How to Visit Idaho

My dream this past spring semester at uni was to visit Idaho. My soul craved Idaho. Who visits Idaho? Very few people which therefore meant that I had to go. That was the first reason. The second reason was that I've never been there. Third, it's really far West which seems like reason enough. And forth, finally, and most importantly, the girl who made college survivable for me is an Idaho native and loves the state heart and soul.



The Snake River, the Green, the Desert, and the Sky

So before hopping off to build peace half way around the world (though ironically I'll be closer to Idaho then New York), I had to hop out to Idaho and see it for myself, learn about the big wide west, and give my friend Sarah a huge East Coast hug. I went to Southern Idaho, which is different from Eastern Idaho (and the potatoes) and Northern Idaho (massive Rockies). Southern Idaho is desert; beautiful, flat, dry, treeless and often cloud free. The region is marked by the Snake River which provides the only water available in the area. I didn't expect that, but I was fascinated.

 

1) Visit Ketchum and the Sawtooths. I loved Idaho. I loved everything about the flatness and sunshine and big blue sky. But I'm a East Coaster (or my experience of the United States centers along the East Coast), so the flat shrubby landscape of Idaho hurt my soul just a little bit. But up in the Sawtooth Mountains range of the Idaho Rockies is the adorable touristy get-away town of Ketchum. The Sawtooths are massive, to die for...and really really big.

Desert and Farming: Two-Faced Southern Idaho



2) Visit Bruneo Canyon: Deep into the crevices of the earth, far below where sane men should travel (and can't for technical reasons), there exists, a river, Bruneo River...at the bottom of Bruneo Canyon. Actually, it's completely amazing but the only thing more amazing is that it's at the end of civilization. You literally drive for 45 minutes without seeing another car, or house, or person, or sign, except for the bombing range. And I truly despise when other tourists end up in my pictures which is far from an issue at as far as Bruneo.



3) Visit the Bruneo Sand Dunes: How many landlocked states have massive sand dunes? Not that many and rarities deserve the attention of global nomads. But sit on top of the Idaho's sand dunes and stargaze, feel the sunshine, and well....it's just awesome. Geologists believe that the area was once covered by a giant lake extending beyond the Salt Lakes of Utah, often called Lake Bonneville. The sand remains, even if Bonneville was just a myth.



4) Visit a farm: Sarah is a farm girl. I got to pick veggies, back Seasonal Baskets for her brother's Community Sponsored Agriculture project, dry corn, can tomatoes, and make ketchup. I went to Idaho to see Sarah, and so I had to love her Stoneybrook Farm. (I did really feel like a global nomad though. I'm pretty urban.)



Beautiful food, beautiful farms, beautiful state

5) Walk on the Oregon Trail: I may have grown up overseas, but as a child in Mainland China I played Oregon Trail. It's a computer game simulating what it was like to traverse from Missouri to Oregon, walking for between four and seven months over 2000 miles, all your life in a covered wagon, trying not to die in the 1850s. People did that, half a million people did that...continental nomads! You can still see the trail if you look for it, deep ruts carved into the soil...and marvel.



6) See a good friend: Hols are fun with friends, beautiful, gifted, golden-hearted friends. They know the lay of the land best, and they are the natives to your global nomad. If you visit Idaho, visit a friend...or make one.