9/1 Boise, ID, to Lake Cascade Along Payette River

I spent two nights in Boise catching up on a lot of tasks, like doing four loads of laundry at the very nice commercial campground, getting my new bike adjusted, buying a new rug at the local Kohl's store, and stocking up with groceries.

My next stop was going to be a campsite at Lake Cascade State Park on my way to Heyburn, ID, then on to Salt Lake City, south to Dead Horse SP near Moab, UT, and finally ending up at Zion National Park and Grand Canyon by early October.  Lake Cascade was a place I had never been, so I was looking forward to getting up high (4,800') and out of the heat on the lower elevations.  (Elevation along the Columbia River near Kennewick was 800' and elevation at Boise was about 2,400'.)

What I did not expect was a beautiful drive through a canyon and along the Payette River, however, remind me NOT to travel on a Sunday, especially in summer because the road through the canyon was absolutely packed with day-trippers taking advantage of this rapid-filled river!  Luckily, most of it was headed back to Boise, but there was enough headed my way to make it a stressful drive on a winding two-lane.

The first 30 minutes of the drive was pretty dull, though a bit hazy.

Then the two-lane highway, Route 55, heads into the Cascade Mountains north of Boise.  Notice the line of cars in the distance on the opposite side of the road. 

I am not a slow driver, but I do stop a lot, and since I had not had breakfast, and it was past lunchtime, I decided to pull over and fix myself a steak sandwich.  I did not realize what a scenic place I had chosen, but I should have guessed by the multiple vehicles unloading kayaks.  After I had cooked and eaten my sandwich, I got out and took some photos.

I did not see the owners of these kayaks, but I assume they made it over these rapids OK.  Or maybe they were getting reading to take on the next set of rapids??

These are the next rapids just past where I was parked.

Since the still photos really do not do these rapids justice, check out the video I took here.

This is the road ahead of me, along with more rapids. Personally, I prefer the gentle current of the AuSable River in Michigan, but to each, his own! 

More traffic headed south, but a pretty drive and getting higher with every mile.

Another pull-over to let cars past and also read this sign. It talked about how this pond was formed when loggers dammed the river to hold logs for the spring thaw to take logs downriver. 

The village of Cascade Lakes is pretty small, but it has two gas stations and a small grocery store. Looks a lot like northern Michigan small towns.

And the lake.  More photos in a couple of days from my campsite.