Wood River Rail Trail -- Sun Valley - Ketchum, ID

As I saddled up to ride the 20-mile Wood River Trail from Ketchum to Bellvue, Idaho, I thought it had begun to snow. But I soon remembered it was the last day in May and the forecast called for light winds and temperatures in the70’s.

Bald Mountain -- Elevation 9,150' and the Big Wood River


The Wood River Trail near Hulen Meadows

I realized my mind wasn’t really playing tricks on me, it was snowing – sort of – the cottony, covered seeds from the tall, majestic cottonwood trees along the Wood River were in full bloom.
What a beautiful ride. As you enter the trail at Hulen Meadows, your eye can’t help but look toward the towering 9,150 foot Bald Mountain or follow the flow of the beautiful Wood River.

Just beyond five miles is a famous bridge trestle named Cold Springs Bridge. This is one of only eight known Pegram bridges still standing in the United States. Idaho has seven of these bridges and two of them are on the trail. The one below is a 208-foot single span. Since I didn’t know what a Pegram truss was, I turned to Wikipedia for an explanation.

Cold Springs Bridge

The Pegram truss is a hybrid between the Warren and Parker trusses where the upper chords are all of equal length and the lower chords are longer than the corresponding upper chord. Because of the difference in upper and lower chord length, each panel was not square. The members which would be vertical in a Parker truss vary from near vertical in the center of the span to diagonal near each end (like a Warren truss). George H. Pegram, while the chief engineer of Edge Moor Iron Company in Wilmington, Delaware, patented this truss design in 1885.
The Pegram truss consists of a Parker type design with the vertical posts leaning towards the center at an angle between 60 and 75°. The variable post angle and constant chord length allowed steel in existing bridges to be recycled into a new span using the Pegram truss design. This design also facilitated reassembly and permitted a bridge to be adjusted to fit different span lengths. There are eight remaining Pegram span bridges in the United States with seven in Idaho.

Cold Springs Bridge Info

Along the way, I also saw a large fox dart across the trail and head into the sagebrush and saw lots of wildflowers – especially yellow lupine.

Yellow Lupine

I missed the turn to the Sawtooth Botanical Garden while I was on my bike, so I drove to it after my ride. See the few photos below.
All in all, this was a great ride and am glad I got to ride the entire length of the trail. Happy riding!


More of the trail


River views


Sawtooth Botanical Garden pond and stream


Look for the little bird in the birdhouse


I made it -- 20 miles!

Castle Rocks State Park & City of Rocks National Reserve

It’s hard to redirect your eyes from the huge granite spires and monoliths when visiting Castle Rocks State Park and City of Rocks National Reserve to the tiny treasures under foot. From March to October, wildflowers beckon visitors to stop for a closer look.

The elusive Brown's Peony

On a recent ranger led wildflower hike at Castle Rocks State Park, we were handed a checklist of 100 common and showy (soft-stemmed) wildflower species – there are a total of 498 species of plants found in the park.
It didn’t take long for the ranger to point out several species such as Oregon Grape, Shooting Star, NW Indian Paintbrush, Plains Prickly Pear and a coveted, hard-to-find, Brown’s Peony. It’s also common to see more than one of the 23 species of the sunflower family.
Check out the National Park Service’s website which shows 71 different plant species in the area -- www.nps.gov/ciro then click on photos/multimedia on the left and then select plants.
A former ranch, Castle Rocks State Park, is one of Idaho's newest state parks located adjacent to City of Rocks National Reserve. Its 1,440 acres include outstanding rock formations, early 20th century ranch structures and pastures and has over 20 miles of multi-use trails.
For more information about either of these parks, visit their website at http://parksandrecreation.idaho.gov/parks/cityofrocks.aspx
Enjoy the photos

NW Indian Paintbrush

Oregon Grape



Rock Climbers

Shooting Star

Jump Creek Falls, Near Marsing, ID

I recently read about Jump Creek Falls in a local newspaper and had to see it for myself. It's about an hours drive from my home and as you wend your way through the flat fields of farmland, you don't expect to then enter into a canyon with a waterfall.
Getting to the falls and the pool were half the fun. The easy 0.2 mile canyon trail leads you through a lush riparian area filled with waterbirch, dogwood and chokecherry trees. I took my time viewing the odd shapes and landscape of the black lava, rock-rimmed walls, which resemble huge hunks of Swiss cheese.
At the bottom of the canyon trail, I crossed over Jump Creek; a quiet, soothing stream flowing only 6-8 inches deep and about 12 feet in width.
Jack and I took one of the two hiking trails in the area -- we only had time to go to the Falls Creek Overlook as daylight was rapidly disappearng.
I hope to go again this summer and take some friends and swim in the pool when the water isn't so cold.
Enjoy the photos!

The Canyon Leading Into Jump Creek Falls

The path into the falls

Jump Creek Falls

The falls from the overlook


A view from the overlook looking back into the canyon leading up to the falls