The Oregon Trail|SW IDAHO~Canyon Creek to The Kelton Ramp above the Boise River
Memorial Day Weekend, 2013. A friend and I drove the path of the Oregon Trail from the Mountain Home area east of Boise heading westwards towards Boise, about a 45 mile jaunt. The photos begin at Canyon Creek and end at the rim above the Boise River. This section of the Oregon Trail follows along the base of the foothills of the Boise and Danskin Mountains which rise to the north.
This BLM link has information about stops along the route. This section begins on page 28, Mile 10.3 of the pdf.
Heading West. The view is from a hill above Canyon Creek
CCC camp built in the 1930's
The desert was covered with these wildflowers
Interesting rock formations and most likely a good hiding spot for Native Americans to watch the white people ramble on by.
Ditto Creek
Looking back towards Canyon Creek.
My Subaru posing in the Idaho Outback.
leftovers from the feast of a wolf or coyote? There are wolf packs in the Danskin and Boise Mountains just north of this location
Bowns Creek
looking south
Heading into Mayfield. We are about 18 road miles east of Boise and half of that distance in sky miles. Mayfield did not exist during the days of the Oregon Trail, but rather came into its own around 1915 and became a "ghost town" in the 1960's. Before Mayfield came to be, this valley was popular for the local Indians and there are accounts of attacks on wagon trains on the Oregon Trail.
Another southward view
Leaving Mayfield and on to Bonneville Point east of Boise
Bonneville Point with views of the Boise River Valley and of course, Boise
Looking Southwest. Boise is to the right of center.
Southeast at the approaching storm. The Owyhee Mountains are hidden by the clouds.
7 miles east from Bonneville Point is the rim above the Boise River and The Kelton Ramp which was/is a man made route down the basalt rock rim to the lush river valley. This area is downstream from the much higher canyon walls of the Boise River Canyon.
The Kelton Ramp.
from the City of Boise, Oregon Trail Reserve website:
"The Kelton ramp is located about 500 feet NW of Highway 21 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The ramp dates back to the early 1860s. It is a rock cut through the basalt rim between the second and third terraces above the Boise River." http://parks.cityofboise.org/parks-l...trail-reserve/
Down the Ramp
I hope to post another thread soon of the Oregon Trail from the canyon rim through the city of Boise and downtown into The Northend.
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🌲Keep Idaho Green🌲
🌳The City of Trees #boise🌳
Have you also learned that secret from the river; that there is no such thing as time? That the river is everywhere at the same time, at the source and at the mouth, at the waterfall, at the ferry, at the current, in the ocean and in the mountains.-Hermann Hesse
Wonderful landscapes and tour, Sawtooth! I´ve enjoyed your pics of The Oregon Trail. Canyon Creek is amazing. It reminds me to the western films we´ve watched so many times on tv. Beautiful! Thanks for sharing.
By the way, the storm pictures are fantastic too. Great job!
Not really sure what I expected Idaho to look like, but it wasn't this. It makes sense though. Thanks for the pics.
This landscape is one of many in Idaho which has some of the most diverse geography of any state. The mountains just north of where I was at are alpine with forests, rivers and lakes and some gorgeous high peaks.
The views in this thread are similar to much of eastern Oregon.
__________________
🌲Keep Idaho Green🌲
🌳The City of Trees #boise🌳
Have you also learned that secret from the river; that there is no such thing as time? That the river is everywhere at the same time, at the source and at the mouth, at the waterfall, at the ferry, at the current, in the ocean and in the mountains.-Hermann Hesse
interesting thing about mayfield: a few years ago a developer announced tentative plans to rebuild the town as 'mayfield springs' to be an eastern suburb of boise with a population of about 5,000 at full build-out.
there were two other potential developments in that same area along the north side of I-84.
haven't heard anything since.
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“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.”―Mark Twain
“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.”―Saint Augustine
“Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.”―Anonymous
This is a treasure of a thread Sawtooth. Your photography is excellent and you have probably put together one of the most comprehensive collections of photos of this section of the Oregon Trail on the web. This thread is not only a valuable resource for people who are into the history of the trail, but it also shows how diverse the beautiful landscapes are in Idaho in addition to the forests and mountains that cover much of the state.
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