Today was our last day in Montana, and though we will miss the scenery and the very nice people, we will not miss the "Loose Gravel" road construction. As if Montana knew we were leaving, on the way out of Missoula, we ran across our final "Loose Gravel" road construction. Fortunately it was very short, but it was like Montana was taking it's last shot at us.
     Today was just a travel day, with no particular stops along the way, just some scenic byways and about 340 miles to cover . We left Missoula continuing south on US-93S, and the first 50 miles or so was almost interstate. Speed limit was 70 mph, and the road was mostly straight. Mountains on both sides, but not particularly scenic. Then the road began to follow the Salmon River and the scenery became much more beautiful. As we approached the Idaho state line, the road began to climb, and by the time we crossed the border we were at 7100 ft. At the Idaho border crossing there was a Visitors Center where we met a group of bikers heading north from Colorado. There was also a poster showing the Salmon River Scenic Highway, and that's what we were planning to follow.
     Most of the Salmon River Scenic Highway was just what we expected, it followed the path of the Salmon River with all it's twists and turns. There were a few small towns along the way, but mostly it was just mountains and the river. Everything was very beautiful. We even saw a mule deer at the side of the road. Luckily when it saw us it ran away from the road and not into the road . We stopped several times at scenic turnouts to take pictures, but mostly we travelled along enjoying the ride.   There were very few cars on the road, and there appeared to be little campsites setup just off the road along the entire way. Some would have a couple of campsites setup, others would be empty. They looked to be setup by the state, just space for 6 - 12 campsites and a restroom.
     Where the road moved away from the rivers edge, you could see some small farms and ranches setup between the road and the river. The last 60 miles of US-93S were particularly scenic, as the river became wider and seemed to take more turns. Finally we turned SE on ID-75S The scenery really picked up from there. The road became narrower and the twists and turns became tighter and there was no civilization for the first 50 miles. By the time we reached Stanley, ID, the Salmon River Scenic Highway had become the Sawtooth Scenic Highway as the path of the road went from following the Salmon River to following Sawtooth Creek . The twists and turns were enjoyable all afternoon especially as the temperature had begun to rise into the 80's.
     As we began to close in on Ketchum/Sun Valley and get closer to the hotel, the mountains on both sides began to converge, and it became apparent that we would need to cross over the mountains to get to Ketchum/Sun Valley. Sure enough, the road began to move away from the creek, and began to rise. After a series of switchbacks, I looked at the Garmin and we were over 8000 ft. At the peak we ended up at 8688 ft before we headed back down into Ketchum. We took some pictures at the summit, and you could see far into the valley below.
     By the time we headed down the mountain and into Ketchum, it was 4:00 and we were getting hungry. Ketchum seemed to be a typical upscale skiing town, with all the business catering to outdoor activities. Our hotel is actually in Hailey, ID about 10 miles further south, but both Ketchum and Hailey are very similar. Fortunately for us, both Around Me and TripAdvisor showed a lot of good restaurants in Hailey.   After sorting through the really upscale ones, we ended up choosing an Italian Restaurant called DaVinchi's. The atmosphere was charming and the food was delicious.   Angel hair with sausage and meatballs in a marinara sauce for me, and vegetable lasagna for Jody. Both were delicious and we left stuffed.
     Tomorrow we are off to Boise, but not until a quick stop at the Craters of the Moon National Monument. It wasn't on our original plan, but after talking to a biker on the Going to the Sun Road, he told us not to miss it.

341.2 miles today
7309.8 miles total

7.944 gallons today
175.481 gallons total