After leaving Sun
Valley/Ketchum, we headed north and east, traveling just 120 miles to stop in
Challis, Idaho. Friends of ours, also full time RV’ers, were volunteering and
living at the Bayhorse Ghost Town, part of the Land of the Yankee Fork State
Park. Challis was more or less en route as we started our trek east, so we scheduled
a four day stop there along the way. Located
in the geographical center of the state of Idaho, in the heart of the Rocky
Mountains, Challis is surrounded by the Salmon-Challis National Forest and is
home to dozens of wildlife species including bighorn sheep, eagles, mule deer, and
gray wolf, just to mention a few.
We spent one full day with
our friends who gave us a wonderful overview and tour of the area. In the
morning we took a driving tour through the hills along the salmon river,
stopping at almost every pullout along the way to view wildlife. Our host was
extremely knowledgeable about local animal habitats, and was able to point out
where she’d seen an eagle sitting on a nest, or a bighorn sheep scaling a mountain,
and she’d pull over to let us experience this as well. She also knew where
delicate spring flowers were blooming and took us on a drive deep into the
woods behind Bayhorse Ghost Town to show us where they grew.
They also gave us a tour of
Bayhorse Ghost Town, a mining town that thrived in the 1880’s – 1890’s, started
when a few small gold veins were found. Now long abandoned, during it’s peak
the hillsides were dotted with cabins and town included numerous saloons,
boarding houses, assay offices, banks, a post office, six beehive kilns to make
charcoal for the smelters, several ore and timber mills, and two cemeteries. The
peak population reached about 300 residents.
In addition to visiting with
our friends, Dan and I were also able to get in a round of golf, and visit the
Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge. Here are some pictures of our stay in Challis.
