The girls and I drove north and east from SE Oregon up to the tiny mountain town of Stanley Idaho and a different time zone. It is located high in the Sawtooth Mountains. We drove north out of Boise along some beautiful rivers and through some impressive mountains. Fall foliage was getting started as was deer season. We saw many hunters along the way. Our destination was Redfish Lake. It was named for the legendary sockeye salmon runs of the past. In the 1800’s it was estimated that 25,000 to 30,000 sockeye returned to spawn at Redfish Lake. Now, even with hatchery programs, the numbers of returning fish are only in the hundreds. One year there were only 17.
I knew there were quite a few campgrounds in the area but apparently they close most of them at the end of September. One campground was still open on the lakeshore so that’s where I set up camp. Sky was delighted to have a big lake and Luna was happy to have colder weather. The elevation was about 6500′ and towering mountains arose on the far side of the lake. I read that the highest one was over 12,000′. Snow had fallen the night before we arrived. We visited an old mining area near Stanley with its discarded equipment and dilapidated buildings. Sadly, all of the interpretive signs had been removed. We also enjoyed a hike up Fishhook Creek.
Sky was excited by a Horned Grebe that was on the water.
This mining dredge was brought up the Yankee Fork of the Salmon River. How it was moved, I don’t know.
Fall colors at high elevation!
The Sawtooth Wilderness, not to be confused with the Lake Chelan Sawtooth Wilderness in our region.
I could watch the light changing on these mountains all day long!
My Everyday Photos 