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Black Cliffs with Randy and Nephews
We take Ann’s brother Randy an his sons Jonathan and Nathaniel to the Black Cliffs for a little climbing. As an only child, it never occurred to me that I might still have nephews some day. I hear “Uncle Dylan” a few times before I really register that it’s me! It’s fun watching how these…
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Boise Bike Trail
We arrange a truck shuttle with Ann’s parents so they can bike down the Boise river bike path while we go up it. This is an area that is central to the city of Boise and the “green belt”, the lush woods along the banks of the bigger rivers in southern Idaho. I offer to…
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Reynolds Creek Loop
We return to the Wilson Creek trailhead early to avoid afternoon thunderstorms this time. Our route takes us past Wilson Creek Feeders, a giant feedlot packed full of cattle and manure – thankfully downwind today. We see boldly patterned reptiles going about their business – a gopher snake sunbathes in the trail, and a longnose…
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But I don’t want to be smart
As we’re starting along one of several trails into the Owyhee mountains of Idaho from the Wilson Creek trailhead, Ann tells me about several people who recently went to the hospital for lightning injuries sustained while waiting for Old Faithful to go off in a storm. We deride their lack of judgment just as lightning…
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Green Belt Duck Walk
I find another bike trail along a canal in Nampa to walk. This one is absolutely packed with mallards, little fuzzy ducklings trailing behind moms and dads. I woke up yesterday with lower back pain, so I walk a little like a duck also.
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Black Cliffs – Mid Cliffs with Doug & Liz
Cousins Doug & Liz are cruising through Idaho on their summer road trip, and we entice them into a morning at the Black Cliffs on the Boise River. The easy routes here still demand careful attention, which makes them all the more fun (sometimes in retrospect). We get coffee in Boise afterward – a fine…
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Greenbelt Trail and Canal Run
I’m feeling pretty good on a barefoot run when I reach the end of the greenbelt bike trail, so I hang a right on a dirt road that follows a canal through developments and farm fields. I go pretty far on the canal road too, and by the time I return to the bike trail…
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Book: on the wing / Alan Tennant
I’m still not sure how the author did it, but I greedily consumed this account of his adventures following the migrations of peregrine falcons. His love of nature and birds is contagious, and I found myself paying more attention to the world around me, which I think is high praise for any book.
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Docked in Nampa, Idaho
Ann’s parents are getting ready to float a stretch of the Snake river in their kayaks with a group of friends when we meet at Celebration Park on the river. We see them off and head for their house in Nampa. This will be our chance to reconfigure our mobile living setup with access to…
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Bruneau Dunes Overnight
It’s a little stormy when we pull in to Bruneau Dunes state park. A blustery wind whips sand off the tall dunes like spindrift on a snowy peak. We’ve seen on the map that there are two small lakes at the base of the dunes, an odd juxtaposition, but we can’t see them from the…