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Sawtooth Scenic Byway, Idaho
Come the archers, come the infantry, come the archers of hell
We’re back out west in Idaho, home of potatoes and militia survivalist groups, although I wasn’t near where the militia survivalist groups supposedly are this time.
My best guess (without actually checking) is that I clocked more than 400 miles today in Idaho in my clunky upgraded rental car (a way too big for me Nissan Pathfinder). The reason why I drove so far out of the way can be blamed on an Idaho "Scenic Byways" map. Boise itself (where I am as I type this) is kind if boring, flat with arid California type foothills nearby. But beyond those foothills there are real mountains and forests and streams, and that map made it seem like they weren't all that far out of the way. The map may have been untruthful about distances but not about what was there along the way, wonderful things like the Sawtooth Mountains, as seen here from a picture taken with my iPhone as I drove and drove (and drove) across Idaho.
Boise was ok for what it was, and the Idaho State Capitol building (pictured here) was interesting enough. My flight out was on a Monday, and unfortunately the awesome sounding World Center for Birds of Prey (possibly the best thing to do in Boise) is closed on Mondays. Maybe next time.
If you want to see Idaho, head out of Boise and follow the Idaho Scenic Byway system (not always well marked). Get a map from your hotel or from a highway rest stop before you leave, you can't depend on your phone for maps because of limited AT&T access up in the mountains.
With that map, I spent today (or at least most of today) driving all around Idaho, a fairly big state, especially by local East Coast standards. From Boise (where my hotel is and where my flight home leaves from) I headed hours and hours (ok, about three hours) east to see Craters of the Moon National Monument, a place where it looks like the lava just cooled even though it's been a few thousand years since it's seen any action. At the park they have nonstop fun with plenty of black rocks, a steep ass cinder cone you can climb up, and more than one decaying walk through lava tube. Fun.
The US Men’s Soccer Team may have just lost to Brazil 2-0, but honestly we’re here not for the game as much as we are here to see the stadium. This is the nosebleed seat view of the New Meadowlands Stadium (insert corporate name here), which replaces the old Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
