocket.... Sure enough:

https://i.imgur.com/SuEHli3.jpg

Total Chip Shot!

About 125-150 yards. I shouted HEY! and a couple cows stopped and looked at me. Every bone in my body was telling me to drop one, go buy a couple blue tarps and fill the kids car with elk quarters like a proper Idaho redneck!

That said I KNEW I would never, ever hear the end of it. Plus it would make me late. I still have a chest freezer relatively full of meat, so I am not exactly hurting but these dang things were practically begging for it, and it is pretty much NEVER this easy. Normally they are two ridges over from the truck and you kill yourself trying to get hundreds of pounds of meat up and down steep, snow covered mountain sides to the truck.

https://i.imgur.com/5ILp3Vf.jpg

This was KILLING ME:confused:

But I let them go...:(

[Lost River]

The Salmon River is starting its annual ice up.

Soon the ice will start to jam up into huge flows. right now it is just starting to narrow the flows.

https://i.imgur.com/NyWqK3V.jpg

Local momma coming to town with her kids:

https://i.imgur.com/2SXkCoX.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/fq9na01.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/m6ryt26.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Nae0sdN.jpg

[Lost River]

There were actually a BUNCH of mule deer out in the hills but they were at a distance and my phone just would not pick them up in the lighting, since they blend in so well. In one field though there were some Bighorns that came down to feed, and further down river a few were above the river, at the base of a cliff. Only one was visible, and barely at that camera wise.

I REALLY need to get a camera and not keep stealing the wife's!

https://i.imgur.com/3aNECZv.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/GApZkZh.jpg

[Lost River]

Near where the Pahsimeroi River comes into the Salmon there are Wild Turkeys and this day was no exception.

They are right up on the road.

https://i.imgur.com/wjhKnTo.jpg


https://i.imgur.com/54Q1NBo.jpg

[Lost River]

That was all before 11:00 am. Pretty good morning!

I was really bummed about forgetting the real camera though. It kills me to see such great scenery and not be able to share it with people.

The flip side is that I suppose that with the state growing as fast as it is, maybe I should keep quiet and keep telling people that Idaho is flat and nothing but potato fields and barren desert. :p

[Coyote41]

That was all before 11:00 am. Pretty good morning!

I was really bummed about forgetting the real camera though. It kills me to see such great scenery and not be able to share it with people.

The flip side is that I suppose that with the state growing as fast as it is, maybe I should keep quiet and keep telling people that Idaho is flat and nothing but potato fields and barren desert. :p

Yes please. Delete all the photos and just post potatos. That is all Idaho has. Please stay away.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Erick Gelhaus]

Gorgeous, thanks for sharing.

[MGW]

Idaho is one state I have never been to. I need to change that.

[BigT]

That is beautiful.

[BobM]

Idaho is one state I have never been to. I need to change that.

Same here. On my list of things to do after retirement

[Borderland]

We drive thru ID every chance we get. One of the highlights for me heading south. I'll give everyone this one tip and only one. If you're traveling on I-84 with an RV stop at Three Island Crossing SP on the Snake River near Glenns Ferry. You won't be disappointed. ;)

[Lost River]

I felt a little guilty the pics were so crappy.

Here a few from a couple years back of a bit better quality, same time of year.

https://i.imgur.com/Z8Ie2b2.jpg

Hard to see here but the wind was howling off the top of the mountain, which was 12k.

https://i.imgur.com/GEiTGVg.jpg

[Lost River]

https://i.imgur.com/8QcBJcO.jpg


https://i.imgur.com/XlUnjBs.jpg


Awesome country, but a bit rough during the winter.

The wind can be brutal.

[Lost River]

Early last January I was heading elsewhere and it was storming hard, so I got on a site I know and checked the temps at the cabin. It was fairly chilly.:rolleyes:

Then I checked Mount Borah (Idaho's highest mountain) which is close by.

This was the temp at the top.

https://i.imgur.com/sBdOzKi.jpg



Bear in mind that it is 12.6 and change.

On the valley floor, about 5k feet below (if I recall) it was around 20 below, and blowing but that sounded balmy compared to being up top..:cool:

[BobM]

Those temps are hard for me to imagine. I live in SW Ohio and my first year on patrol about 30 years ago it was -25 a couple days but I don’t think it’s been that cold since.

[Lost River]

That pic is from a site called windy.com.

It is an awesome site for checking out conditions anywhere on the planet in real time.

You can use it for numerous purposes. Real time weather conditions, topo, etc.

Outstanding resource.


:cool:

[Robinson]

Those temps are hard for me to imagine. I live in SW Ohio and my first year on patrol about 30 years ago it was -25 a couple days but I don’t think it’s been that cold since.

We had 60 below in NW Ohio during the blizzard of '78. Probably a once in a lifetime event though. What Lost River is showing us is obviously a whole different thing.

[ralph]

We had 60 below in NW Ohio during the blizzard of '78. Probably a once in a lifetime event though. What Lost River is showing us is obviously a whole different thing.


I remember that..I was living in S.E.Ohio then, (still am) and I remember alot of people’s water lines from the street to the house freezing up, the furnace in the house I was renting at the time ran continuously.. But now, this week it’s looking like it’s going to be in the 50’s for daily high temperatures, most of the week. What Lost River is showing is a real winter. Having worked outside most of my career as a pipe fitter, I can remember some pretty cold winters.. You know it’s been a cold one when the temperature get up to around 30-32 degrees and it feels warm...

[Poconnor]

Looks terrible, barren, cold, I bet it’s full of rattle snakes. Only a crazy person would move there. If a gun crazy person would be sick enough to move there; where should he look? Asking for a friend