Spud's blog: October 2025 Update

"Floods will rob of us of one thing, fire of another. These are conditions of our existence which we cannot change. What we can do is adopt a noble spirit, such a spirit that befits a good person, so that we may bear up bravely under all that fortune sends us and bring our wills into tune with nature's." - Seneca

It's Autumn now, and it's beginning to get cold. There is now a dusting of snow on the higher mountains.

Picture above, courtesy of Johannes Plenio.

It's been a while since I did any significant posting. I haven't been well - I've managed to get Long Covid, which is basically anemia, and it's causing incredible lethargy. I'll do a post on that issue shortly. There's also an upper respiratory viral infection that's set in - so between the two, I'm gasping for air at the slightest exertion, like getting dressed.

My mother stayed with us for *far* longer than anticipated. She broke her hip in late July, the day after we celebrated her 96th birthday. The hip was replaced, and then she went to a rehabilitation hospital for two weeks. Afterwards, she stayed with us for an additional 6 weeks, which was stressful for each of us, including the pets.

We had a tilting bed out in the shop from when my mother-in-law was staying in assisted living. I never got around to getting rid of that bed - apparently there was a reason for that. Before my mother was released from the rehabilitation hospital, we got all the cobwebs and dust off, and moved it into my office. It's heavy, and in my rough condition, I honestly thought that my heart was going to explode as we dragged it up the stairs onto the deck.

Once we made a bedroom of the office, it became useless as an office, of course. So our online activities had to be done using a laptop on the dining room table. My mother's hearing aids failed, so she couldn't participate in conversations unless we shouted at her, which upset the pets, who would go into hiding. Everything was just awkward and stressful, and my mother is getting a bit dotty, so we had to be very repetitive and try not to get frustrated. I'm not sure how much longer she will be able to remain on her own, even with some wonderful neighbors giving her a hand.

That's the backstory for this post, and also the reasons why I haven't been doing much with this blog recently. The reason is lack of time and privacy, feeling poorly, and lack of access to my preferred computer battle station. We are back to normal now - except for moving that heavy-ass bed out of my office.

Recently I returned to Boise with my mother, and rather than taking the Washington/Oregon desert route, we drove straight down highway 95 through Idaho - a much more entertaining route, even if it's always responsible for some delays.

Below: This time around, the route was the dark blue one on the right.

While in Boise, I stayed with my mother for a few days to ensure she was set up with food, a follow-up appointment with her doctor, a visit to her bank, and arrangements made to get her hearing aids looked at.

This is just a series of pictures of the trip down South and back up through Idaho a few days later. I hope you enjoy a bunch of images taken from behind the wheel of a speeding car. I really didn't have the luxury of pulling over every time I wanted a picture - so I'm sorry about the quality of the images.

Every one of these "Road Trip" posts, I've taken a picture right after getting on the highway. As you can see below, we were experiencing drifting smoke from a couple of fires over in Washington state - predominantly the Lower Sugarloaf fire and the Labor Mountain fire, each one at about 43K acres burned. The entire trip south was a bit grim and gray.

Below: The Labor Mountain fire, taken from Leavenworth, WA

Below: The Lower Sugarloaf fire.

It was good to get away from the smoke, but it took several hours of driving time to reach clean air. Below: Climbing out of Coeur d'Alene, ID, heading South.

Below: Entering the town of Plummer, ID. This town is on the Coeur d'Alene tribe reservation. Reservations they are considered a nation within the nation, so state laws do not apply, nor do federal taxes. Fireworks that would otherwise be illegal can be purchased, and tobacco is free of federal tax - so you see retail outlets that sell mortar-type fireworks and tobacco stores, like the "Warpath" fireworks store below. As well, there is nearly always a casino built on tribal land. As you drive into these small towns, you have to slow down - so while the distance is shorter through Idaho, the time traveled is the same or longer.

Below: Driving across the Palouse. It's a highly farmed area of ripply land, mostly dry-farmed wheat and canola plants. It's quite pretty in the springtime.

Below: A nicer view of the Palouse, courtesy of Sathish Jothikumar.

We caught up to a long line of cars that were stuck behind some enormously wide and slow-moving farm equipment. Several miles later the owners of the farm equipment found a place to pull off the highway, and we were able to get back up to traveling speed. Shortly afterwards, I took this picture of a farm hand washing off some sort of harvesting machine prior to it being put away for winter, below.

Below: Going down the grade into the town of Lewiston - I think the warning sign said that the grade was 7%. There is a runaway truck ramp filled with deep gravel to slow an out of control truck in the image.

Below: Lewiston has a reputation as a foul-smelling town, and it's due to the Potlatch paper mill. The digesters that break down the lignin in wood pulp release a lot of stinky gas, and the valley traps that odor. True story: First time I drove down Lewiston grade with the family, my daughter caught a whiff of the paper mill and said "Dad!!!!" :).

Below: One of the many early 1900's-era inactive railroad trestles among the Palouse. This one is a few miles South of Lewiston.

Below: An image taken while driving across the Camas prairie.

After passing through the town of Grangeville, ID, you come down White Bird hill, which was an absolutely notorious switchback road when I was young. Below: Looking across at the mountain where the old White Bird switchback road runs.

Once at the bottom, you reach the town of White Bird, and find yourself driving along the Salmon river, sometimes known as the "River of no Return" They aren't referring to this part of it though - this section is for families going rafting in mild waters.

Below: A few images taken while driving along the Salmon river. It's quite dry through here, as the surrounding tall mountains remove most of the moisture. The hillsides are covered with cattle trails, and the riverside was once hydraulically mined.

After traveling along the Salmon river for a while, you pass through the town of Riggins, ID. It was once named "Gouge Eye" after a saloon fight ended poorly for one drunken patron. It's now a tourist town for rafting, and is the entry to the Seven Devils Mountains (which I backpacked into as a teenager) and Hell's Canyon.

Once past Riggins, the road climbs out over several miles alongside the Little Salmon river, and you start seeing trees again, Below.

Eventually the road leads up to a high alpine meadow called Long Valley. In the summer, the miles-long meadow is gorgeous, but everything was pretty dry when we passed through.

At the center of Long Valley lies the town of New Meadows. The highway splits here, and you can take a Western route into the Treasure Valley/Boise area, or you can take the Eastern route - it depends on whether you are heading to Oregon and/or don't want to drive a snaky road along the Payette river or not.

We took the Western route, highway 55, through McCall, Cascade, and Horseshoe Bend.

We passed through the skiing/boating/tourist town of McCall, ID. Too many coffee shops and man-buns there these days. When I was a kid it was a nice snowy place to take an inner tube and slide down hills. This town is also a mile high, but it doesn't brag about it.

Below: Somewhere between Cascade and McCall.

Below: Approaching Cascade, ID, near the south end of Long Valley.

Below: An old scenic WPA bridge across the Payette river on Highway 55.

Below: Same bridge, different perspective, more time to take the picture, and a greener season.

Below: Dry country again. Approaching the old lumber mill town of Horseshoe Bend. It used to have a lumber mill with an old sawdust burner when I was a kid.

Below: An old lumber yard scrap wood and sawdust "wigwam" burner. It's about all I remember about the town of Horseshoe Bend from back in the day.

After a lot of heavy afternoon traffic, we reached Boise, my home town. I couldn't resist going straight through downtown and getting pictures. Below, the Cabana Inn, somewhat worse for wear.

Below: What used to be Hannafin's Cigar Store.

Below: The Idanha Hotel.

Below: The old Ada theater, renamed "The Egyptian" at some point after renovation. The interior is seriously cool.

Below left: The old Pioneer Building.

After a long drive it was time to unpack the car then go get some food. There was nothing in my mother's refrigerator - the neighbors had thankfully cleaned it out of perishables. I chose Mexican - Enchiladas Verde w/arroz con frijoles.

The following day it was time to deal with two months worth of mail.

And fix a couple of minor issues at the house, like the bathroom fan.

The following day, I we visited the old neighborhood in the East end of Boise, where I (mostly) grew up. I had also grown up in Caldwell and Emmett, but those memories are very hazy.

Below: Bruce Street in Boise, where we rented three different places - the first one was the right-hand side of the duplex apartment, behind the black car.

Since leaving Boise, I've always missed the catalpa trees, with their huge lime-green leaves and stick-like seed pods.

I got my mother's affairs in order over the next couple of days and then it was time to retrace the previous path down south. The air and weather were far more agreeable on the return trip. I'll just add the images with a brief description.

Below: One of my employers before I joined the military. If I'd played my cards right, I could still be washing windows in Boise for the American Cleaning Service Company.

Below: Climbing the pass leading from Boise to Horseshoe Bend. Pretty dry country.

Below: Outside of Horseshoe Bend.

Below: One of the many slow-downs you get when taking the scenic route!

Below: An old bridge across the Payette river to access a small group of houses.

A little place called Banks along the Payette river. Used to ride my motorbike here once in a while and have lunch. It looks like it's morphed into a river rafting operation.