Author Archives: mdluginbill1910

Today was a fairly short trip, as I was returning to Boise after my ramble through the mountains, valleys and farmland of eastern Oregon, Washington State, and Western Idaho. Last night I stayed in Donnelly, Idaho, a “suburb” of McCall (think Ketchum and Sun Valley) McCall is a mountain resort town that is a favoriteContinue reading “McCall to Boise”

I spent most of the day today on fabled highway 95 that links the northern part of Idaho with the southern region. This highway, which dates from 1927, with major upgrades in 1977 and the early 2000’s, is a marvel of civil engineering, traversing several valleys, following important rivers and climbing one serious mountain. TheContinue reading “The long vertical trip”

Today, after a quick tour of 2 university campuses, I drove through a tiny piece of an enormous agricultural area known as the Palouse. After spending the night in Moscow, Idaho (pronounced “moss-koe”) by its residents. I made a quick tour of the University of Idaho, home of the Vandals. The Vandals are proud ofContinue reading “Into the Palouse”

Today was a travel day. I traveled to Imnaha to try to get to Hat Point, but I spoke to the postmistress and a local resident about the road, which apparently consisted of 24 miles of gravel road with a lot of sheer drops at the shoulder. I took a pass. I did see ChiefContinue reading “And into Washington State”

My day began with a nice breakfast at the Geiser Grand, established 1890 during the gold mining era and refurbished to 21st Century elegance.  The staff are rightly proud of this gem, and service was excellent all around. Then I visited the Baker City Museum, which displayed many aspects of life here, together with worldContinue reading “Meandering through the eastern Oregon high country”

Today I visited Farewell Bend State Park in eastern Oregon and I came close to the site of the first Fort Boise near Parma, Idaho. Fort Boise, which apparently was located on the West side of the river in what is now the state of Oregon was in an area of the Snake River withContinue reading “Oregon Trail History”

I’m in Boise, where Roger Miller wrote “King of the Road.” He was partially inspired by a trailer park on Chinden Ave (rooms to let 50 cents, etc.). We set off model rockets this a.m. at Simplot Field, earlier in the week we drifted the Boise River on a hot day. Jim and Trish setContinue reading “Boise or Bust”