Today began a six day adventure as Artist-in-Residence for the BLM (Bureau of Land Management), focusing on the Owyhee Canyonlands Wilderness Areas.

I headed south this morning, driving to Boise via Hwy 95 and 55, through some truly spectacular country.  My 7 hour drive (plus an extra hour for the time zone change) was even longer after the handful of stops I was compelled to make.  First was the Lewiston grade, a steep descent from the Palouse to the valley of the confluence of the Snake and Salmon rivers.  There is a lovely little pullout that affords a great view of the town, and the mouth of Hell's Canyon to the south.

South and east of Lewiston, on the Camas Prairie, is a very small little town called Craigmont.  When I moved to Coeur d'Alene in 2000, my grandmother was excited, saying that she always thought CdA was just about the most beautiful place there is.  She also told me stories I had not heard before, about some years in her childhood spent living in Idaho while her mother was a school teacher on the Nez Perce reservation.  They lived outside of Craigmont, and her grandparents and an uncle moved out with them, staying on after my grandmother's family moved away.  All three of them are buried in the Craigmont Cemetery, and as I approached the town I decided to find the cemetery again and stop in for a visit.  Finding the cemetery is not hard, the road is eponymous and there is a tall stand of Ponderosas standing guard, easy to see from a distance.  Harder was finding the actual graves.  I've visited before, but needed the map, which was printed oddly: half of the sites were labeled in reverse, but not all.  It took a very long time, but I found them.  I had the company of an owl who flew between the trees.  This small cemetery is impeccably cared for, it's just lovely.

Onwards from Craigmont, roughly following the Salmon River to Riggins (stunning), then on to McCall, and eventually Horseshoe Bend before dropping into Boise.  It was dark as I arrived, filled up on fuel, and found my way to the house of one of the BLM wilderness rangers whose family I was staying with for the night.

The Salmon and Snake Rivers at Lewiston, ID.

Zooming in on the mouth of Hell's Canyon.

Approaching Craigmont Cemetery.

Craigmont Cemetery.

My grandmother's grandparents.  Tom came over from Ireland and worked as a cowboy in Colorado.  Kunie came from Germany, she was the playmate for a wealthy child whose family decided to immigrate.  Kunie left home at 9 years old and never saw her family again.

My grandma's uncle Joe.

Salmon River Canyon.

Closeup looking south along the Salmon River canyon.

Following the Salmon, the River of No Return.

Past Horseshoe Bend, the last stretch of hills and mountains before Boise.