Past, President, Future

May 10, 2012 ~ Kana Smith ~ 17 Comments

Last week a time-warp descended on the State Park beside our house. Overlaid on the invisible borders of the frisbee-golf course, an army encampment of Civil War soldiers and camp followers sprang up, authentic in every detail (except, perhaps, for the general lack of dirt and grime). This group of history hobbyists pitches camp here … Continue reading Past, President, Future

Ice Fishing, Hot Springs, and a Duck-Hunting Writer…

January 14, 2012May 5, 2012 ~ Kana Smith ~ 13 Comments

Day Two--Western Byways Editorial Team on the Road... By the time we unfolded ourselves from the motor-home's fold-out bed this morning, the temperature had just pushed into double digits, and I felt intrepid enough to step outside and indulge in my Very Bad Habit... The foothills beyond the stretch of high-desert prairie were warming in … Continue reading Ice Fishing, Hot Springs, and a Duck-Hunting Writer…

Another Hawai’ian Ventures into the Owyhees

December 28, 2011 ~ Kana Smith ~ 11 Comments

[This was the magazine sidebar accompanying the story of our jaunt to Silver City, Idaho...] The Owyhee Mountains were named for a trio of native Hawai'ian trappers, working for the Hudson Bay Company, who disappeared in these mountains around 1820. For my husband Keoni, a native Hawai'ian himself, this bit of history put an intriguing … Continue reading Another Hawai’ian Ventures into the Owyhees

Silver City, Idaho: a “Ghost Town” that Never Gave Up the Ghost

December 28, 2011August 25, 2017 ~ Kana Smith ~ 26 Comments

[Published in the Sep 2011 issue of Western Byways magazine... I thought I'd trot it out here as well.] Perched in the Owyhee Mountains at the center of 250 once-active gold mines, Silver City is often referred to as a ghost town--but that's not a description I recommend using within hearing of its residents. A … Continue reading Silver City, Idaho: a “Ghost Town” that Never Gave Up the Ghost

Byways & Bygones: Idaho’s “Old Oregon Trail Byway”

October 5, 2011January 27, 2021 ~ Kana Smith ~ 3 Comments

Engine idling in the middle of the desert, we contemplate the pockmarked metal sign in front of us. Military Range, it declares, adding the instruction that civilian vehicles are to keep to the main road. Which leaves us with a question--what is the definition, out here, of a "main road"? Off to the side, a … Continue reading Byways & Bygones: Idaho’s “Old Oregon Trail Byway”