By Joe Berk
Susie and I were talking a few days ago about the states we haven’t visited. I’ve hit all but North Dakota, partly due to a sense of wanderlust and partly due to the jobs I’ve had over the last 50 years. Susie has about a dozen states on her “yet to see” list, and one was Idaho. That became our latest destination, and boy oh boy, do I have tales to tell about the Gem State. We flew into Boise with my trusty D810 Nikon and its 24-120 lens and rented a Jeep. Talk about fun! Here’s a brief look at upcoming posts.
Lucky Peak State Park
This was a great ride out of Boise: A super road and an awesome watersports destination.
World Center for Birds of Prey
Fun beyond description with an up close and personal look at raptors and scavengers. This place is fantastic. It was one of the best stops on our Idaho adventure. But they all were great. We had a blast.
Idaho State Capitol
Beautiful, laid back, and fun: Idaho’s government has its head screwed on straight, and they do it all with a part-time legislature.
Idaho State Penitentiary
A fascinating old territorial prison with fantastic stories. We loved this place.
Yanke Motor Museum
I’ve got to wait for permission from the Yanke family to share this story and all the photos with you. It was a very impressive automobile, motorcycle, tractor, and musical instrument collection.
Idaho Military Museum
Small but cool, that’s how I’d describe the Idaho Military Museum. Guns, armored vehicles, aircraft, and more. You’ll enjoy this one.
Basque Museum
The Basque Museum is a small museum in downtown Boise. It covers the history of the Basque people in Idaho as well as other parts of the United States. There were a lot of interesting things to see there and we enjoyed the stop.
Warhawk Air Museum
This is an awesome place with great exhibits, exciting photo ops, and fun docents. We chatted with a guy who moved to Idaho from Alaska, and he knew I guy I went to school with who moved to Alaska. We live in a small world, my friends.
The Hemingway Idaho Connection
Ernest Hemingway had a strong connection to Idaho. We stopped in a restaurant and general store in Picabo on our way to Craters of the Moon National Monument, and we saw three guns that Ernest Hemingway used when hunting in Idaho. Hemingway gave them to a friend, and we got a few photos.
Craters of the Moon National Monument
I blew through this area 8 years ago leading a group of Chinese motorcyclists across the American West, and I didn’t really get to see Craters of the Moon National Monument on that trip. That’s a character flaw I fixed this time around!
Shoshone Falls
Ever wonder how Twin Falls, Idaho, got its name? Well, wonder no more. We’ll tell you the story!
Evel Knievel’s Snake River Canyon Jump
Do you remember when Evel Knievel jumped the Snake River Canyon 50 years ago? We found our way there on this trip, and we climbed the ramp that Evel used for his wild and crazy Snake River Canyon jump. You’ll get the full story in a near term ExNotes blog!
Hagerman National Fish Hatchery
We tried, mostly because we’ve eaten a whole bunch of steelhead trout over the years. Alas, the fish had all left town by the time we visited, but that’s okay. There were plenty of other photo ops!
Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument
Commanding views of Idaho’s Snake River, prehistoric fossils, the Oregon Trail, and more were all a part of our ride out to the Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument.
We covered a lot of ground, we checked the box next to Idaho for Susie, and we did all the above in just 5 days. I snapped something north of a thousand photos, and I selected the best ones to share with you here. Stay tuned, buckle up, and get ready for Idaho!
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Nice, Joe! I remember driving through the Moon place late at night en route from Mt. Hood Oregon to Borah Peak, ID… eerie and cool!
Eerie and cool is a good description, Grant. Hope all is well with you. Thanks for commenting.
Idaho. Go figure.
I didn’t think Idaho had enuff people to staff all those museums. No wonder the legislature is part time . They are all out looking for that monster potato on a flatbed that was a popular tv commercial a couple years back .
Seems like Idaho is a cool (actually cold) place. Looking forward to learning more.
I lost some respect for EK bcz of that sham snake River deal. Remember it was pay for view back b4 present day media infrastructure and one had to go to a theater to see it.
The whole idea was BS. We had astronauts in space , so what was the big deal of shooting over a canyon in a rocket? The fact that it fizzled not withstanding . And later his kid pulled the same hoax , although I don’t remember that rocket was even fired !
But that’s not a knock on Idaho . I recall part of Oregon east of the Rockies wanted to join Idaho . Or was it Washington? That was good idea.
I wish Ct would. But then it would ruin Idaho.
Evel Knievel was an interesting man. We just watched a documentary about his life on Netflix, or maybe it was Prime. I saw him perform at the East Windsor flat track races when I was a kid. He put on a tremendous show. I’ll tell more about that when I get to the blog on the Snake River Canyon jump. Finding that ramp was very, very cool.
Hi Joe, love the blog stuff. I have to say that while the Idaho you saw is pretty cool (all favorites of ours) it’s more “northern Utah”!down there…if you want to see the real deal, head north on 95- the Real Idaho starts around Lewiston and continues north to Canada…
Forrest, thanks for this input. I’ve not spent time in northern Idaho. Your suggestion is a good one. Maybe in another year or two. There sure are a lot of places to see in the U.S.
He’s right about the ID panhandle. It’s very cool and almost sort of a “south Canada” mixed with rich people ski towns and interesting bald bikers with gruff attitudes and long beards. Had a buddy who lived there and visited a couple of times. VERY good scenery, town of Post Falls just big enough for me and if needed Coeur d’Alene is close and Spokane is easy airport. We spent one day eating/drinking on sort of a “get in the truck, we’re going on a tour” and had meals and a few beers in three states in same day easily. On the big lake there, there’s a sports bar where the men’s room has a one-way-mirror looking back into the restaurant where when standing at a urinal you can see the patrons – Shooter’s – https://blackrockmarina.com/shooters-bar-grill/ There’s a great store in town full of “olde time” stuff that’s a mix of antiques and historic and some of the stuff is quite valuable and one of a kind. https://coeurdalene.org/places/idaho/coeur-dalene/shopping/ciscos-gallery/ Charles now lives back in ND again, oddly your other “missing state”. dlc
Thanks, David.
Hey there Joe,
I’m the ‘Charles’ DLC is referring to. Consider yourself ‘cordially invited’ to come visit ‘legendary North Dakota!’ Give me a heads up and I’ll make sure there’s beer in the fridge.
Chuck AKA Charles
Awfully nice of you, Chuck. Thanks, and thanks for commenting.
“Craters of the moon” is on my bucket list Joe and its only a solid days drive for me.
Im really looking forward to your Idaho
Stories.
In northern Idaho there is a large deep lake where the Navy tests submarines. Lake Pend Oreille
Also Wallace ,ID mining town would give your Nikon a good historic workout.
Thanks, Rob.