2012-11 Payette River Scenic Byway, Idaho
Hello
All,
Upon returning to Idaho our first order of business was to find some temporary housing. After searching for a few days we found a facility that catered to the business traveler. You could rent a furnished apartment by the day, week, or month. And, the longer you stayed the less you paid for rent--perfect. This provided us a roof over our heads while we searched for a home to buy, make an offer on it and go through the closing process.
We had previously determined that we wanted a townhouse where the yard was taken care of by the Home Owners Association. That way when the desire to travel hit us all we had to do was lock the door and leave. So, the search began.
We beat the streets relentlessly. First searching for the town we wanted to live in, and then the neighborhood, then the townhouses within the community. After a few weeks we zeroed in on the city of Meridian and a subdivision that had a section of nice townhomes. This became our focus and before long we started negotiations on one of the townhouses. Once an agreement was reached all we had to do was sit back and wait for the closing.
But, since we don’t sit around well we decided to take some short trips around Idaho to see more of the area and also to kill some time. Our first adventure was a drive following the Payette River Scenic Byway. Beginning at Eagle, the byway heads north on Idaho 55 to Horseshoe Bend, where it meets the Payette River. From there, it passes through the Boise and Payette National Forests and the popular resort towns of Cascade and McCall before reaching its terminus at New Meadows, ID. It was a beautiful blue sky day and we stopped often at pull-outs to snap photos. We spent most of a full day following the 107-mile scenic byway from south to north.
Upon returning to Idaho our first order of business was to find some temporary housing. After searching for a few days we found a facility that catered to the business traveler. You could rent a furnished apartment by the day, week, or month. And, the longer you stayed the less you paid for rent--perfect. This provided us a roof over our heads while we searched for a home to buy, make an offer on it and go through the closing process.
We had previously determined that we wanted a townhouse where the yard was taken care of by the Home Owners Association. That way when the desire to travel hit us all we had to do was lock the door and leave. So, the search began.
We beat the streets relentlessly. First searching for the town we wanted to live in, and then the neighborhood, then the townhouses within the community. After a few weeks we zeroed in on the city of Meridian and a subdivision that had a section of nice townhomes. This became our focus and before long we started negotiations on one of the townhouses. Once an agreement was reached all we had to do was sit back and wait for the closing.
But, since we don’t sit around well we decided to take some short trips around Idaho to see more of the area and also to kill some time. Our first adventure was a drive following the Payette River Scenic Byway. Beginning at Eagle, the byway heads north on Idaho 55 to Horseshoe Bend, where it meets the Payette River. From there, it passes through the Boise and Payette National Forests and the popular resort towns of Cascade and McCall before reaching its terminus at New Meadows, ID. It was a beautiful blue sky day and we stopped often at pull-outs to snap photos. We spent most of a full day following the 107-mile scenic byway from south to north.
Once you reach the Payette
River the road gradually starts climbing up out of the barren high desert
foothills into the ponderosa pine forests.
On
the left side of the river in the following photo you can see train tracks. The
Idaho Northern & Pacific offers scenic train rides along this route during
the summer months.
We stopped at Cascade Lake for a few photos. This 47-square
mile lake is a popular fishing destination and offers a number of campgrounds
and day parks.
The
scenic year-round resort town of McCall sits on the southern shore of Payette
Lake. Its popular annual Winter Carnival first started in the winter of
1923-24.
Here are a couple of photos along what appears to be the eastern shore of Payette Lake. It is actually a 1,000-acre peninsula that juts into the beautiful lake. Ponderosa State Park covers most of the peninsula and protects it from development. Within the park are hiking, biking, Nordic ski trails and four campgrounds.
Here are a couple of photos along what appears to be the eastern shore of Payette Lake. It is actually a 1,000-acre peninsula that juts into the beautiful lake. Ponderosa State Park covers most of the peninsula and protects it from development. Within the park are hiking, biking, Nordic ski trails and four campgrounds.
We
followed a road into the park and then hooked up with another road that took us
all the way around the lake. It was a gorgeous drive. There were meadows and
marshes.
And
the aspen were taking on their fall color.
Our
next adventure took us to C.J. Strike Lake 45 miles south of Boise. The C.J.
Strike Dam impounds the Snake and Bruneau Rivers resulting in a 7,500-acre
reservoir. It is a popular fishing destination. The Idaho Fish & Game
recommends the following fish for sportsman at the lake: bluegill, pumpkinseed,
sunfish, bullhead catfish, channel catfish, crappie, largemouth bass, rainbow
trout, smallmouth bass, white sturgeon, and yellow perch. It is also used by
waterfowl hunters during the fall and winter months.
Finally
we got a closing date of November 9th for the townhouse. Here are a
couple of photos we snapped of the townhouse in mid-October on one of our many
drive-bys! Not great photos but you can kind of get the idea of what our new
abode looks like.
After
closing our friends that live in the area once again put together a crew of
young strong guys to move our household effects out of storage and into our new
home—it was greatly appreciated.
Our travel adventures during 2012 were rather limited. However, we plan to change that in 2013 as we have a number of trips already planned.
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns
Our travel adventures during 2012 were rather limited. However, we plan to change that in 2013 as we have a number of trips already planned.
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns