Looking to move to Orofino, Idaho. Any thoughts? (Boise, Idaho Falls: rental, how much)

[Lynn Celeste]

I'm told Orofino has milder winters and warm summers.
How are the schools? Hunting? We are very conservative.

[clearwater66]

From where are you relocating?

[Lynn Celeste]

Texas. Just curios with canyon living about the fog &
shade from the hills.

[wildflower82]

Originally Posted by Lynn Celeste

Texas. Just curios with canyon living about the fog &
shade from the hills.

What are you looking for? Being from Texas, you might explore the Payette, Weiser, Midvale area.

Unless, you are set on Northern Idaho.......I must say the Clearwater River is beautiful, the canyons hold a lot of dark days and I hear it can be icy, more than dealing with snow.

[clearwater66]

Actually, I believe you might find some similar qualities in Orofino compared with some small Texas towns.

People are very friendly, hunting and fishing are a way of life but with the devasting fires, I honestly don't know how this season will be different. I would check with Idaho Fish and Game in the next few weeks, to see which areas will be open.

There are 2 good size grocery stores, whose managers are agreeable to special orders. That's good, because you are about 30 miles from Lewiston on a 2 lane highway with exactly 12 curves between Orofino and Lewiston. Beautiful drive, not recommended for a newbie after dark.

Outstanding natural environment, can feel closed in because of the canyons, without as many sunny days as Lewiston in winter. Last winter, my friends reported cold but little snow. However, they are plagued with mold in their house..the canyon/River atmosphere holds a lot of moisture, as well as smoke from wood stoves and fires. Unlike other states, Idaho does not force landlords to treat it...it is your problem..if you rent and can be expensive to treat, if you buy. It should be taken very seriously.

Town is plain, not quaint; it's been boom or bust with logging, mining and the building of Dvworsk Dam; older homes reflect more of the bygone better times; there is very little new construction. It is the county seat and the courthouse is falling apart, apparently without funds to replace or repair it.

There are some steady state, county and hospital jobs but hard to get..it is the kind of town where it helps to know someone, who knows someone. The social hubs are 3 beer bars, one on each one of the three blocks of town. I guess you could say it's a typical, somewhat drab, blue collar town, set in a gorgeous natural environment.

Gardens are hard because deer come into town at night and eat EVERYTHING. But I was enthralled with excitement of spending a summer on the edge of a wilderness...wolves and cougar are just outside of town.

There is one family with big dreams for the town...been there several generations and they like to control most of what goes on. This is met with some applause and a lot of scorn because of the "my way or the highway" treatment of other long term residents. They own a lot of older rental property. I don't know how much smoke damage remains..it was pretty bad for about 3 weeks. If the drought continues next year, it could be as bad or worse.

The community has really bonded because of the fires...if you want to get to know people, just show up to volunteer, if you can.

[banjomike]

I read that the fire jumped the Clearwater and went into town, but was contained. No matter what else, the immediate scenery isn't gonna be pretty for a long time to come after the fires.

One of my oldest friends grew up in Orofino. I met him while attending the U of Idaho in Moscow. He joined the military to get out of town, and went straight to the U of I when he was discharged, and then only returned for a couple of holidays afterward. Once graduated, he moved to Boise.
He said he hated all the dark days, the fog, heavy snow, and the gray skies from the first time I met him until the last time we talked, a few years ago. He found it all unbearably oppressive, and still does, 50 years later. While he never got into specifics about the residents, I think he never cared much for the folks who lived there either, as he never mentioned any of them outside of his family. For all I know, he probably still has a few relatives who live there.

I know I'm wouldn't be happy living in any canyon.
I wouldn't be happy there, or in Riggins, or in Lolo, or any of those canyon towns, but I know folks from almost all of them who love living where they live. A close lady friend lived in Riggins for 7 years, had to come back to Idaho Falls to care for her mother, and will live here for the rest of her life, but would still like to move back if she could. And Riggins is even more of a canyon town than Orofino- the mountains are higher and steeper and the valley is much narrower. The town is also smaller.

I think the only way to know if you would like the life there would require about 6 months of living there, and the same would be true with the rest of the canyon towns.

[clearwater66]

My friends said the fire was up Michigan Avenue in Konkoville and jumped Clearwater Creek but firefighters were able to stop it ... it was a close call. In Kamiah however, the fire threatened to jump the Clearwater several times but was stopped each time. Very scary..

[wildflower82]

Originally Posted by banjomike

I read that the fire jumped the Clearwater and went into town, but was contained. No matter what else, the immediate scenery isn't gonna be pretty for a long time to come after the fires.

One of my oldest friends grew up in Orofino. I met him while attending the U of Idaho in Moscow. He joined the military to get out of town, and went straight to the U of I when he was discharged, and then only returned for a couple of holidays afterward. Once graduated, he moved to Boise.
He said he hated all the dark days, the fog, heavy snow, and the gray skies from the first time I met him until the last time we talked, a few years ago. He found it all unbearably oppressive, and still does, 50 years later. While he never got into specifics about the residents, I think he never cared much for the folks who lived there either, as he never mentioned any of them outside of his family. For all I know, he probably still has a few relatives who live there.

I know I'm wouldn't be happy living in any canyon.
I wouldn't be happy there, or in Riggins, or in Lolo, or any of those canyon towns, but I know folks from almost all of them who love living where they live. A close lady friend lived in Riggins for 7 years, had to come back to Idaho Falls to care for her mother, and will live here for the rest of her life, but would still like to move back if she could. And Riggins is even more of a canyon town than Orofino- the mountains are higher and steeper and the valley is much narrower. The town is also smaller.

I think the only way to know if you would like the life there would require about 6 months of living there, and the same would be true with the rest of the canyon towns.

Riggins is having fires. Last I heard they were asking people to leave the town. I am out of the area and haven't kept up with it......it's the Teepee fire. I did hear, rafters where stuck somewhere from falling tress, unable to get out.

I am with you, canyon living is not a desire, when Idaho offers so much more places with snow, ice and short summers.

[banjomike]

Originally Posted by clearwater66

My friends said the fire was up Michigan Avenue in Konkoville and jumped Clearwater Creek but firefighters were able to stop it ... it was a close call. In Kamiah however, the fire threatened to jump the Clearwater several times but was stopped each time. Very scary..

Thanks! Obviously, I confused one situation with another.

One thing about wildfire; it always brings out the best in a community. I don't know anything about how it is in California when wildfire flames up, but here, I've seen farmers pulling the disc plows over burned range for several days after a fire, to plow under any fire that may still be smoldering and to plow the ash under quickly.

The town of West Yellowstone was saved by spud farmers, who went up with miles of their sprinkler pipe when the hot shots could not hold the fire line.
Water was pumped through the lines with a couple of fire department pumpers, and the sprinkler heads kept the fires at bay in a big circle surrounding almost the entire town.

West was chock full of RVs and campers, full to the brim, as the tourists all fled the park just ahead of the fires. The tourists became fire fighters and chopped fire lines, just outside the range of the sprinklers. If they got too hot, they just stepped back and got soaked, and then went back at it.

When the winds shifted and the fires advanced on Old Faithful, many of the same group- farmers and tourists- followed the hot shot crews in and did the same, protecting the Old Faithful Inn and Lodge and the other buildings in the complex.

Regional city fire departments joined the fight, coming in from all directions, joined by volunteer fire departments who brought what they had. It was a hard fight, but they saved it all, and the Inn is one of America's best and most cherished buildings.

No one knows for sure just how many good people came and worked hard. As soon as the fire was knocked down, they all just packed up and went back home within a day. Americans responding at their best.

It still tickles me to think about about the tales that must have been told all over the nation when those folks went back home and told what they did on their summer vacation. Saving Old Faithful would be an amazing vacation story for someone from Indiana!

[silverfox]

Great Post Banjomike.

When I was a kid in the late 50's my family spent 3 months in the West Yellowstone area every year.
Have not been there since.

Glad they saved it ..... Moving to Hayden end of this month and will visit Yellowstone again next summer.

Many fond memories of the Park.

Silverfox