At the heart of Salmon, we found a statue of a bear fishing for salmon in a stream.
amusing and fading mural that had been painted long ago advertising stretchy suspenders. Showing just how close-knit this community is, the marquee on the town’s old movie theater said “Happy 39th Birthday Lisa,” not something you’d ever find in a big city. Continuing north on U.S. 93 in a valley between two glorious mountain ranges, we arrived at the town of Challis where a sign for a microbrew company caught our eye and enticed us to turn the rig around to have a closer look. The River of No Return Brewing Company is located in a building that was once a house, and as we sipped their delicious House Brown Ale, we were soon joined by a crowd of locals at the bar. Suddenly a young woman arrived and set up a sound system, and before we knew it she was strumming a ukulele and serenading the crowd. What fun. As we left Challis behind, the pretty Salmon River began to accompany us on our northward journey on U.S. 93. Beautiful mountain scenery rose up on either side of the highway, and the road made gentle twists and turns as it snaked along the valley floor, giving us an endless river view. Before long we had arrived in the town of Salmon, where the centerpiece was a statue of a bear catching a big salmon in the river surrounded by pretty landscaping and flowers. We walked along a serene
Off the beaten path, Mackay is a delightful small town framed by craggy snowcapped mountain peaks.
Idaho’s Scenic Backroads Story and photos by Emily and Mark Fagan
Some of the most rewarding RV adventures lie off the beaten path on the byways and backroads of America, and my husband Mark and I were charmed by two north- south scenic routes in Idaho that we explored with our 36-foot Hitchhiker fifth-wheel trailer. Getting off Interstate 15 in the southeastern part of the state when we were traveling northward, we stopped at Arco, the first town in America that was lit by atomic power. The Experimental Breeder Reactor No. 1 was the nuclear reactor responsible for giving Arco this unique distinction, and it’s now a National Historic Landmark. When we visited the reactor, we marveled at how antiquated the 1950s equipment appeared to be. Following U.S. Highway 93 north, we came across the tiny town of Mackay—framed by a stunning backdrop of snowcapped mountains. The small main street was filled with historic buildings, and the side of one sported an
IDAHO SCENIC BACKROADS
COAST TO COAST SUMMER MAGAZINE 2018
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