Pictures of the Week 2010-8
Hello All,
After placing Coeur d’ Alene, on our list of possible places to relocate to we decided to check out more of Idaho. Departing Spokane Valley we back tracked into Idaho and then turned south on US-95 which is the main north-south highway in the state. It wasn’t long before the terrain changed from mountains covered with evergreens to rolling hills and huge wheat fields. It seemed like everywhere we looked farmers were busy harvesting the wheat. There was chaff in the air which was not much fun for Dave’s allergies but was a sight to see with the fields harvested into beautiful flowing landscapes.
After placing Coeur d’ Alene, on our list of possible places to relocate to we decided to check out more of Idaho. Departing Spokane Valley we back tracked into Idaho and then turned south on US-95 which is the main north-south highway in the state. It wasn’t long before the terrain changed from mountains covered with evergreens to rolling hills and huge wheat fields. It seemed like everywhere we looked farmers were busy harvesting the wheat. There was chaff in the air which was not much fun for Dave’s allergies but was a sight to see with the fields harvested into beautiful flowing landscapes.
We don’t have a clue why these
squares were in these wheat fields. The wheat fields went on for miles.
As we approached the town of
Lewiston the wheat fields gave way to rolling barren hills. The first people of
European ancestry to visit the Lewistown area were members of the David
Thompson expedition of 1803. Thompson was scouting the area for the Hudson Bay
Company located in British North America. They wanted to establish new fur
trading post in the area. British North America is now the country of Canada. Thompson
established the first white settlement in Idaho--MacKenzie’s Post. But it soon
failed as the local Nez Perce tribesmen considered trapping to be women’s work.
The tribe was migratory and apparently women thought they already had enough to
do. This was followed by the Lewis and Clark Expedition in October 1805. Lewis
and Clark also passed through the valley on the return trip from the Pacific in
1806. The town of Lewiston, Idaho, was named after Meriwether Lewis and Victor
Trevitt’s hometown of Lewiston, Maine.
Lewiston is located at the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater Rivers. On the city’s north end, the old highway climbs 2000 vertical feet in 10 miles. It was called the “Spiral Highway.” The very twisty road opened in 1917, and has 64 curves. It was the primary route north for 62 years. While the old highway is still open for the adventurous among us, a new paved highway in now open. As you can see from the photos the new highway is still steep and has its fair share of curves.
Lewiston is located at the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater Rivers. On the city’s north end, the old highway climbs 2000 vertical feet in 10 miles. It was called the “Spiral Highway.” The very twisty road opened in 1917, and has 64 curves. It was the primary route north for 62 years. While the old highway is still open for the adventurous among us, a new paved highway in now open. As you can see from the photos the new highway is still steep and has its fair share of curves.
That is the Clearwater River
from left to right in the following photo and the Snake River from top to
bottom. Lewistown, ID, is on the east side of the Snake River and Clarkston,
WA, on the west side.
As we worked our way south on
US-95 we went in and out of the mountains. The highway goes through some rugged
canyons and travels along some fast moving rivers. It was a lovely drive. As we
approached the southern part of the state the mountains again gave way to
farmland.
Our target destination was the little town of Parma. Dave’s ole high school buddy John and his wife Pam had invited us to stay with them for a few days to explore the area. John is a soil scientist and has his own laboratory in Parma. He works closely with farmers here and around the world testing their soil. On the rich farmland around Parma farmers raise cattle, horses, goats, potatoes, onions, corn, seeds of all kinds, hay, grain, hops, and a multitude of other crops.
John drove us around the area. We learned more about farming than we ever dreamed of learning. For example, did you know there are male and female corn plants? It was fascinating. As we mentioned before the area produces seeds for all types of commercial crops for shipment around the world. In the following photo the tall corn stalks with tassels are male and the shorter are female. They plant two rows of the male and then four rows of the female plants followed by another two rows of the male plant and on and on.
Our target destination was the little town of Parma. Dave’s ole high school buddy John and his wife Pam had invited us to stay with them for a few days to explore the area. John is a soil scientist and has his own laboratory in Parma. He works closely with farmers here and around the world testing their soil. On the rich farmland around Parma farmers raise cattle, horses, goats, potatoes, onions, corn, seeds of all kinds, hay, grain, hops, and a multitude of other crops.
John drove us around the area. We learned more about farming than we ever dreamed of learning. For example, did you know there are male and female corn plants? It was fascinating. As we mentioned before the area produces seeds for all types of commercial crops for shipment around the world. In the following photo the tall corn stalks with tassels are male and the shorter are female. They plant two rows of the male and then four rows of the female plants followed by another two rows of the male plant and on and on.
The area is a major onion
producer with over 22,000 truck loads shipped each year. For folks that eat
“Awesome Blossom” onion rolls in restaurants around the country, this is where
they come from.
Here is a photo of one of the
beautiful horse ranches in the area.
The next day John asked us to
meet him at the airport. He had just returned from a flight to Klamath Falls,
Oregon, to pick up soil samples for analyzing. He owns an all composite
Columbia 400 turbo airplane--it is a beauty. He had his female pilot provide us
an hour scenic flight around the area, which we thoroughly enjoyed.
From the air you can really
see the amazing patchwork of the farmlands in this part of the country.
We spent so many years
traveling in an RV that we just couldn’t pass up taking this birds-eye shot of
an RV park.
The Columbia 400 has a state
of the art Garmin 1000 navigation system. We definitely felt like we were in
good hands.
Upon landing we helped put the airplane back in
the hangar. It was the conclusion to a wonderful day.
During our stay in the area we
also explored the city of Boise, but more on that later.
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns