ID Rather Be in IDaho

Wednesday I headed S from Missoula, MT down scenic byway 12...I traveled this route last year for the first time and can't say enough about how gorgeous this part of Idaho is! Mountains, rivers, wildflowers, wildlife..it has it all...

Right off I came across two sandhill cranes out in a dewy field...

Hwy 12 follows Lewis and Clark's expedition, and the route is dotted with signs, too many to read them all, but it's really neat to follow in their footsteps...this particular sign is about how the men were early naturalists.

The view from Lolo Peak...

This Stellar's jay was right in front of me/above me and I still couldn't get a good shot, UGH! They're common out west...their heads are all black...

Boy was I thrilled when I spied the first spike of beargrass! This cool-looking wildflower was at the top of my 'to see' list! And I only saw about 10 of them in one narrow corridor...

There was plenty of bunchberry growing near the beargrass...we have bunchberry in the Black Hills...as you can see, dew collects in the tips of the petals for a really pretty affect...

One of the unique-looking bridges over the Lochsa River...

I'll have to ID the wildflowers later on and do another post for them...

I saw three different osprey flying above the Lochsa River; this one is just landing in the tree, a good 200 yards away from me on the other side of the wide river.

Another wildflower, hard to miss this color on the side of the road.

I confess that I messed up my route to Oregon and ended up in Washington WAY off course, but took Hwy 395 from Walla Walla down to Burns, OR where my hotel room is...and I need to hit the road now!...395 is a gorgeous route, am glad I went that way despite how freaked I was at first! I've been that route before, but I didn't reach Burns until almost 8 PM. Today I'm heading to S Oregon where we used to live, to see my bro, meet his new lady friend. If I have time I'll do an Oregon post tonight.