TRIP 06 DAY 01, MAY 18, 2009: Amity Road to Deer Flat Road, Nampa, ID
In a classic example of miscommunication on my part, I had managed to book my flights one day off from what Joe had previously booked for his. I arrived on Sunday, May 17; Joe would not arrive until Monday. I took advantage of the unscheduled day to drive to several parts of the planned walking route to investigate my doubts about the viability of going on some side roads versus walking on the freeway. This Sunday scouting expedition had proved to be productive, but also had raised a couple of new questions. One of the stops I made was at a truck weigh station in I-84 about 14 miles south of Boise Airport. The sole attendant was able to talk to me in brief paragraphs between phone calls, but did manage to confirm that it is legal for pedestrians to walk on the freeway in Idaho. He also gave me permission to park in one of their “employees only” parking spots for a few hours on Thursday, the day we planned to walk through there. In addition to this stop, I drove on some side roads that were deep-rutted in places, very primitive, and certainly would not be on the approved list of places of National Car Rental. I rejected these, but did find some paved off-freeway options that I put in my mental file as potential walking routes. All-in-all, I drove about 120 miles on this preparatory expedition before arriving at Morgans’ house again in Nampa (see previous walk report from 2008).
I picked Joe up at the airport at 12:45 p.m. on Monday. After getting him signed onto the car rental agreement, we drove some 14 miles to the spot we had ended the 2008 walk near the traffic circle at S. Happy Valley Road and Amity Road. During the intervening year, I had spent literally hours studying Google maps and satellite photos of possible routes, and we had decided to stick with the original plan of following Highway 20 east through Idaho and then into Wyoming rather than heading southeast through Utah before crossing the Rockies. As a result of this plan change, I had ended up with a route that did not continue east on Amity Road, but, starting at the traffic circle, headed south on S. Happy Valley Road.
We parked at a minimart at the traffic circle and began walking south. The forecast had called for record-breaking heat for this date, and the temperature started out in the low 90s, peaking at around 95 degrees. At 0.8 miles, the railroad tracks cut a diagonal across the road. We angled left (southeast) and walked beside the tracks for about 200 yards, then got onto S. Greenhurst Road, which paralleled the tracks on the diagonal. We followed this for the next 3 miles, then curved more south, merging with N. Black Cat Road. One more slight angle to the right, and the last mile was on a due south course.
The way was between open fields of cultivated crops with distant views southwest through the hazy, heated air to the snowy heights of the Owyhee Mountains south of the Snake River, and eastward to the snowy ridges of the Danskin Mountains. Joe and I were able to walk this segment together thanks to Herb Morgan’s help in picking us up at the end point. The air-conditioning was a welcome relief, as were the cold drinks we bought back at the minimart.
Walk rating: 5.5
Money found: Day: $.10 Trip: $.10 Project: $14.53
Distance: Day: 5.5 miles Trip: 5.5 miles Project: 500.5 miles
Starting point: 43 33.697N 116 30.596W (elevation 2534 feet)
Ending point: 43 30.170N 116 27.220W (elevation 2673 feet)
Significance: First day of Trip 06. Passed 500 miles since beginning.
The coolness of the Morgan house in Nampa was like a balm to the hypothermic pair coming in out of the Idaho sun. A good, hot shower was definitely in on the “approved activities” list. Eloise prepared a sumptuous feast of baked salmon, mushroom rice, and bean salad, with fruit shortcake and ice cream for dessert. Very little remained at the end of the meal. We sat around afterwards having the kind of conversation I associate with many of our family gatherings….stories from the treasure trove of family history peppered with dry and corny attempts at humor.
