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Written by Tim Bondy
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Friday, 03 July 2009 |
June 27th
2009 Trip Report from Central Idaho
The headwaters of
South Fork of the Clearwater River is somewhere south of the city of
Elk Idaho. Interestingly enough Idaho State Highway 14 follows this
fork of the Clearwater the entire way. This gives the fisherman a
great opportunity to easily fish 40 miles of a nice mountain river.
I only got to fish about 30 miles of the Clearwater and it was a
great trip.
The Fish
While fishing was
the main objective of this trip, the fishing wasn't what I'd call
world class. I probably caught 10 trout and a few white fish. The
size of the trout was a somewhat disappointing 3-5 inch average.
Basically I was catching minnows and was glad all my spinners were
barbless. In other words, you likely will not be keeping a lot of
fish or entering the Guinness Book of World Records while fishing the
South Fork of the Clearwater River. The best part of the Clearwater
is the views and easy access to the river.
The Road - Highway 14
I started fish
close to the intersection of Highway 13 and Highway 14 and headed
upstream towards Elk City. The road was relatively uncrowded and
easy to find pull-outs to fish from. I'd say ATV'er made up the vast
majority of traffic on the road. I only had to pass up a few nice
looking fishing holes where other people were already fishing. Did I
mention that Highway 14 is paved the entire 30 miles I drove? To me
a paved road following a beautiful river like the Clearwater is
unheard of.
Hotels Are Few
I stayed in
Kooskia, Idaho for the night. There aren't many choices as far as
hotels go in this part of Idaho. As far as I know, "The Western
Inn" of Kooskia is the only hotel but there may be others in this
town. The Western Inn wasn't a AAA rated hotel but it was nice
enough for a tired and dirty fisherman. The price was pretty darn
good at $50 a night. With so few hotels in the area, I suspect this
place rents out almost every night. You might want to keep the city
of Grangeville, Idaho in mind if looking for a hotel.
Cell Phones?
This part of Idaho
seems to have been ignored by most cell phone companies. I had none,
zero, zippo cell coverage from my AT&T network. This lack of
cell coverage extended from Highway 14 and the entire length of
Highway 12 from Kooskia into Montana. I was told that "Verizon"
does have a cell tower in the area but I couldn't get it. Not a big
deal unless I had run into trouble.
Kooskia Eats
There are a few
restaurants in town and I ate at a cafe on the north side of town.
Typical cafe type food with friendly customers and waitresses. The
food was reasonably priced and I'd eat at the place again. There was
another restaurant close by but it wasn't open on the day I was
there...Saturday June 27th, 2009 but looked like it was
ready and willing to open. I also saw a Chinese place in town. For
cheaper thrills and for a person with a microwave or kitchenette
there is a full on grocery store called Harvest Foods.
Kooskia In
General
This town looks to
be on a downslide? Lots of commercial real estate for sale/rent and
a fair amount of homes for sale. This town has a great potential for
being a sportsman's mecca of sorts but it just hasn't gotten there.
Of course I know nothing of this area other than what I saw in the 4
hours I spent walking the streets and eating. I wish Kooskia all the
best.
Pictures...
Link to pictures above: http://picasaweb.google.com/tim.bondy/ClearwaterRiver?feat=directlink
Other Information
Distance from
Mountain Home, Idaho to the Intersection of Highway 13/14: 285
miles
Controlled By:
Clearwater Ranger District and Nez Perce National Forest
Fish You Might
Catch: Brook Trout, Columbia Basin Redband Trout, Cutthroat
Trout, Rainbow Trout, Smallmouth Bass, Westslope Cutthroat Trout,
Whitefish.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 03 July 2009 )
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Written by Tim Bondy
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Wednesday, 17 June 2009 |
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Great Idaho Website
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Hiking and
climbing is Idaho? Don't know where to go or bored of the same old
spot? Well, the Platt Family Adventures website found at
splattski.com has tons and tons of information. While there is some
information about hikes and climbs in other States, The Platt Family
does most of their recreating in Idaho.
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Written by Tim Bondy
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Sunday, 14 June 2009 |
Mountain Biking Washout
The last two
weekends have been rather wet in southern Idaho and summer cabin
fever is worse than winter cabin fever in my opinion. Even though
the weather forecast indicated there was a very good possibility of
rain and thunderstorms, I had to take a chance and get into the
mountains. My plan was to park near the Soldier Mountain Ski Area
and mountain bike along the North Fork of Soldier Creek.
I had intermittent
rain showers most of the way to Fairfield, Idaho but the last 12
miles into the mountain the rain stopped and some blue skies showed
through the clouds. The dirt road was rather wet so I decided to
walk a little way up the road to see if it wasn't too muddy to ride
my bike. In the 15 minutes it took to walk up the dirt road past the
Soldier Campground and back, rain started falling. By the time I got
ready to ride, thunder and lightning were crackling around me. Then
the skies opened up and the rain came down in buckets. I waited
about 30 minutes before deciding my biking trip would be a complete
washout.
Soldier Mountain Ski Resort Lodge is
Gone
I knew something
was missing when I drove past the ski area. That something is the
ski lodge. The lodge burnt down at the end of March 2009 ...burnt to
the ground I guess. Below you will see pictures from before and
after except they are taken from different sides of the now missing
building.
January 17th, 2009
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June 14th, 2009 |
Details
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Before Picture was taken on January 17th, 2009 at 2:40PM from the south
side of the lodge.
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After Picture was taken on June 14th, 2009 at 12:05PM from the north
side of the "lodge".
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Photographer: Tim Bondy from Mountain Home, Idaho.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 14 June 2009 )
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Written by Tim Bondy
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Wednesday, 10 June 2009 |
Good Time for a
Good Cause in Mountain Home, Idaho - The Rodeo!
Ramona Dopps,
Daniel Doops' mother asked me to help get the word out about the
Daniel Dopps Memorial Dodge PRCA Rodeo. I went to this rodeo last
year and had a great time. Unfortunately I will be out of town
during this years rodeo.
Details
When: Friday June
26th and Saturday June 27th at 7:00 PM.
Where: Optimist
Park in Mountain Home, Idaho
Why: In memory of
Daniel Dopps who died way too young doing something he loved. Rodeo
was part of Daniel's life but a tragic event unfolded on August 6th,
2005 and a fine young man only 19 years old passed away the next day.
(http://daniel-dopps.memory-of.com/About.aspx)
Prices
Pre-Sales: Adults
$7.00 / Military, Seniors $ 6.00 / Child (6-12) $ 5.00
At the Gate:
Adults $9.00 / Military, Seniors $ 8.00 / Child (6-12) $ 5.00
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 10 June 2009 )
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Written by Tim Bondy
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Sunday, 07 June 2009 |
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Where was this Elmore County Idaho
Photo Taken?
Who's initials are carved in the tree?
To see the answer to this Mystery Phone, click the answer icon below.
Click to see a larger version of this photograph
Hints:
- Dutch Em and Peg Leg Annie traveled
by this spot.
- Elmore County declared a local
disaster emergency to exist in this area a little over three years
ago.
- Number 126.
Answer Can Be Found by Clicking Here or the icon below.
...
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 13 June 2009 )
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Written by Tim Bondy
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Wednesday, 03 June 2009 |
Warning: This is
a Political Sarcasm Post
To Whom It May
Concern:
Today I was lucky
enough to discover "my" houses' value has increased quite
significantly in last year. In fact, the Elmore County Assessor has
determined on January 1, 2009 my house was worth about $7,000 more
than I bought it for in July 2008. I cannot wait until the housing
downturn starts reversing itself and house values start really
increasing. Heck, I figure by the year 2020 my humble little home
should be worth at least three times the amount I paid for it.
The negative side
of this great news is my property taxes will also go up? I guess
every rose has its thorn but does it need to prick me during the
worst worldwide economic crisis in modern and maybe even ancient
times? I'm sadden to find out that the 2.13% pay raise I received
from President Obama's economic stimulus plan in the form of lower
Federal Income Tax Withholdings this year will be eaten up by local
property taxes. Oh well, the government giveth and the government
taketh away.
What I find
somewhat amazing is the value of my house in Mountain Home, Idaho has
increased when the news tells me the value of homes throughout the US
have been decreasing significantly for the past few years. Almost
every politician will tell you this economic crisis was caused, in
part (if not in most part) by declining house values. How did I get
so lucky and unlucky in just one year.
Any Elmore County
Assessor out there want to put their money where their assessors
calculator is kept? I'll make a deal with any assessor...in the year
2020, buy the "rapidly appreciating asset" I call my house for
the bargain price $600,000. Remember, property values never go
down...in the eyes of a county assessor? I'll be waiting for a call
from some Elmore County official looking to jump on my most generous
offer.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 03 June 2009 )
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