2023 Fall Trip - Day 15-of-21 - Sept 21, 2023

Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023 - This is as far northwest as I get:

The daytime-focus for today comes from the "Scenic Highways & Byways" book - page 438 has "Hells Canyon Scenice Byway":

So that's where I found myself at 8:22 in the morning:

It is a Beautiful Day out here in Eastern Oregon:

I made it east through Halfway (don't really know "halfway to where") and then Oxbow:

It turns out that the Scenic Byway ends there (the state boundary), but there was no obvious sign, so I drove over the bridge into Idaho:

The road went north alongside the Snake River, which was a reservoir for the next 23 miles:

So, I'm driving north. I know I'm driving north. I know I want to be able to get "back across the river", so I'm looking for a bridge. And then I saw this sign:

2.5 miles up the road is "THE DAM":

AWESOME VIEW from the top of The Dam:

That road heading north on the other side of the Snake River (the Oregon side) goes up to the Hells Canyon Creek Visitor Center:

I parked and went inside, where a woman asked me how I was. I said "I'm confused and maybe lost. I was coming down the "Hells Canyon Scenic Byway" over in Oregon, crossed the bridge, and here I am. How do I get back to The Scenic Byway?" She kind-of smiled, and said that this was the end of the road, and that I would need to go back down and re-cross the bridge to get back to The Scenic Byway. It wasn't their fault that I got lost, so I just said "Thanks very much." And headed back down the 23 miles/55 minutes. Although this side-trip was VERY COOL, it did cost me almost 2 hours. But of course it all worked out great - Thank You God!

Back in Oregon, the rest of The Scenic Byway was pretty cool - I saw pheasant and deer in the forest:

Going alongside the Wallowa River, between Wallowa and Elgin

I checked in to the Super 8 Boise, Idaho at 6:44 PM:

But the day didn't end there. I grabbed my key and then headed back west 16 miles to get to the Ford Idaho Center, where Counting Crows are playing tonight!!!!

I had had an unbelieveable hassle getting my actual tickets (email links, iPhone links, special venue app - don't get me started) - so I saw the green TICKETS awning and thought they might be able to help me. NOTE: I WAS STILL NOT SURE I WAS GOING TO GET IN. The Wonderful Nice lady asked for my id and email address, and SHE PRINTED MY TICKET:

I GOT IN! Dashboard Confidential was the opening act, so I got an excellent Pulled Pork Quesadilla from a food stand:

I made my way down to my seat, which was IN THE 2ND ROW!!!

A look back at the half-moon:

the Crows came on at 8:30 - WONDERFUL Show:

Between an hour-and-a-half and 2 hours:

The day ended back at the Super 8 a little before 11. I drove 455 miles today - Thank you God for this wonderful Adventure Day! Good to see Counting Crows again - one of my favorite bands.

OH - I saw 10 Post Offices today:

I think my favorite is - 97846 - Joseph, Oregon. Although not architecturally distinctive, I like the statue:

Music for today - music from one of my 20-year old cds:

10,000 Maniacs - Blind Man's Zoo, 1989:

10,000 Maniacs - In My Tribe, 1987:

10,000 Maniacs - Our Time in Eden, 1992:

various - 18 Modern Rock Classics From The 80's, 1996:

Paula Abdul - Shut Up And Dance (The Dance Mixes), 1990 - I really like this album, and it has been on my cd shelf for over 30 years:

Bryan Adams - Reckless, 1984:

And the rest of the day with The Allman Brothers Band:

The Allman Brothers Band, 1969 debut album:

Idlewild South, 1970 2nd album:

Eat A Peach, 1972 double album - this is where I found their first live recording of "Mountain Jam":

The Fillmore Concerts (2 cds), 1992 double live cd. These 2 cds collect/remaster "At Fillmore East" with additional tracks that were excluded from the first album: