Week 8: October 17 – 23

As we get closer to Halloween and the cool Idaho air gives us a reprieve from the summer heat, rich wines and hearty dishes of comfort foods take center stage. It’s not too late to enjoy an outdoor adventure and ease into fall with these great Idaho events.

October 23 – 29: 7-Day Wine Tasting Getaway, Red Horse Mountain Ranch, Harrison
Sample over 30 regional wines, be delighted with chef prepared meals, and enjoy a wide range of guided adventures including horseback riding, sporting clays, kayaking, and boat tours.

October 21: Pend d’Oreille Winery Live Music Line-up
Savor some delicious wine and listen to the soft, acoustic, indie folk/rock of Jean Mann from coastal Washington. Concert is from 5 pm – 8pm.

Sip Your Way Through Idaho Wine Country: Idaho Wine Passport Program

In partnership with the Idaho Statesman, the Idaho Wine Commission created the Idaho Wine Passport Program. Passport holders receive special deals at the 20 participating wineries located throughout Idaho, and will be entered to win a stellar grand wine prize. Passport is valid through the end of April, 2012.

With fall comes an abundance of gourds. Courtesy of the Idaho Preferred recipe library, this delicious recipe is perfect for warming up as the temperatures cool down.

Beef-Picadillo-Stuffed Acorn Squash

1 pound ground beef
1 cup torn Romaine
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon Mexican Seasoning Mix
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
⅓ cup raisins
1 acorn squash, quartered, cooked
1 tablespoon slivered almonds (optional)

1. Brown ground beef in large nonstick skillet over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes or until beef is no longer pink, breaking up into ¾-inch crumbles. Pour off drippings.

2. Sprinkle seasoning mix and cinnamon over beef; mix well. Stir in tomato sauce and raisins, bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve over squash. Garnish with almonds, if desired.

Enjoy local food and wine at these Idaho restaurants.
Farmers Market Guide
A Harvest Guideto farm festivals, pumpkin patches and corn mazes

Culinary Event Calendar for August 29 – September 5
Culinary Event Calendar for September 6 – 11
Culinary Event Calendar for September 12 – 17
Culinary Event Calendar September 18 – 25
Culinary Event Calendar September 26 – October 2
Culinary Event Calendar October 3 – October 9
Culinary Event Calendar October 10 – 16
Culinary Event Calendar October 17 – 23
Culinary Event Calendar October 24 – 30
Culinary Event Calendar October 31 – November 6

Written by guest blogger, EA Stewart.

Boise, Idaho

We started the trip in Boise, Idaho which is a really cool city.  Last time I was there I was about 5 or 6.  I don’t remember much from that trip, other than going snow shoeing, but I’m guessing things have changed a little.  We had a delicious dinner at Chandler’s Steakhouse the first night, then spent the next morning exploring an incredible local farmer’s market, along with the state Capitol Building.

Little Salmon Lodge

We spent two nights at this beautiful lodge nestled beside the Little Salmon River.  My family shared a room with 2 double bed and 6 bunk beds.  As excited as the kids were about those bunk beds, in the end they chose to sleep in bed with us.  Oh, and not to boast, but we played a game of croquet by the river, and guess who won???

Clearly a major highlight of the trip!  This was my first time ever white water rafting, and it was a blast!  My dad had been once before on the Colorado River, and Ian had done a few day trips, but the kids and I had never been before.  We did mostly class 2 and 3 rapids, with a couple of class 4′s as well.  I now know how people can get addicted to rafting, and I’m already thinking about where our next rafting trip should be! Any suggestions?

Each day we spent about 5-6 hours on the river, then ended our days on beautiful sandy beaches.  The setting was truly spectacular!  One of the best part of the trip for me was waking up in the morning, unzipping my tent to the beautiful view, then making my way across the sand to the BEST camp coffee ever!  Oh, and it was a delight watching my kids unplug from their electronic gadgets and spend HOURS of time playing in the river, on the sand, skipping rocks, catching frogs, and simply enjoying nature!

The Food

I couldn’t write this post and not mention the food!  Best camp food ever.  Period.  I already mentioned the delicious coffee each morning.  Breakfast always include fresh fruit and fixings for oatmeal, then depending upon the day, eggs or pancakes.

For lunch, we would stop somewhere on the river for fresh fruit and a salad or cold cuts, and veggies.  Oh, and then there were cookies for dessert!

Around 5 pm when we were at our camp site, the appetizers came out.  Tuna Poke one night… turkey, cheese and asparagus roll-ups another night…cheese, crackers, and veggies…bruschetta…You get the picture!

Dinner was served around 7 or 7:30 and was always delicious…lasagna….enchiladas….roasted asparagus…surf and turf!  And the best part of all???  I didn’t have to cook any of it! Of course I love cooking, but it’s nice to take a break once in a while!

The People

The guides on our trip from Northwest Voyageurs were incredible!  Their days lasted from 6 am until around 10 pm when most of us started heading off to bed.  They hauled 26 people and all our gear for 5 days down the rivers.  They cooked us all our meals, rowed our rafts, set up our tents, played games with us on the beach {volleyball…washers…frisbee…raft sliding…and, last, but not least, “butt darts”-I’ll only tell if somebody asks, all with big smiles on their faces.  Truly amazing!  And, then, of course, there were all the fabulous people and families we met and hung out with. It was truly an adventure my family and I will never forget!

Written by guest blogger Steve Stuebner

Everyone knows about renting the Idaho City Park n’ Ski Area yurts in the winter, but not so much in the summer. To give folks an incentive, the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation has dropped the price of yurt rentals by $30 for weekends and week days, meaning that rents are $60/night for weekends and $45 for week nights. The yurts sleep six.

In my view, the IDPR yurts provide a great venue for a family friendly weekend in the woods. You have six to choose from. All of them are close to hiking and biking trails, and in the summer, you can actually drive to within 100-300 yards from the yurts, making it easy to pack in your camping gear and super easy for parents to take young children.

No muss, no fuss: The yurts are set up with a double-burner stove, cooking utensils, pots, plates and silverware, so you don’t have to bring that stuff from home. Just bring sleeping bags, food, water and beverages. Everything you pack in should be packed out. If the bugs are bad outside, you can hang out in the yurt. If it’s raining, you can chill in the yurt. Bring lawn chairs, and find shady spots near the yurt or on the yurt deck to enjoy the views.

Summer prices are good from July 1 – Nov. 15. Here’s the web link for reservations.

Next, I’ll detail some hikes and bike rides that you can explore close to the yurts below:

• Banner Ridge, Elkhorn and Skyline Yurts are all on the east side of Idaho 21. They provide immediate access to a complete system of singletrack and two-track trails adjacent to the yurts.

• If you’re staying at Banner or Elkhorn, try the easy singletracks called the Cougar Loop or Lehn’s Loop. These were trails that IDPR built with volunteer help. Lehn’s Loop is 2.4 miles, and Cougar is 3.3 miles. Both trails follow rolling terrain through shady timbered areas without any long major climbs. Good place to take the kids. See this guide for complete details. The loop also is detailed in my Falcon guide Mountain Biking Idaho.

• A longer and more challenging ride is the Elkhorn-Alpine Loop. This loop is 7.5 miles long, featuring 4WD dirt roads and grassy two-tracks. The Alpine portion of this loop is the most scenic and intimate. I’ve seen elk and black bear riding my book on this loop. See this guide for complete details. The loop also is detailed in my Falcon guide Mountain Biking Idaho.

• If you’re staying at the Skyline Yurt, there are two possibilities immediately adjacent to the yurt. Hike or ride the Skyline Loop, 5.5 miles from Idaho Highway 21. It’s a grassy two-track the whole way. Less than 1,000 feet of vertical climbing, but it is a climb to the yurt from the highway, and it’s a fun and fast downhill back to the highway.

• Another possibility from Skyline, especially for bikers, is to ride Ralph’s Trail and Twister to the north and connect over to trails by the Elkhorn Yurt, such as Lehn’s Loop and Cougar Loop. See this guide for complete details.

• If you’d like to stay at Stargaze Yurt, the newest addition to the Idaho City Park n’ Ski yurt system, we scouted a new trail in that area last week. It’s a 7-mile mountain bike loop (could be hiked) that starts and finishes at Beaver Creek Summit on Idaho Highway 21. The ride starts at the Stargaze Trailhead on Forest Road 394. Bear right on Road #394B and climb a steep two-track dirt road to the yurt junction on a saddle (mile 1.1). Even if you have to walk the steep sections of the climb, it’s not very far, and the rest is easy. Take a side trip to Stargaze Yurt and check out the view. Next follow the two-track road from the saddle out to the west to mile 2.3 and go right on a faint two-track. That little trail cuts over to a more major dirt road, which is a snowmobile trail in the winter. Turn right on the dirt road at mile 3.2. Bear right at a signed junction (mile 6.1) to return to Idaho 21 (mile 6.6), turn right and ride the paved road to the trailhead (mile 7). See map above.

• If you’re staying at Whispering Pines Yurt in the Gold Fork area, you could ride or hike the road up to Whispering Pines and then take the Moose Trail back to the parking area. There also are a few short trails nearby. See this guide for more details. Whispering Pines, by the way, has excellent shade afforded by large ponderosa pine trees.

• Rocky Ridge Yurt, accessed from the Whoop ‘em Up trailhead area, has a couple of trails nearby that lead over to Edna Creek Road and Beaver Creek Cabin areas. The Crooked River Trail can be accessed from Beaver Creek Cabin or Edna Creek Road. It’s a sweet hiking or biking singletrack that goes downhill along Crooked River for several miles. Turn around and come back. See this guide for more details.

Be sure to print out the maps from the IDPR web site and bring them with you. A map from the Boise National Forest would be helpful as well. And don’t forget your bug juice … because of the big snows we had last winter and spring rain, it’s very wet and moist out there in the forest, and the bugs can be fierce!

Other useful resources would be a birding book and wildflower guide.

Have fun!

-SS

Looking for something fun to do this summer? Add these Idaho events to your calendar:

Writing, Photography, History and Jazz Highlight Offerings

Visitors who take an early evening hike above the village of Stanley, Idaho in June or early July, are likely to hear Jerry Hughes playing the trumpet, practicing for the jazz trip his outfit hosts every summer on the Salmon River. It has become a tradition with Hughes River Expeditions and one of their most popular offerings. “I’m not as good as those other guys,” says Hughes, “but I’m just as loud.”

This summer Idaho river outfitters are offerings specialty theme river trips that go beyond traditional rafting and kayaking. Specialty trips this summer will include photography workshops, a writing clinic and jazz trips. Here are samples of what some of Idaho’s outfitters are offering this season.

Middle Fork Writers Workshop with Tim Cahill, August 17 -21

Tim Cahill, a founding editor of Outside magazine and author of several books about adventure travel, will be offering a writing workshop this August on Idaho’s Middle Fork of the Salmon River. Co-teaching with Cahill will be Michael Shapiro, a travel writer whose stories have appeared in National Geographic Traveler, the Washington Post and San Francisco Chronicle. For information contact Idaho River Journeys, 1-888-997-8399.

Snake River Photo Workshop, June 15 – 20

Photographer and river guide, Boyd Norton, will conduct a photo workshop on the Wild & Scenic Snake River June 15-20, 2011.  In addition to helping participants with photography, Boyd will share the history of efforts to save the Snake River in HellsCanyon from the High Mountain Sheep and other proposed dams in the 1960’s and 1970’s.  Boyd and other members of the Hells Canyon Preservation Council led the successful political battle that eventually preserved America’s deepest Canyon.  His photography and article in Audubon Magazine (January, 1970) were invaluable contributions to the campaign. For details contact Hughes River Expeditions, 1-800-262-1882.

2011 Salmon River Jazz Trip, July 12-16

Each evening, Jerry Hughes with help from a jazz trio plays for an hour before dinner.  The musicians set up on huge, pure white sand beaches, in the middle of spectacular canyonlands, and the music echoes off canyon walls.  Perfect acoustics.  This year’s trio features bass, keyboards, and a saxophone soloist.  Enjoy evenings listening to jazz on Idaho’s River of No Return. For details contact Hughes River Expeditions, 1-800-262-1882.