Tuesday August 5 through Thursday August 8
Our drive today is a short one. We pack up and head west on I-84 towards Ontario OR. traveling through rolling ranch and farmland.
Before long we turn off the interstate and join highway 30 heading north through appropriately named Fruitland (6100 souls) as the town is known as “The Big Apple” of Idaho. Plenty of water for orchards as the town lies between the Payette and Snake Rivers.
Downtown Payette Idaho
Somewhere in town highway 30 takes a left, the road north is now designated as US 95- perfect. Next came Payette (7430 souls) known as a gateway to outdoor recreation. The town started life as Boomarang in 1882, a necessary railroad town that received logs floated down the Payette river and turned them into railroad ties.
Downtown Weiser Idaho
Weiser (5500 souls) supports farm, orchard and livestock industries. The city sits at the confluence of the Snake and Weiser Rivers, the Snake marks the border with Oregon. The city is named after the Weiser River but who the river is named for is unknown……..Olds Ferry began operating in 1863 so William Logan took advantage of ferry traffic coming across the Snake by building a roadhouse- the beginning of today’s city of Weiser. Weiser reached the height of prosperity wha a railroad station was established making it a transportation
hub.Weiser bills itself as the “Fiddling Capital of the World”. The national Oldtime Fiddlers Contest has been held each year since 1953. The town still has a great many original buildings from the 1890’s and early 1900’s that are on the National Register of Historic Places.
The old Hunter’s Inn, Cambridge
We continue up the fertile valleys and come to Cambridge (335 souls). The town seems a lot more populous than it is as the business district is a whole three blocks long. The town is known as a ranching, farming community with access to Hell’s canyon and whitewater rafting.
Midvale, Idaho
We cross some hills and pull into Midvale (171 souls) which is named for the valley in which it stands- Middle Valley. It hales back to 1868 when the first settlers arrived. Even tiny towns have a claim to fame- its hometown of former U.S. Senator Larry Craig.
Council, Idaho
Forty three miles up the road is the town of Council (867 souls). Council is the seat of Adams County. Council has an annual porcupine race on July 4th.
Porcupine being guided by proper tools found only in Council
Youth go out a capture a porcupine, race them and return them to where they were found. The Council Mountain Music Festival is held the third week of August. We stop at the USFS station to stretch our legs.
From council the road gains some altitude and we are soon in the pines. The road follows the Weizer River and the canyon it has carved out over thousands of years.
Lumber Mill at Tamarack Idaho
At Tamarack a saw mill and lumber company dominate. We continue on to New Meadows (517 souls) located at the junction of US 95 and US 55. The number of souls has to include every farmer, rancher an their families in this huge meadow As one would expect the place has a gas station and several small shops and cafes.
We continue east on US 55 as US 95 turns to the north. Were heading to Mcall and its great RV Resort. The industry uses the term “resort” very loosely- no guidelines at all as a matter of fact. But I’d say McCall RV Resort comes as close as any. The park seems to be continually expanding and this time we are in the newest expansion. We drive in from the west into McCall paralleling Payette Lake’s south shore, drive a couple of miles south to the RV park and check in. Siz months ago I tried to make reservations at the beautiful Ponderosa State Park but had no luck. That’s how popular camping in an RV has become.
Downtown McCall ID. US 55 urns left just before your tires get wet.
We are in McCall to visit Jil’s brother Rob and his better half Cathy. It’s been several years since we’ve gotten together so this ought to be fun. MCCall has a little bit for everyone- upscale lodges, seasonal house rentals, reasonably priced to upscale restaurants all on the south shore of beautiful Payette Lake. Traffic on the main thoroughfare (US55) is OK in the morning but horrible in the afternoon.
We got together for dinner a couple of times to catch up with family events. We spent time together in a Mexican restaurant that overlooks Payette Lake- what a view, then a nice golf course restaurant the next day. Rob visited our camp site a couple of times. Rob and Cathy are thinking about moving from Mccall in favor of being closer to their grandson. The hitch, as always, is that their kids are thinking about moving themselves. So we’ll see how this plays out.
We love McCall but it has that one glaring negative. It’s a very popular place summer and winter. A lot of folks frequent McCall since it is only 2 hours from Boise. In fact the RV park shows it’s proximity as it rents sites by the month and those folks bring all their toys- four wheelers for trail riding, boats, kayaks canoes, electric bikes- all piled up at their site. But man! The traffic!
Cathy, Rob and Jil enjoying one another’s company
We enjoyed our visit with Rob and Cathy and hope to visit with them some time in the future.
We’ll be heading to Moscow- pronounced Mos- co, Idaho tomorrow. Come join us!
Travel With Jil and Mike 