August 27-31, 2024
Caldwell, Idaho
Today, was another gorgeous day for traveling! We drove 165 miles from Arco, ID to Caldwell, ID. The City of Caldwell is located on the western edge of the Treasure Valley close to the large metropolitan area of Boise. The residents of Caldwell benefit from being only a short drive from the city and have the appeal of a smaller community.
In Caldwell, we chose The Ambassador RV Resort for our four night stay. The RV resort with its 85 foot pull-thrus and classy facilities, was convenient to the Boise metro area and the perfect home base. This was our third stay at this RV resort. Ken’s favorite thing about the resort…being able to wash our RV’s at our site…most RV resorts do not! We’ve got to keep the RV looking clean and shiny!
IDAHO CITY
Gold was discovered in the Boise Basin in 1862. Idaho City became one of the largest cities in the Pacific Northwest. At its peak, 15,000-20,000 miners lived in the area. We drove on highway 21 (Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway) to Idaho City. We passed the Lucky Peak Reservoir and through the beautiful mountains. We reached Idaho City and drove through the town and saw the old architecture and storefronts. We looked for a place to have lunch, but, eveything was closed. In our book, it was just another old struggling mine town. Time to move on.
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BOISE – pronounced “Boy-see”
The City of Trees, Boise, is Idaho’s Capital and largest metropolitan area. As we drove around Boise, we were excited to see Boise State Univiersity. As we drove through the campus, we saw students rushing back to towards their residences after classes. They all looked so young! We drove around the Athletic complex and it was very impressive. However, we could not get a glimpse of the Blue Field at the Albertson’s Stadium!
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Next, we located the Idaho Capital Building, in the very center of downtown. The main architectural style of the building is Renaissance Revival but it also includes many Greek features. The most recognizable feature of the Capital Building is the dome. The type of dome is called a Terra Cotta. On top of the dome is a 5 foot 7 inch bronze eagle. I think the most interesting design feature of the building is the sandstone exterior base carved to resemble logs as a tribute to pioneer cabins.
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SILVER CITY, IDAHO
Silver City is located up in the Owyhee Mountains at an elevation of 6,200 feet. It was more than a little off the beaten path. We followed a well graded, narrow, curvy road to the Ghost Town. The road was relatively wide until about two miles from town. Once we reached the town we discovered sharp hills, dead end streets, and very little flat parking. We chose to stay in the jeep and just drive through town looking at the old structures.
Silver City was frozen in time and is the rarest of old mining towns. It was never developed or commercialized into a modern city and it escaped disastrous fires. It was mostly unchanged from the boom times of the 1800’s.
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We returned following the same road…slow and steady taking in all the beautiful scenery!
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