2026 Road Trip - Day 17

Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026 - Traveling through the National Forests, mountains, and valleys of Idaho - after 230 miles (and 11 Post Offices plus 1 closed one), I checked into the Super 8 - Grangeville, ID at 5 PM:

I started today where I finished yesterday - at Leon's for a GREAT BREAKFAST:

Less than 1 mile out of town, the road I was taking turned to dirt:

I'm sorry - does anyone know how to spell G-U-A-R-D-R-A-I-L-S ????

Up in Garden Valley, going over the Payette River:

I am driving down the Wildlife Canyon Scenic Byway, picking up trash, and getting "the money shot" of the Payette River:

On a Saturday in late-August, it is SO MUCH FUN driving along the river - there are kayaks, inner tubes, white-water raft trips, and just a lot of people out here in God's Creation enjoying life:

Driving north, the river is calm in some places, but it also has WILD spots:

So, I'm driving along, and all of a sudden it looks familiar. I say to myself "I've been here before, and THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE ROADS!". Sure enough, I drove up this same road on August 18, 2019 (read that blog here). It was great then, and it is great today.

BE CAREFUL - just north of McCall, a deer ran across in front of me:

Pretty Nice Post Office for a town of 91 people!

As you head north, the terrain get rougher, cumulating with going up over a high pass:

At 5 PM I checked into the Super 8 - Grangeville, ID:

WAIT - was it "5 PM" or "4 PM"? It turns out the the Northern part of Idaho is in the Western Time Zone, so I just got an extra hour!

Once again - Thank you God for this wonderful IDAHO Adventure Day!

Music for today - iPod ran out of power, so, while it was charging, the first 3 albums are from mp3 cd:

Cassandra Wilson - New Moon Daughter, 1995 album, last heard never - She is a very good jazz-vocalist, and I love her interpretations of pop songs (she has a couple on each album). To quote Wikipedia: The album reached No. 1 on the Billboard magazine jazz album chart and also won the Grammy Award as the Best Jazz Vocal Performance:

Joe Lovano - I'm All For You, 2004 album, last heard never - I like this album:

Charles Lloyd - Hyperion with Higgins, 2001 album, last heard never. Wow - I love his "Acoustic Masters I" album, but this one goes off the rails. Delete

Back to the iPod - various - AM Gold: The Mid-60's, 1995 compilation album, last heard never - 22 songs, only one of which needs to be deleted (Bobby Vinton - “There! I've Said It Again”). Track 5 (J. Frank Wilson And The Cavaliers - “Last Kiss”) is actually THE FIRST SONG I remember on the radio - a tale of teen tragedy, and true love!

various - Awesome Mix Vol. 1 (Guardians ...), 2014 compilation album, last heard in a blog never. Wiell, isn't this A LOT OF FUN:

various - Back To Mono (1958-1969)(cd 1), 1991 box set, last heard never. This is basically "Phil Spector's Greatest Hits", and his "Wall of Sound", and this cd1 is a nice collection of "oldies" (1958-1964):

various - Billboard Top Hits: 1981, 1992 compilation album, last heard never. Good songs, but only 10 of them:

Kim Carnes - “Bette Davis Eyes”
Rick Springfield - “Jessie's Girl”
Air Supply - “The One That You Love”
Blondie - “The Tide Is High”
Olivia Newton-John - “Physical”
Dolly Parton - “9 To 5”
Juice Newton - “Queen Of Hearts”
Daryl Hall & John Oates - “Kiss On My List”
Smokey Robinson - “Being With You”
Kool & The Gang - “Celebration”

Shameless Plug: if you enjoy this blog, you may like my other one about Hiking the 4,000 footers in New Hampshire/Vermont/Maine/New York:
hyperlink: dixonheadingnorth
http://dixonheadingnorth.blogspot.com/

2026 Road Trip - Day 16

Friday, Aug. 28, 2026 - Just traveling through Idaho - after 274 miles (and 12 Post Offices), I checked into the Idaho City Hotel, Idaho City, ID at 5 PM:

This is a lower-rated Super 8. Both the coffee machine and orange juice machines were broken, but 7 minutes down the road (2 exits down I-84) is a Cracker Barrel. I was very happy getting Chocolate Chip Pancakes and well-done bacon; their coffee is excellent. Don't forget the glass of water.

I was able to make a rest-stop at a Recreation Area (that seems to cater to motorbikes and ATVs):

I was able to visit the Snake River for a little bit, which is pretty cool:

A view back down from up on the ridge, looking left-to-right:

For some of today's travels, it is fun being on the Snake River Canyon Scenic Byway:

At 3 PM I was at the far-upper-left of the map, and it was time to drive the 2 hours to Idaho City. On I-84 East for 1 hour 15 minutes, then up ID-21 N for 45 minutes:

ID-21 is a very cool road, following some wonderful creeks/rivers:

Downtown Idaho City, just before 5 PM (I learned that everyone has gone to The Rodeo):

I checked-in at Idaho City Hotel, Idaho City, ID at 5 PM. It worked out great:

With everyone at The Rodeo, it was pretty quiet in town:

Once again - Thank you God for this wonderful IDAHO Adventure Day!

Once again, Music for today are albums that I have not heard before (well, maybe I have heard some):

in this morning's hotel room - various - Day of the Dead (5 cds) cds 1, 2, 3, 2016 5-cds tribute album, last heard 7/29/2020 - Almost all the tracks are very good interpretations:

On The Road: The Rolling Stones - Undercover of the Night (club mix), last heard never - I guess I got this from a library. Good club mix of Undercover, marginal 2nd song:

The Waitresses - The Best of The Waitresses, 1990 compilation album, last heard never. The Waitresses are GREAT - songs like "I Know What Boys Like", "Christmas Wrapping", and "Square Pegs" define "Pout Rock" (maybe I made up that term). Did Wendy and I see them at The Bottom Line during our time in NYC?

The War On Drugs - LIVE DRUGS, 2020 live album, last heard never - I like these guys, and want to get to know their music better, so I listened to this twice. It was good:

The Waterboys - A Girl Called Johnny ep, 1983 ep, last heard in a blog never. With today's driving, I didn't give it a good listen. Wendy and I like The Waterboys/Mike Scott:

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Anthology: Through The Years, 2000 compilation double-album, last heard never. PETTY IS GREAT HIGHWAY DRIVING:

Traffic - Feelin' Good - Stockholm, 1967 (live), recorded 1967, released 2019, last heard never. From a historical point of view, a nice listen. I'm not keeping it because the songs are better on their albums:

Shameless Plug: if you enjoy this blog, you may like my other one about Hiking the 4,000 footers in New Hampshire/Vermont/Maine/New York:
hyperlink: dixonheadingnorth
http://dixonheadingnorth.blogspot.com/