This summer I’ve been dipping and dodging important things, like finding a job, getting over a past relationship, and figuring out what I really want to do with myself. With the free time and privilege to spend the summer this way I have been doing as much as I can to take advantage. I’ve spent time writing representatives about fish conservation, support of BLM, and volunteering my time to help better the place I love. The past week I have staying up in Donnelly enjoying the mountains and lakes in central Idaho. One thing that I’m spending time on is discovering new wonderful places here in the place I’m living.
Each morning I’m there and the lake’s surface is glassy smooth, air cold enough for steam to rise I wobble out of bed and drag a kayak off the dock for a paddle. What’s nice about the morning is the silence, only the sound of dripping water off the paddle, a swush for every stroke, and the clear skies. On these paddles among seeing families of otters and golden eagles I have always spotted a small white dot garnishing the top of a Northwest mountain.
At the top of No Business Mountain (West Mountain I think) lies a fire lookout built originally in the 1920 and renovated in 1967. I’m pretty sure that it is inactive currently as I couldn’t find any current information about it, though we did spot some people spending the night there. Anyways, through binoculars I knew I need to get an up close to have a look. So this last week on of my goals was to take the forest service road to the top.
Now with COVID getting worse, especially in Idaho, and being in a town where a bunch of people who don’t believe in COVID drive through I shouldn’t have done this but… I met an new friend who lives in Donnelly and since I had never been up this road before and I was going to do it in complete darkness I thought I should have another person with me. Also when I say a friend I really mean two new friends one a super cool human and the other a cute little kitten named Ginko. After being turned around at the first shorter road we wrapped around the other direction to go the longer way. We missed sunset and we arrived just as true darkness fell with NEOWISE starting to show along with the center of the milky way.
Canon 7D Mark II with a Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 on Manfrotto tripod with FLM ball head:
25 sec F1.8 ISO 1600
There are many things that I truly appreciate about the world and it was amazing how many things came together that night. Plans getting changed halfway through, a bumpy Land Cruiser ride, dark sky with some extra-terrestrial object visible from earth, a bright milky way you could mistake for a cloud, wonderful company/conversation, and time with an adventurous little kitten. I don’t usually just invite someone (and their kitten) I’m not super familiar with on late night trips like these, especially now, but I’m sure glad I did this time!
“Late night adventures with new friends are memories I will always cherish. Motion blur, sage brush, fire lookout, star studded skies, NEOWISE, and a little kitten named Ginko.”