Friday, August 19, 2016 Ghost town, dirt road and fish. A full day as it turns out...

Friday,  August 19, 2016

ME-OWT!  There are big mousies here!  I see them in the trees!  ME-OWT!

We got a bit of a slow start this morning, enjoying coffee and electricity.  But, we got moving.  My walk took me along the highway towards town.  I usually do not enjoy walking along highways, but there are very few vehicles and the Sawtooth Mountains tower above, with pines and meadows.  Across the highway is the usual stream snaking through the meadow with mountains behind.  The air is crisp and clean and it makes for a very enjoyable walk.

Rudy wants out big time.  There are chipmunks around and when we take him on the leash, he inspects every tree and runs to all the out buildings searching for rodents.

We decide we will go scout out fishing holes.  One of our homies in the cafe told us about a ghost town, and that there were some pools up there so off we head to the town of Sunbeam and the ghost town in Custer.

Sunbeam is about 15 miles north of Stanley.  Here we go again, weaving along the Salmon River with towering mountains and lush meadows.  Custeris about 10 miles up the road from Sunbeam.  The first few miles of road were paved, then onto the dirt.  Miles and miles of piles of rocks (tailings from dredging) line the road.  We are surrounded by mountains, meadows, streams and pools. 

Custer and Bonanza City were quite the places a hundred years ago.  They made a monster dredge that totally tore up the area in the quest for gold.  Ultimately, the town fizzled out.  There are a few of the original buildings.  There are a few restored buildings with articles from the period inside.  And there is a cemetery with very interesting stories.  There was the suicide by self inflicted gunshot, there were the usual unknown illnesses, falling down, and not putting out enough fuse when lighting dynamite.

Whenever I see the tools and homes of an era gone by, my imagination goes into overdrive.  That tool really meant something to somebody.  That person cared for the tool and for their home.  There was quite a diversity of people in the town, but they kept the Chinese separate.  They wouldn't live together, but they would do business together.  The Chinese did the laundry, farmed pigs and chickens, and everybody celebrated the Chinese new year.

We heard the dirt road wound through the territory up to Challis, so what the heck.  Off we go.  This was the original toll road for the miners.  There are two toll stations that are evident, but pretty much dilapidated, and there is a corral that is all that is left of a rest station for people and animals.  The road is good for one car, maybe one and a half car and it goes for about 33 miles.  We wind through the mountains with any number of streams and meadows.  There is an occasional primitive campground.  There are pines, there are aspens, there are burned up pines - lots of evidence of wildfires, and recent too.  Every time we climb a hill, we lean forward hoping to see if someone is coming the other way.  Fortunately, we only passed one offroader and it was in an area of visibility and where the road was wide enough to pass.  Ultimately, we come upon an arid mountain pass - brown and brushy with a few pines and we wind our way pass some alfalfa farms onto Main Street in Challis.  The 33 mile ride took about 2 hours.

Last year, we bought a fishing license here.  This year, Spouse bought a fishing pole at the same place.  I guess we are regulars!  Now, let's go use it!

We head back towards home on 93, then 75, stopping at one of our favorite spots:  O'brien Campground.  We see our camping spot is taken for now, but we aren't coming here till next week anyway.  If we were to stay on the road passing the campground, we come to Robinson Ranch, which was recently Carole King's hideout.  But for us, we like the fishing hole under the bridge.  It has a deep pool and it is calling our names. 

Spouse has to get his fishing vest ready.  It has pockets... lots of pockets.  And he fills almost every pocket.  My vest has three pockets:  my license, a pliers to release the fish and salmon eggs. 

Spouse, do you have a hook? 

Yeah, it is in my pocket.

Which pocket?

It's in there somewhere...

 

Note to Spouse:  Too many pockets is not necessarily a GOOD thing...

 

At first, the fish are taunting us, laughing at our lures and salmon eggs.  As the sun starts to shift, and shadows start to form, we pull out the big guns - worms!  Hah!  You are mine!  Some trout and brookie!  By now, it is after 7, we haven't eaten much all day, but we have our dinner!  We are about 20 miles from home, driving along the river in deer country at the worst time!  Fortunately, the deer didn't come in to play.  We got back and ate our catch - fresh and wonderful!