Mountain Home, Idaho

July 2 - 4, 2020:

I get an early start from Elko traveling north on route 225 deep into range country as far as the eye can see.  I exit after about 40 miles onto route 226 for the old mining ghost town of Tuscarora, Nevada.  On approaching the town the first thing you see is the frontier cemetery which also has a recent section with graves belonging to local ranchers and residents. I do find these old cemeteries  fascinating, the stones and their inscriptions sometimes tell stories or give insight into the past, something we don’t do these days.
Situated below is  the current town of Tuscarora, a mere fragment of the original boom town. The people who reside here are, have to be, a special breed.  They still have an official post office, but I can’t imagine it being very busy, unless it covers a vast area.    I take a dirt road, rather rough leading uphill into the old town sites and mining debris.  I don’t know exactly where this road is going, or if there is a place to turn around should it get really bad.  After about a mile to my relief there is a turnaround, that’s enough risk taking for me.  There are tons of rusty tin cans everywhere, I’ve never been to a ghost town where there are so many.
Far below off another road I see on old car looking similar to my 38 Dodge, I need to get down there, take a closer look.  I return downhill, go into the existing town and find the other road which takes me to this car.  Lots of parts are missing, but I believe it to be a 1937 Dodge or Plymouth, very similar to my car.  I could have used a few of the floor panels when I restored mine, they are in better condition to mine. Amazing how little rust there is on this car, but plenty of bullet holes, like everything in the west.

https://www.ghosttowns.com/states/nv/tuscarora.html

The landscape goes on and on like this

I'm a sucker for these views

Had to get the snow in the mountains

Amazing how after all these years the cows still will not cross a cattle guard

The Tuscarora Cemetery is vast, many died there

All kind of markers, from elaborate stones, to wood planks to a rock

old car weathering away slowly

Someone may still live in this house

Could be a great Rat Rod body  

That was fun, now to return on route 226 back to route 225 and continue northward.  Its just miles and miles of cattle and horse ranches until the Wild Horse Reservoir and Canyon.  There are hundreds of RV’s and people towing Boats traveling on the road today in preparation for the 4th of July weekend.  They are really massing around the reservoir.  The Wlld Horse Canyon below the Dam is extremely scenic, the Owyhee River is a beauty !  You then come into the Duck Tribe Indian Reservation and the towns of Mountain City and Owyhee which have little to see, I was expecting more.  At the Idaho border the highway becomes route 51 North to Mountain Home, Idaho.

The Dam 

Had to stop and admire the river after the dam

The wild flowers were great

You have to watch out here on the open range, you don't want to hit a Cow

The reservation is beautiful but the towns are very distressed

Mountain Home is a new city for me, that’s big excitement and on first impression it’s actually better than expected.  It started as a Oregon Trail stop called Rattlesnake Junction, but when the railroad ran the tracks a mile or so away, they moved the town close to the railroad.  They also changed the name to Mountain Home thinking it would attract more settlers than Rattlesnake Junction.

There does not appear to any BLM or dispersed camping around Mountain Home except for  more developed campgrounds at the reservoirs.  It’s not a problem as both the Walmart and Pilot Truck Stop both allow overnighters.  I used the Pilot Truck Stop for a change and I found that it is very busy and fills up at night.  Also that RV’s are taking up truck spots, which could be trouble in the future for the RV crowd.  As for me, I could stealth park all over the downtown area without a problem.  

In the morning, I go downtown to wander around their "Community Canvas" area.  It appears they have set this up where local businesses can sponsor a mural and it seems that all the murals must meet standards for content, must be nice, uplifting, inspirational and politically correct.  I would rather see a more artistic freedom, but this is done well and it’s wholesome and we do need more wholesomeness in this country today.  I went crazy taking photos as usual, only a fraction are shown.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_Home,_Idaho

It's still a major stop with Walmart and Pilot Truck Stop right there

Mountain Home air force base is a few miles outside od town

Not sure what the Octopus signifies ?

A favorite pick

Sponsored by the mayor, he has good taste

Get the Boy Scouts involved

Women's Rights, Calamity Jane

The Mellon Building, one of the more significant buildings in town

Jet on display in a city park

Painting  of by gone downtown street view with the famous El Rancho sign

The El Rancho Lounge once occupied this site and was a city landmark which sadly burned down, but is remembered in this park area

There doesn’t to appear to be any organized 4th of July event, parade or fire works extravaganza planned here.  However, they will have the regularly scheduled farmers market on Saturday, July 4th.  I go and strangely, I thought, hardly any farmers or farm produce available.  The usual mainstays for me, the library and museums are closed, although I can access free WiFi outside the library.  

I find an interesting neighborhood across the railroad tracks which was originally inhabited by Basque immigrants who came to the US seeking opportunity, remember when that was what made America great ?  There is a impressive two story Hotel, the Anchustegui, that was built by Pedro and Josefa Anchustegui to assist newly arriving  immigrants and also ball courts built so that people could enjoy one of their native sports. The city of Mountain Home has turned this area into the Basque Park.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basque_Americans

An original Sheepherders wagon

Nice mural in the park next to the ball courts

The Hotel Anchustegui Hotel front

One of Mountain Home's old fire trucks now on display

They have a railroad park in Mountain Home adjacent to the active Union Pacific Railroad tracks.  They have several food trucks stationed there during the day, not sure if that is a permanent or temporary thing a s a result of Covid-19.  Half the downtown businesses here remain closed or are partially open, take out only, etc. All open businesses have precautions including the mandatory wearing of face masks posted, but it is not being enforced and only about half are strictly following the recommendations.  

For something to do, I took a drive back to the town of Brunneau where I take a road that terminates at the Brunneau Canyon Overlook.  I didn't make it all the way, but went about 10 miles through interesting irrigated farm and ranch lands.  The road eventually leaves the farm country and climbs uphill and became very scenic.  The paved road also turns to loose gravel, but still mostly smooth as it heads towards canyon country.  I eventually came upon an unusual sign indicating that for the next two miles you would be crossing a bombing range and that things could fall out of the sky.  I’m thinking, Is this for real ?

I did it and survived !

  

Another sign posted on a nearby side road lists the penalties for taking or collecting archeological or historic articles.  I was thinking, this road must take me to good stuff, I better not go, not sure I could resist the temptation ?

On July 4th it was a lackluster day in Mountain Home, no parade, no real fireworks and I pathetic farmers market.  I took a ride to the town of Grandview about 20 miles from Mountain Home.  I thought there would be a especially great view of the Snake River.  Any view of the Snake River is pretty great, but this one was just average and the town wasn’t much to see.  A few miles outside of town is a huge cattle feed lot lot which must be one square mile in size and rather smelly and disgusting, will turn you off eating beef.

An enormous cattle feed lot

The Snake River appears high and has a strong current, which would be a deterrent
in pioneer days with no bridges

Mountain Home is now getting boring, so tomorrow morning I’m heading north east towards the Hailey, Ketchum and Sun Valley area of Idaho.