31st July, 2017

We slept well and feasted on another wonderful breakfast. It was a real shame we had to head off as there was plenty to see, not least the hummingbirds that I tried to photograph but which were rather elusive unless sitting on a branch! A few more hours and a lot more snaps and I probably would have got a good one.

Tony had suggested that we turn right when we got to Salmon just a few mile south of him and detour 20 miles along the Shoup or Middle Fork of the Salmon River as the views were worth it and he was right. It is one of the top rafting rivers in the US with enthusiasts taking 6 day trips down it. It was certainly impressive and it was tempting to carry on on a massive detour, but as ever time was against us. A few photos to give you a feel of what we saw. As you can see, I have mastered the panorama button on Val’s new camera!

We rejoined the 93 and on and on we went, winding our way alongside the seemingly never-ending Salmon River, through Elk Bend and Challis before taking a right towards Stanley, between the Salmon-Challis and Sawtooth National Forests. Our guide book, our rather old guide book, had said that Stanley, an old mining town (or city!) was worth a quick look, so we turned right into it, but to be honest, it did not seem to be that enthralling (my apologies to any Stanley residents reading this – maybe we missed the good bits), so we pulled over and reset the GPS/satnav for Bellevue. This proved interesting as the blue line indicating the direction took us on towards Idaho City and Boise. Ok, thinks I, this must be an alternative route to the Highway 75 we had been on before and the road was excellent and quick. 15 miles on, the GPS woman tells us to turn left. Interesting we all agree, as this seems to be a picnic area and although the lonely loo was a welcome relief, it did not actually seem to lead anywhere else.

The answer was that we had set off from Stanley when the car had been physically facing that way and the GPS felt this was the first opportunity to turn around without actually engaging reverse! What was a surprise was another car also entered the picnic area, turned around and left without stopping, so either they had the same GPS problem or they saw that the loo was occupied (what are the chances of that, they were probably thinking) and headed off elsewhere.

We sped back to Stanley and regained the 75 once again reunited with the Salmon River (that should have been a clue!) and headed for Bellevue all the way to the source of the river and over the pass at Galena Summit (8,501 ft) and down through Ketchum and Sun Valley. Both are the ‘playgrounds of the rich and famous’ being ski resorts in winter and golf and outdoorsy sorts of stuff in the summer. Ketchum was where Ernest Hemingway shot himself dead in 1961 and where he is buried.

The photos do not do the scenery justice, sadly, but they will give you some impression. Just think of them as much, much bigger.

We eventually made it to our next motel, the High Country Inn in Bellevue, Idaho and gave Val a treat of some Thai food! Not the best in my opinion, but at least she had a fix of Asian cooking to keep her going for a while.

And so to bed!