Boise bound? Pick your path

Like thousands of North Idahoans, before my wife and I drive our Honda Fit to Boise to visit our daughter and her family, there is always the great debate.

Which way?

One must consider weather, road construction and the mood: Do you want to enjoy scenery, perhaps stop along the way for a swim in the summer, or are you in a hurry?

One route offers fewer miles, but is slower because it goes through, over and around towns, prairies, mountains and rivers.

The other route is an extra 70 miles or so, but for the most part you can drive faster. It offers less scenery and many miles that truly seem endless.

Let’s take a closer look:

The first choice is U.S. 95, connecting to Highway 55. From our Coeur d’Alene home to our daughter’s home is about 385 miles. It is windier, slower and more dangerous, presenting greater opportunity for accidents and getting stuck behind slow-moving traffic.

But it is scenic and allows for stops in Riggins, a town with character; McCall, home to one of my favorite thrift stores, not to mention home to Payette Lake; and Smith’s Ferry, where we like to take a lunch break at the Cougar Mountain Lodge.

The stretch along Highway 55 and the Payette River can be spectacular summer or winter, but can also be super slow, and hence, aggravating when others actually follow the speed limit.

The second choice is via Interstate 90 west from Coeur d'Alene to U.S. 395, cut down on U.S. 12 to Highway 730 along the Columbia River and eventually connect to Interstate 84.

The drive along the Columbia River is peaceful and relaxing, unlike the rest of the route.

That way is about 450 miles. Longer, but faster, and we get to stop in Baker City, which has a great main street.

You also must deal with the Blue Mountains and Deadman Pass, which, in the winter, is more dangerous than U.S. 95 due to far heavier traffic.

I got caught in a snowstorm in the Blue Mountains once. The Fit and I survived, but after too many miles of white-knuckle driving and close encounters with great beasts of the highways, I vowed never again would I make that mistake.

On our most recent trek, we went to Boise through Washington and Oregon, but returned on 95 when the weather forecast indicated we should have clear roads, which we did.

I generally prefer the opposite, as our Honda Fit struggles mightily chugging up Whitebird Hill.

The Fit is also challenged by the long uphill to the Blue Mountains, but it has never failed us.

Generally, on our road trips, nothing exciting happens, unless I start falling asleep and my wife becomes alarmed, offering to drive. Of course, I refuse. I must do the driving.

About 500 miles a day is my limit. Beyond that, I start to snap.

Perhaps that explains why we go to Glacier National Park every summer. The west entrance is a mere 245 miles from Coeur d’Alene, an easy five-hour drive. Another 70 miles or so, and I'm at my favorite place in the world, Many Glacier campground.

While I am not brave when it comes to long road trips, my oldest brother is.

He and his wife recently drove from Montesano, Wash., to Colorado Springs, Colo., to visit family. He and his wife did this in a Lexus with nearly 300,000 miles. They had troubles, from a closed highway to a broken fuel pump to nearly getting stuck on a snowy road that was allegedly a shortcut. Yet, my brother just keeps going and going.

Even after all that, they then drove from Colorado Springs to Sun City, Ariz., a mere 840 miles in my brother's mind. Easy. In mine, unthinkable.

When we were young, my father packed the family — six kids — into the old Country Sedan station wagon each summer for the nearly 700-mile trip from Seattle to Belt, Mont., to visit my mother's family. He generally drove all night while the rest of us slept. How he did it, I’ll never know. My father was a true road warrior.

I do know, I prefer the path of least resistance — and the shortest one, too.

Bill Buley is a reporter with The Press. He can be reached at bbuley@cdapresscom.