Finally and hopefully all repairs are done and the temperatures were going to be in triple digits so we headed north. Not only were we trying to find cooler temperatures, we needed to stay at lower altitudes as Steve was feeling winded over 2,000′.

We drove to Horseshoe Bend about 30 miles north of Boise and stayed at the Montour WMA campground. Not a glamorous place but we were lucky to get the last site available.

Leaving there, we continued north on route 55 towards Cascade. A beautiful drive alongside the North Fork Payette river with several rafting outfitters along the way.

Not a relaxing drive but worthy of a few “wow’s” along the way.

We don’t really know where we’re going just following scenic routes, so the town of Cascade was a surprise and extremely popular. Large lake with all the water sports you could imagine and dozens of campgrounds.

We tried to find available sites in the area but it was packed, so we drove on and found the quiet little town of Donnelly, halfway between Cascade and McCall, another party town with lots of action

The SISCRA Willow Creek was a members only campground,  but we managed to snag a spot for a couple of weeks. It was pretty quiet during the week, but on Friday the weekenders from Boise would appear.

Once a week there was a farmers market in town, but it being early in the season there wasn’t much of a selection.

This was the north end of Lake Cascade where the fishermen came. Our neighbor Ken rented his site for the season and fished all day.

On the other side of the lake was the town of Tamarack and a ski resort.

The day we were there they had downhill bicycle racing.

When the resort opened in 2004, Tamarack was the first new destination ski resort to be built in North America in 23 years, and turned the area which is just 145 miles from Boise, Idaho’s capital, into a total four season destination. From the whitewater rafting all along the Payette river to the water sports on the lake, mountain biking, hiking and endless other offerings, it is truly an outdoor enthusiasts dream destination.

The area is still being developed and home construction is evident everywhere.

Bikers and bikes being ski lifted up to the top.

Idaho is turning out to be quite spectacular, especially since we came here with no specific expectations. The air is clean and fresh, low humidity and no bugs. Perfect!
But wait………