World Center for Birds of Prey - August 2011

California Condors

The 580-acre World Center for Birds of Prey is located in the outskirts of Boise.  It was established in 1984 by the Peregrine Fund, an organization dedicated to saving birds of prey from extinction.  The center includes a large research library, a visitor center, and a captive breeding facility.  Fifty-seven California condors, part of the captive condor breeding program, call the center home.  Most of the condors are far away from visitors, but a few rotate into a large outdoor cage just outside the Velma Morrison Visitor Center.

In 2010, eleven condor eggs hatched at the Boise site.  As of the end of 2010, sixteen chicks had been raised successfully there.  Five captive-raised adult condors from Boise were released into the wild in the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in September of that year.  For information about the condors and the next release date and site, please visit this web link: http://www.peregrinefund.org/condor.

Turkey Vulture

Several other raptors can be seen at the center, including owls, peregrine falcons, and bald eagles.   We attended an indoor nature demonstration where a very clever turkey vulture showed off its skills and visited with the audience.

Harpy Eagle

Harpy Eagle*

The harpy eagles were huge and their feathered head dresses were quite impressive.  We saw them in their cages and later in an outdoor tethered flight demonstration.

Hooded Peregrine Falcon

Hood being removed

 We were treated to a free-flight demonstration by a peregrine falcon - the first one of the season.  One handler walked out into an open field carrying a lure.  The falcon beat its wings and pulled on its tether in anticipation as the second handler removed its hood.

Airborne!*

The first handler then began swinging the lure on a long tether.  The second handler released the falcon.  It flew a few huge circles in the air to stretch its wings in true free flight for the first time in months, then made a pass or two at the lure in the air.  To keep the falcon from becoming overheated in the extreme heat, the first handler then let the lure fall to the ground and the falcon landed on it. 

If you are ever in the Boise area, this is a great place to visit.  Set aside time to drive out into the adjacent Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area, a 480,000 acre nature reserve along 81 miles of the Snake River set aside by Congress in 1993.  The Snake River canyon contains the largest concentration of birds of prey in North America.

*These two pictures were taken by Marilyn.

McCall Road Trip - August 2011

Big Payette Lake

The destination for today's blog is Big Payette Lake, a beautiful glacial lake in the West Mountains of the Payette National Forest.  The lake is at an altitude of about 5000 feet, up to 300 feet deep and covers over 5000 acres.  The resort town of  McCall, about 100 miles north of Boise, is located on the south shore of the lake, and provides access to year-round outdoor enjoyment.

Shoreline swimming area and marina

The scenery in and around McCall is incredibly beautiful.  The movie Northwest Passage starring Spencer Tracy, Robert Young and Walter Brennan, was filmed here in 1940.

McCall has a very large marina, a small portion of which can be seen in the picture on the left.   Jet skis and sailboats are on the lake all summer.
 
McCall usually receives the most snowfall in the state. Over 500 miles of snow trails are in the area.  Two famous residents who made good use of the snow are the Olympic skiers Mack Miller and Patty Boydstun-Hovdey.

Barbara Morgan, the first teacher in space, also hails from McCall.  She was the backup to Christa McAuliffe, who died in the Challenger disaster.

For more information about McCall check out this link:
http://www.mccallchamber.org/

Marilyn and I started our day in Boise and drove north on the Payette River Scenic Byway (Idaho Highway 55).  We soon left the high desert plains and entered the forest, following the north fork of the beautiful Payette River upstream.  The views from the car were spectacular, with lots of white water and tall pines.  We stopped at every highway marker along the way. 

Rainbow Bridge

The Rainbow Bridge across Idaho 55, built in 1933, is the largest single span arch structure in Idaho.  It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its engineering design.  The builders managed to avoid destroying the natural beauty of the area.

Upon arrival in McCall, we had lunch at a restaurant on the lake, then hit the gift shops, finishing up with a yarn store.

Pelican - Cascade Reservoir

On the way back to Boise, we drove around the west side of Lake Cascade, formed when an earthen dam was completed by the Bureau of Reclamation in 1948. On the far side of the lake from the highway we spotted a pelican sitting on a rock.  He looked lost to me.

The rest of the drive back to Boise included the low point of the day.  We got stuck for an hour behind a very long line of cars following a truck with a wide load traveling at about five miles an hour.  When the truck finally pulled off the road just north of Horseshoe Bend, it was so late that most restaurants were closed.  We were starving, so we stopped at a restaurant that I have a vague feeling included "Cowboy" in its name.  We were the only customers not in the smoky bar we had to walk through to get to the "dining room."  That should have told us something right there, but we were too hungry to pay attention.  We ordered taco salads, waited about an hour, and got something only vaguely resembling what we ordered.

Leaving Horseshoe Bend and its cuisine behind, we soon crested a "hill" we would call a mountain in Georgia, rounded a curve in the road and spotted the lights of Boise in the distance.  We arrived back at Starr and Karen's house safe and sound to rest up for our next adventure.

Oregon Trail, Thousand Springs and Shosone Falls - August 2011

Bee on a sunflower

The Snake River Plain  stretches almost from border to border across southern Idaho.  The geology of the region is fascinating.  It formed from lava flows as the North American tectonic plate moved southwest across the Yellowstone hotspot.  The plain cuts across the basin and range features of the area, making it appear that the Snake River has cut its path across the mountains.  In actual fact, the plain is sinking due to the weight of the ancient lava flows, thereby providing a bed for the river.  For more information, check out information on Wikipedia  and Earth Observatory .

Starr, Marilyn and I set out to visit some of the features in the area. The first stop was Three Island Crossing State Park in Glenn Ferry.  It is the site of one of the most well-known river crossings along the Oregon Trail.  The Oregon Trail History and Education Center displays information about the Native Americans who lived in the area and the pioneers who passed through on their way to Oregon.

Oregon Trail looking west

 The Oregon Trail is very visible in the park, as it is in many spots of the Northwest.  The dry climate has preserved the ruts since the 1800's.  This view is looking west on the plateau to the east of the Snake River.

Oregon Trail looking east

A good part of the Oregon Trail looks pretty much like it did when the pioneers crossed it - mile after mile of open sagebrush plains.  This shot was taken at the same spot as the one above, but looks to the east.

Oregon Trail ruts crossing an island 

 One branch of the trail crossed the Snake River using the three islands of the park.  The ruts of the trail can be seen on the island in the photograph.  It was a treacherous crossing, but those pioneers who made it across had a shorter route to Oregon with more abundant water along the trail.

Some of the Thousand Springs

The next area we visited is called Thousand Springs because of the innumerable waterfalls flowing out from openings in the eastern cliffs along the Snake River.  The water seeps down through thousands of square miles of porous volcanic basalt into the Snake River Aquifer, then flows west to discharge along the Snake River cliffs.

Shoshone Falls

Sunset over the Snake River Canyon

Last stop of the day before heading back to Boise was Shoshone Falls.  They are higher than Niagara Falls.  They are fullest in the spring during and after the snow melt.  Even though it was August, the roar of the falls was incredible.




Just before we left to drive back to Boise, we were treated to a beautiful sunset as we looked downriver below the falls.  Marilyn took this picture at the height of the color.

Idaho City and Crooked River Trail - August 2011

As promised in my last blog, here is the first entry about the visit Marilyn and I made to Idaho last August.  The first adventure was a trip to Idaho City and a hike along the Crooked River trail.

Idaho City was established during the 1862 Boise Basin gold rush.  The gold strike there was bigger than any other gold strike in America.  The town has wooden sidewalks and many of the historical buildings still stand, housing restaurants and gift shops.  There is a snowshoe/cross country ski trail around the airport and a sledding area east of town.

At the height of the gold rush, Idaho City had a population of over 20,000 and was the biggest city in the Northwest.  Although more women and children lived in Idaho City than any other community in the Boise Basin, it had the reputation as the bawdiest town in the basin.  The vigilante movement that spread across the West was started in Idaho City to try to control the violence.  The current population is under 500 mostly law-abiding citizens.

For information about the history of Idaho City and the Boise Basin, check this link: http://www.boisecounty.us/Visit_Boise_County.aspx

After a pit stop in Idaho City, we hiked along the Crooked River Trail for a mile or so.  The weather was perfect and the scenery was fascinating.  We passed some fascinating granite rock formations, saw some mining claim markers, and enjoyed my favorite trailside features - wild flowers.

Crooked River

Granite Face

Karen explaining mining claim markers to Marilyn

Fireweed

Butterfly on goldenrod

Foamy pink flowers hanging over the river - I have no idea of their name