Massive Boulder Closes Idaho Road

That's Big Stone!

Idaho is a great place to live.  Until a rock drops on your head.  Geologist Darr Moon lives near Challis.  He posted some photographs his son took while driving home.  As you can see, this isn’t just any rock!  It’s not unusual to see some of our canyon walls and mountains periodically shed some stone.  Especially this time of year when the weather alternates between freezing and warmer periods.  It’s similar to how a pothole develops. Melting water seeps into the soil.  Then there’s a cold snap and rock shifts and gets pushed over the edge.

Darr is the husband of Idaho Republican Party Chairwoman Dorothy Moon.  I spoke with her by telephone earlier today on another matter.  She didn’t mention the falling rocks, but she’s at the party office in Boise.

All Part of Idaho Life

Life is risky, and most people who live in the Mountain West make some tradeoffs.  If you live in a desert, you adjust to dry weather.  If you live along a fault, you sometimes get earthquakes.  If you like Florida beaches, you know you’ll someday deal with a hurricane.

Getting blocked by a boulder is the least of your worries if you’re driving the central highlands.  It may be inconvenient but happy you weren’t below the rock as it tumbled.

Darr explained this isn’t the only recent place where we’ve seen roads blocked.  Between deep snow and avalanches, it’s just something people prepare for and life goes on.