Bruneau Dunes State Park, Idaho

Jere takes my bike to the bike shop first thing in the morning for a new tire and then we pack up for our trip to Bruneau Dunes State Park. It's about 70 miles east of Boise.

We drive through downtown Boise on our way out of town. Their capitol building is being completed renovated.

It is really, really, really windy today with gusts over 40 mph. As we get close to the park we see sand/dirt blowing in the distance, but we keep going. We hope to sled on the sand dunes. We set up in the campground, which is very nice with lots of trees (in the middle of a scrub desert).

We have our lunch of huge Idaho baked potatoes with chili and cheese, and then head down to the dune. It is so incredibly windy that there is no way we can walk on the dunes unless we are willing to be sandblasted.

So we decide to drive out to the Bruneau Canyon Overlook and hope that the wind dies down later today (does not happen) or tomorrow morning so we can try sledding on North America's largest sand dune.

The drive to the overlook seems long and is through scrub desert. But we don't go far enough and turn off too soon, so we miss the overlook. There are not enough signs and Jere forgot to check the odometer. The the only sign is to beware of falling objects from aircraft since it is part of an Air Force testing ground.

We turnoff for what we think is a 3 mile stretch of dirt road to the overlook. But we really were on the Idaho Centennial Trail. We drive about 4 minles on this road that should be labeled "4 Wheel Drive Only" but it's not. Instead The "scenic" drive that the AAA book describes is a disappointment, but Jere does get to use his 4 wheel drive on part of the road with large ruts and puddles.

We return to the campground for dinner and a walk around the campground area. The wind drives us back inside the trailer for most of the evening. It's ashame because the sun comes out later in the evening.