How did you spend Memorial Day weekend? For many, it’s the first camping trip of the year which frequently gets rained out. I can’t camp because I no longer have a friend with an RV that has comfy beds and 3 TVs, and I had to give up throwing a sleeping bag on the ground a long time ago. But I do go on a trail every Memorial Day weekend…the Bennett Mountain Bluebird Trail.

Did you know that the state bird of Idaho is the Mountain Bluebird? Have you ever seen one? This is a good time of year to find them as the bluebirds are nesting. In the past bluebirds relied on dead trees and old wooden fence posts for nesting but as those disappeared, so did the bluebirds. Now nesting boxes are provided along what is known as the Bluebird Trail. To find the bluebirds, you head north of Buhl through Wendell and Gooding and keep driving until you come to a T in the road. Then you turn left onto Hwy 20 with Fairfield the first stop for snacks and orientation, meaning you ask the locals how to find the bluebird trail but I’ll save you time since I already did.

There’s another stop along the way, Centennial Marsh. Go west from Fairfield for about 10 miles, just past Hill City turn left onto Swamp Road and then it’s another 5 miles to the marsh. Centennial Marsh is a seasonal wetland known for beautiful camas lilies and thousands of birds. The camas are mostly over with but there were a lot of birds.

Back on Hwy 20, keep heading west past the intersection with Pine-Featherville Road and then start looking for Bennett Mountain Road cutoff on the left. It’s easy to miss but you can make a u-turn at the top of a long hill which I frequently do. Once on Bennett Mountain Road you begin to see the nesting boxes and the bluebirds nearby. One nesting pair helpfully sat as guides on the Bennett Mountain Road sign. I took a peek in one nest and there were the most bluebird eggs I’ve ever seen: seven!

Every trip to Bennett Mountain involves Mormon crickets crossing the road…crunch, crunch driving over them! And also cows lying on the road wherever there is shade. Don’t run over them—that’s thousands of dollars of rawhide! On the southern fringe of the trail is Teapot Dome, a camping spot on the old Oregon Trail. Emerging from Bennett Mountain Road at Glenns Ferry, you can visit the Oregon Trail History and Education Center. Go see all of this soon before the summer heat becomes unbearable for birds, beasts, and people!

-Priscilla Martens