6,000 To Go, & Back to Challis

Another one bites the dust! Hope you guys are able to keep up.

It helps when you get some long distance assignments back to back. It helps the miles fly by.

I had to go back out to Challis to see a small trailer that a large rock dislodged from the mountain side and bounced down into the side wall totaling it. On my many trips to Salmon & Challis, I’ve seen all sorts of animals…

Wild Long Tailed Weasels

Rabbits

Coyote

Fox

Wolves

Deer

Elk

Antelope

& a young Black Bear once.

But this trip, I saw the crown jewel, a Mountain Lion! Spotting a Mountain Lion is very rare out here. I saw him just a few miles West of Clayton. I came around a bend & caught him just getting ready to cross the street toward the river. I was only about 100ft away from him. He was about the size of a 100 lb German Shepard. Absolutely beautiful! By the time I got my camera out, he was already back up the mountainside about 60 yards away. This pic was zoomed all the way in one my phone…You can see him in the middle of the pic just off to the left a bit. The long black stripe is his tail. Those rocks are about the size of beach balls and couch ottomans. I would have loved a better shot of him, but he was practically gliding up the mountainside with what seemed like very little effort on his part.

Here are a few other reasons I love this particular drive out here in Idaho… I’ll be posting again real soon, as I’m already over 100 miles into the next 1,000 & tomorrow I’m heading to John Day, OR. Almost a 400 mile round trip jaunt. Stay safe out there!