Into the Mountains North of Boise

I haven't ridden since I returned from the Magruder Corridor ride, so I took a half day off and headed into the mountains.

North of Eagle heading to Pearl


I'll continue the post tomorrow....to late to post all the pics!

WOW! Looks like i need to head east! That is awesome!

I look forward to seeing your images. You've obviously been honing the craft a while.

Thanks konaunit1....it gets better!
Thanks Jason....I've taken notice of your work too!

That section into the foothills seems to get new pavement further and further in, but soon I reach the dirt road.

In the spring, these hills are a beautiful green, but it's still a pleasure to ride through in the early fall.

An oasis of agricultural land among the dry foothills


After passing through Pearl (a small residential area) I end up at the top of the summit on Hwy55 between Boise and Horseshoe Bend. I decide to avoid the newly chip coated 4-lane highway and take the old Horseshoe Bend road.

Poor folks on the 4-lane don't know what there missing


The grade is broken up quite a bit with shifting and sinking pavement, potholes and loose dirt, but it's much more fun than the 4-lane. It's not maintained and has been out of service for about 20 years.



Down in the valley lies Horseshoe Bend (named for the bend the Payette River makes around the town.)



A close up of the town. You can see the Idaho Northern train parked for a tour up the Payette River.


Another shot of the old HSB road in the foothills


Just before entering the town I turn left and head up Harris Creek.




I stop to take in a view of Castle Rock. You have to keep your eyes open for it because it only comes into view between the mountains for a short distance.


A popular climbing spot for local climbers


Placerville is a tiny community in the mountains but fun to roll through.


Nice central park


And the old Magnolia Saloon, now a museum


I was headed to Grimes Pass but took an older route called "Old Centerville Road." The less traveled roads are the most fun.


An old structure along the way where the cows roam


Parked on the bridge crossing Grimes Creek, the pass is just up the road a ways


Grimes Pass


I took more pics of my bike in the landscape than normal....hope you don't mind


Another shot before rounding a switchback


The road continues along the South Fork of the Payette River. This emerald section of the river always has me stopping.




OK....last one



More to come.....

Well I now know where i am riding to next year!!! Awsome Subscribed!!!!!
Always wanted to do a motorcycle trip out there look like i have a lot of incentive now. Keep it up more pics please!!

That water is amazing . Just awesome!

Here is a map of my route for the day.

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Continuing down South Fork Road along the South fork of the Payette

Old Country Homestead & Barn


Hit the pavement at the Banks Lowman Road through Garden Valley to the junction at Hwy55.

A Rocky Cliff along the South Fork of the Payette


This is the bridge crossing the Payette River at the confluence of the Main and South Fork.


If your on Hwy55, you don't get to see the Banks Cafe from the river side, so I stopped for a quick pic of the "back side" of the Banks Cafe/Store before heading up Banks Grade. This is popular "put-in" area to float the River to Horseshoe Bend.


Near the top of Banks grade looking south along the Payette River and Hwy55.


Here is the same view I took a couple years ago during the spring.


I break out of the tree line on Cruick Shank Road and back down to the foothills.


The sun was getting lower and really brought out the golden colors of the dry grass and road.


A bit of the road section that I came down.


Load 'em up!


The scenery out here is fabulous, even in the early fall. This is looking north from Brownlee Road.


Riding into the sun along the Brownlee Loop Road. That's Squaw Butte towards Emmett in the background. Brownlee Loop Road would take me back southeast to Gardena where I connected with Hwy55 back to Boise.



I ended the day after the sun had set and I pulled in my driveway with a big satisfied grin on my face. 6 hours of riding is all it took to fill my passion, yet I'm still ready for more!

Thanks for reading.

Your pictures are great! Have you processed them to enhance the colors?

These two are front page material:

Thanks! No post processing on these two. I used an 81a warming filter and had to stack 2 graduated ND filters above the horizon to maintain good exposure on the grass and road. Then I bracketed the shots -1/3, -2/3 and +1/3 stop and selected the best one. The "Golden Hour" really helped too! The rocks in the second photo came out a bit dark and I did adjust the shadows here. I trusted my VR lens, so these were hand held. I find that "processing" in the camera first, really helps.

However, I generally do some post processing on most of my photos (most the other photos in this report were processed a bit, but not to the point of making them look unnatural.) A slight bit of saturation and brightening the image helps make them pop.

I usually carry my camera in my tank bag so I can just pull over and take a shot while sitting on the bike, but I left the tankbag at home to force myself to get off the bike in order to compose a better shot. I believe good composition is 75% of a successful photo. Took a lot more time though.

Thanks for commenting

What he said on the pix, those look super cool, great job.

A few years ago I had the opportunity to go to Boise for a work weekend retreat kind of thing and we headed up into the mountains for some white water rafting. Knowing NOTHING about Idaho except potatoes come from there, it was certainly an eye opener. Aside from being one of the coolest small cities I've ever been to, it's amazing the type of scenery available a short distance in any direction from the city. I was despairing for not having my motorcycles while there. Great pictures and looks like a fantastic ride. Thanks for sharing.

jeez if that is not God's country then what is? And I'll vote for that one as a front page pic too!

Thanks Ranger.....it would be nice to hook up with some of the eastern idaho big bike dual-sport riders.....you, Q and others. Heck, it would be nice to hook up with some of the Boise riders too!

Nothing like white water rafting in Idaho!

Thanks Ladybug!

Sure is a lot of it around here! Thanks for the vote!

Sure thing , I'm In Boise once a month on a weekend for Mil biz, I'll shoot you a PM or a EM, possibly get together for a evening ride. I want to ride up toward Garden Valley along the Payett, I was there on a fire this summer and want to go back on a bike.

Nice

Great shots, Lived in Eagle for three years and I know the area well, have done a number of those same rides on 4-wheelers. The beauty never ends there. Back in Arizona now, but can't complain about the riding here either!

Awesome photos and a beautiful area to ride!

What a nice day ride!

Gorgeous country, sweet bike and those photos are works of art