On a hilltop just outside Boise, the World Center for Birds of Prey introduces visitors to some of the planet's wickedest raptors. Established in 1984 by the Peregrine Fund, the center not only contains a wealth of information about hawks, owls, falcons and more, but also breeds them in captivity.
After driving through Soda Springs and Montpelier, we continued along Highway 30 into the southeastern extreme of Idaho, occupied by Bear Lake and a handful of small towns. It was late October, but winter had come early to the region and a fresh layer of snow was blanketing the ground.
After two months hiking in the woods of central and northern Idaho, we still hadn't seen a bear. A major disappointment; and now, we were heading into the bear-free country of eastern Idaho. But there was one last option on the table. As dejected as a family who'd been hoping for a European vacation but settles for Epcot, we pulled up to the gates of Yellowstone Bear World.
The day before the parade of sheep occupies downtown Ketchum, the nearby town of Hailey enjoys the focus of the Trailing of the Sheep Festival. The Folklife Fair brings the traditional music of faraway lands into the Sun Valley, along with activities and food. And in a nearby field, the Championship Sheepdog Trials are held.
We had done whitewater rafting, zip lining, mountain biking and a whole lot of hiking -- but there was still one more outdoor activity we wanted to try: horseback riding. And we couldn't have chosen a better place to knock it off our list than in the Sawtooth Mountains around Redfish Lake.
Idaho has no lack of scenic byways. There are 30 which criss-cross the state, and during our six-week road-trip through Idaho, we made an effort to complete as many as possible. Each had something recommend it, from historical sites, to crazy geological formations or interesting towns. But for amazing scenery, none beats the Salmon River Scenic Byway.
America's third-highest dam is found in north-central Idaho, just outside the small town of Orofino. In fact, the Dworshak Dam is the tallest straight-axis dam anywhere in the Western Hemisphere. During our road trip along Highway 12, it was the first pit-stop.
PETA members, feel free to skip this post. You're not the target audience for the Jack O'Connor Hunting Heritage and Education Center, and probably won't appreciate the photos which are to come (hint: a lot of dead animals). Everyone else, please follow me.
Wild animals who have been injured or orphaned could never be called "lucky", but those in the McCall area at the time of their accident might at least consider themselves fortunate. For the past 23 years, the Snowdon Wildlife Sanctuary has been dedicated to the care and rehabilitation of Idaho's wild animals, large and small.
After our moose encounter, we didn't have to wait long for Mother Nature to rear her head once more. Minutes before we entered the Snowdown Wildlife Sanctuary outside of McCall, a bald eagle swooped down from a tree and soared over the stream in front of us.
