Places Visited:
Idaho: Following the Salmon
River from Stanley to Sunbeam on SR-75
June 14, 2007.
We are staying at Garrity RV-Park in Nampa 10-miles west of Boise. It was $21 per-night for FHU & Cable while every place else in the area seemed to start at $26 and rapidly go up. Garrity was just fine. It was clean, well managed, the sites were close but we were not there and didn't go outside except when heading to and from the automobile. There was a good number of permanent or long term in the campground but they were being managed properly thus were no problem. We would stay at Garrity again but those that like to spend the day and evening under the awning sipping cool ones might rather be in one of the other area parks. N43° 35.245' W116° 31.592'
After making arrangements to spend the night in Stanley we headed off down the Salmon River to explore that scenic drive. Whatever, we do we have to return to our motel room in Stanley tonight.
We turned north in Stanley on SR-75 following the Salmon River.
Note that we are in Stanley and this picture does not have a snow capped mountain in it. That is difficult, but possible.
Joyce took this picture to show how the Salmon River has cut through this mountain.
The other side of the Salmon River and that same mountain looks like this. The igneous intrusions were not visible on the other side of the river.
We are located in what is known as Lower Stanley where these igneous intrusions are prominent on the hill.
Snowmelt from the Saw Tooth Mountains created the Salmon River less than 25-miles south of here. It is hard for us to fathom this much flow coming from snowmelt in a mere 25-miles.
We are enjoying the Salmon River. It is swift, clear and beautiful.
It was late in the day and not many people were on the river. Fortunately we came across a few people enjoying the river in in these inflatable craft.
Gold was mined in this area for a number of years. Mining in Central Idaho began with the discovery of gold in the Stanley Basin in 1863 followed by finds at nearby Robinson Bar in 1868 and the Loon Creek gold rush in 1869. In 1870 the first prospectors began working claims at the junction of Jordon Creek and the Yankee Fork River. The gold rush on the Yankee Fork was on and the area went through several boom periods until ending permanently in 1910. During this period hundreds of people lived in the towns of Bonanza and Custer and large mills like the General Custer, Charles Dickens, Lucky Boy and Sunbeam were built to process this rich ore. Gold dredging was active on the Yankee Fork from 1940 to 1952 when an estimated 1.8 million was mined from the area.
We stopped on the Salmon River at the site of the small town of Sunbeam where in 1910 things were looking good. Sunbeam was here because of the Sunbeam Mine located on the Yankee Fork 16-miles north of here. During 1909 and 1910 the young town of Sunbeam flourished as crews operated the large mine and built the "Sunshine Dam" here, on the Salmon River, to provide power to the mine and it's machinery.
The construction of the dam and the power plant captured the imagination of the country when Challis's newspaper, The Silver Messenger, printed postcards showing the power dam and it's lake. The power plant ran only one year before the mine closed and transformed the town of Sunbeam into a ghost town in 1911.
In the early days prospectors panned for gold in the Yankee Fork Salmon River area from the late 1860's to 1879.
Then in 1880, the Yankee Fork Consolidated Gravel Mining Company built a ditch to bring water here for their new hydraulic gold mining operations.
In 1909, the Sunbeam Consolidated Gold Mines Company chose this same area for a hydroelectric plant to provide power for their mine and mill 13-miles away on Jordan Creek. This location was chosen because the flow rate of the Salmon River was adequate to drive the turbines. It was also hoped that the upriver hot springs would keep the water warm enough for winter power plant operation. The strategy was sound but the company went bankrupt in 1911.
The old dam is the white structure in the left center of this picture.
In Sunbeam we turned around and returned to Stanley. On the way we spotted more people enjoying the river.
This group was having a good time.
This group of experienced river runners was going down the the right way -------------- facing forward.
Somewhere along the way we found this old bridge crossing the Salmon River to a small Forest Service Campground on the other side.
We stopped at an old bathhouse on the river and found that it had a lot of history. While the very nice stonework bathhouse is what remains from the 1937 building constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). It was originally used as a bathhouse and now is a historic site with no hot water running to it.
For some reason we didn't get a suitable picture of the bathhouse but we did manage to find the source of the rotten egg smell (the hot springs) that furnished water to the no longer functioning bathhouse.
It seems that Alexander Ross and his Hudsons Bay Company fur trappers were the first white men to visit these hot springs. His diary describes camping "at the boiling fountain" when they came here on October 1, 1824.
This is one of the hot springs.
In case you did not know hot springs result when hot water reaches the earth's surface along fault fracture lines. Super heated water takes sulfur into solution along its way to the surface. The sulfur mixes with hydrogen producing a "rotten egg" smell common to hot springs.
Also near the old historic bathhouse was the foundations of several buildings that reflected on earlier times when the nearby hot springs attracted travelers, settlers, and businessmen. Tales are told of early hot pools, cabins, and a chicken raising operation. At one time a lean-to served as the bathhouse and a nearby cabin was heated by the hot spring water piped into barrels that were located under the floor. Someone also attempted to raise chickens here. The chicken operation wasn't successful but the man who tried, Barzilla Clark, went on to become Mayor of Idaho Falls and Governor of Idaho.
These hot springs have served many over the years ------- but now are just a roadside attraction with a rotten egg smell.
While at the hot springs we spotted this "Charmin" plant. You might recall that when we followed the Oregon Trail last year we learned that this plant was used by emigrants for toilet paper because the leaves were soft as "Charmin". And now you know the rest of the story. VBG
And on a more serious note Joyce spotted this wild rose bush with such delicate flowers.
Then as we approach Lower Stanley the Saw Tooth Mountain Range comes into view across the Salmon River Valley.
This picture has it all, the Saw Tooth Range, Salmon River and Lower Stanley.
Until next time remember how good life is.
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Mike & Joyce Hendrix
mikehendrix@isp.com