July 3, 2020 Sawtooth Area, Idaho

Friday July 3

We continue on 75N this morning. 51 degrees at 7AM.  Stopped at a pleasant welcome center with nice amenities even though it was not staffed. I made a video of the nearby cows to send to Rose and Ruby, as they were quite vocal!

And then we head into the mountains.

First stop is the Sawtooth Botanical Gardens - a real treasure!

  Begun as a commercial vegetable and herb garden, it now includes mostly native plants like alpine perennials used to this altitude and climate,  a stream side riparian area,  herbs and more.  There is a small indoor hothouse for a few more warm climate plants like bougainvillea, geraniums and such.

 It is obvious that the place is lovingly tended and we speak to two volunteers who are working there. This is the height of flowering time and is beautiful!   Nice artwork here and there as well.  What a wonderful gift to all of us!

Columbine

Wild Geranium

                                            Chives

An area called Garden of Infinite Compassion features a beautiful Tibetan Prayer Wheel that was blessed by the Dalai Lama in a 2005 visit (one of 2 such wheels in the US).  It has extensive engraving including mantras (prayers), as well as written prayers inside.  Spinning it clockwise is supposed to multiply the number of prayers expressed and help all beings in the world,  purifying their karma (actions). Small ones are used often as a part of meditation and prayers. Our world certainly could use it! We spin.




















We continue on the Sawtooth Scenic Byway, a 116 mile route, and into the Sawtooth National Recreation Area, 756,000 acres within the Sawtooth National Forest. This is a popular ski area and the ladies at the gardens told us that the virus was bad here early - March, April.

The ski town of Ketchum has this sign displayed.
 The Salmon River begins here and is the largest tributary of the Snake.  It flows 425 miles and drops 7,000 feet.

We stop at Redfish Lake which is crazy busy, pick up a map and do a short walk to the lake. This pic is in between a small sailboat and some paddleboarders. Quite an overcast day but that doesn't seem to have dampened anyone's spirits. A great photo op another day.

 This is always a popular destination, but the nearby small town of Stanley is known for its big 4th of July fireworks display, so this weekend is particularly packed.  Some masks but lots unmasked in groups of family and friends; swimming, picnicking, paddle boarding, etc. There is a popular dog beach, too.

 Even the pullouts for trailheads around here are full.  So, we move on - through beautiful green forests, lakes, rivers and streams.  All campsites seem to be bulging and there is a lot of dispersed camping going on, but plenty of green space too.

Another trout fisherman.








We take the turn for Forest Road 013 at the tiny town of Sunbeam.  This good gravel road runs alongside the Yankee Fork of the Salmon River.






The area was heavily mined for gold and we pass the scant remains of a few old mining towns.  Piles of tailings line the road in some areas. We come to a huge gold dredge which has been restored and is open for tours.  (We saw a similar one in the Yukon, so pass on the tour.)

Basically, a blasting team went ahead of the dredge and broke up existing rock along the river.  The dredge then scooped up the rock and sorted it, looking for gold, and spitting out anything that didn't contain gold - thus, the tailings.  This dredge worked this area off and on between 1940 and 1947.  It is a monstrous machine.  The chain of 21 buckets each weighing over a ton carried the rock to be examined.

We found a nice boon docking spot a little ways past the dredge, next to a cool stream.  A few neighbors, but not close. We stopped a bit early, considering how busy things are.  The skies are clearer, but temps are good in the low 70's.

 The stream had some pretty rocks, and in some spots you could see flakes of gold glitter in the sun in black sandy silt,  but they were so tiny, like dust, that they disappeared if you tried to pick them up. (I tried👅)
So we played in the creek, read in the shade and chilled.  Found some wild strawberries nearby but not enough for a snack.  I remember picking them as a kid in Pennsylvania, and we have seen them in many parts of the country, from a neighbor's yard in Texas to Alaska.

Overall, we think this is a beautiful part of the country and would love to visit again at a less covid, less busy time.  There are huge areas of wilderness north of the Recreation area, many lakes, rivers and streams and probably a lot of wildlife when the humans leave.