We came, we saw, we were very impressed!! (Emmett: 2010, camp)

[motomac]

Nope, it's no better live than it is in TV. Last week I got over to the area where all the huge monuments are/were. All the statues of Saddam are gone, but the ones for the Iraqi people, the giant crossed swords and the Iraqi Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, are still there. They're pretty sad-looking though. The monument area is so run down, ankle-deep trash everywhere, the ever-present plastic bags blowing all over the place, and everything covered in an inch or three of dirt. The last part may be understandable since this has been the worst year in decades for sandstorms....it's just one right after another, but there's obviously no attempt to keep it up. Kinda of sad, really...

Anyway, I'm surviving and checking my count-down calendar.... 4.2 weeks down, 47.8 weeks to go!!

I will admit that you can get more house out in Emmett, but I'm just worn out on transferring from one place to another to another to another.....haven't lived anywhere more than 3 years since 1963 and it's time to stop! So, Boise it is...in a place where I can kick back and relax, have the kids & grandkids come visit, and not have to worry or plan on where the next place is going to be, because this is it!

Last year I found a website that listed all the offroad trails in every state in the union. It had maps, photos, descriptions, GPS coordinates, and tons of details about when it was open, any restrictions, and even difficulty ratings. Fabulous website. Now if I could only remember it.... I'm pretty sure I have it set up on my desktop PC at home, so will try to get my wife to look for it....probably in 'My Favorites'....and I can pass that on to you. Idaho has a lot of trails, but Oregon has a gazillion! Good thing we'll be just a couple of rock throws away from the OR state line, huh?

Good luck on selling your house and see you in the beautiful land of Famous Potatoes!

Originally Posted by DESERTRYDER

Great to hear from you MotoMac.
I hope Baghdad is better than it looks on TV....
We are still looking at Emmett even though Boise and surrounding areas are pretty cool. Just more house for the dollar out there and every other saturday we will come over the hill for the farmers market and Costco,...
As slow as house sales are going around here we both will get to Idaho at the same time...
I have got a list of hidden fishing spots and trails for days.
Hope to ride with you soon as can be.

[DESERTRYDER]

Keep up the good work Mac and have a falafel for me.
I will be looking forward to riding a few of those trails with you asap.

[boisefan88]

FYI - most trails worth anything aren't going to found on any websites. You MIGHT get lucky and find some saved tracks on a GPS website, but really, unless you're extremely familiar with an area, just going out and riding trails in Idaho just won't really work. Though a lot of the more common ones are marked well, the best ones aren't, and it's extremely easy to get lost out there.

I just got back from a 8 hour ride in the forests northwest of Stanley. I've been living here my entire life and have been riding trails for most of them, but everytime I go out I get treated to trails I've never ridden. Today's was extremely, extremely tight singletrack - rutted, rocky, and extremely difficult.

My advice: join a local riding club and go out with them on rides.

[DESERTRYDER]

You mean like this one...

TVTMA Home

I have been fortunate to have already ridden with the Magic Valley trail riders club and have recently joined this one.
Very true DO NOT go it alone because Idaho is huge and a smart person would take a guide who has ridden the area.
Nasty rocky single track is right up my alley but I feel much better when I'm following a local.

[boisefan88]

Exactly that one.

[DESERTRYDER]

Tvtma just looking at the ride event pictures is worth the price of addmission.
Cant wait to be doing some real riding with them .
The Magic valley club has been showing us a great time for several years but my wife likes Emmett over Twin Falls. Thats why we are moving to Emmett
Now we are active members of the TVTMA

[motomac]

I think we're all on the same page of music. There is no way I'll go out alone....I didn't even do that when I went practicing on MX tracks back in my youth...just not a smart thing to do. I also found the TVTMA website almost 2 years ago and have been drooling over all the photos of their events. My wife even checked out some of the photos of how involved the families are, so now she's leaning towards learning how to ride off-road (she's got a street license).

When I was there in May, I also stopped into the local KTM shop and talked to a gentleman for a bit. Very nice guy, very helpful with info. I also stopped at another dealer (not KTM) with a much larger showroom, but was sort of ignored by the kids working there, so left.

Can't wait to get back there and get involved with the club and riders!

Cheers,

Mac

[DESERTRYDER]

Mac when you come back bring us one of those Flying Carpets

Look forward to riding with you and the TVTMA soon

[motomac]

Originally Posted by DESERTRYDER

Mac when you come back bring us one of those Flying Carpets

Look forward to riding with you and the TVTMA soon

I looked into that flying carpet thing, and even though it passed the EPA emission standards, it doesn't get past the Dept of Transportation crash tests. While there is plenty of air around you, none of it is in bags. There are no seatbelts either, so there's a problem with the roll-over tests -- you roll over, you fall off! The final straw was the texture of the carpet prevented all the eleventy-gazillion safety warning stickers from staying in place -- they kept blowing off. So, no flying carpets can be imported into the U.S.

Too bad....I had a very ragged old throw-rug I was going to trade in on a new flying carpet under the Baghdad Cash-for-Clunky-Carpets program, but that's not an option any more.

Cheers,

Mac

[DESERTRYDER]

Thats funny stuff Mac.
As soon as you get back you and yours are invited to my House for dinner.
From there we will plan a dirt bike ride around the hills of Emmett.
With some luck we could actually be there by the time your tour is up