Whitewater boaters, picnickers, swimmers, anglers, and anyone who stops along Idaho 55 to use the outhouses at Beehive Bend and Banks should be bummed.

Some yo-yo brains broke into the fee boxes at two recreation sites along the Payette River system and stole $600 in fees. The thefts also resulted in $800 damage to the fee boxes.

It's personal if you use these areas.

Boaters and picnickers have to pay a daily fee of $3 to use the areas and the money goes back into the sites.

The $1,400 could have been used for maintenance and improvements at the sites, such as painting parking lines at the Banks launch site, painting toilets and dressing facilities, increasing the size of the raft-drying pad at Beehive Bend and cleaning all of the toilets for one full month.

That should make boaters angry.

I was up floating the river last week, and you know, the recreation sites along the river are pretty cool. Tens of thousands of people use them each year.

A $500 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the thief or thieves.

Fee boxes were broken into at Beehive Bend, north of Gardena, and at the Confluence site between Banks and Garden Valley.

Anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers at 343-2677 or Forest Service law enforcement at 373-4195.

BLACKBERRIES RIPE

Blackberries are ripening along the Boise River and at other places.

I've been on a berry kick lately. Last week it was huckleberries. I saved the following recipe for blackberry season.

Earlier this summer I blogged about America's Best Campfire Chef contest in New York City! I remember thinking, campfires? New York City? It should have been held in Stanley.

Anyway, five chefs tossed their skillets over campfires in New York City's Riverside Park for a chance to earn the title of "America's Best Campfire Chef" during the third national Redwood Creek Wines' Campfire Classic.

Melissa Mullins of New York was the winner for her Blackberry Hand Pies with Jar-whipped Lavender Cream, a recipe inspired by a hike through a lavender field.

Here's the recipe for camping:

You'll need aluminum foil, ice water, small cooler with ice, reusable bag, plastic wrap and a grill that can be placed over the embers, tongs and a knife.

Mix 2 pints of fresh blackberries with a generous pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg, 1/4 cup of unbleached flour, and 1/4 cup of raw sugar.

Either prepare a basic pie crust or purchase ready-made pie crust and pack it in the cooler.

Break dough into six balls (if using homemade dough).

On a piece of sprayed foil, flatten and roll out dough balls (using the empty bottle of your last wine) into a circle about 5 inches in diameter.

Spoon in filling with equal amounts into each flattened piece of dough. Fold over dough to create a half-moon shape. Pinch edges firmly together.

Prepare a foil shell for each hand pie, generously spraying the foil with non-stick spray. Leave as much space as possible between the top of the foil and the top of the pie. This allows the pie to cook properly.

Place packets carefully on campfire grill over hot coals. Cook for about 35-45 minutes.

While waiting for the pies to cook, place whipping cream, a generous pinch of finger-ground lavender, and a tablespoon of warm honey in a jar.

Tighten the lid and shake. After several minutes, the liquid will start to form into a soft whipped cream.

Take pies off fire. Allow them to sit for several minutes. Unwrap and serve with a dollop of lavender cream.

Goes good with a glass of Pinot Noir.

DEEP CREEK BRIDGE

A couple of weeks ago, while driving to the launch site for a wilderness float trip on the Selway River in northern Idaho, we took a side trip to the Magruder Ranger Station.

The bridge across Deep Creek stopped us in our tracks. It was last week's Photo Challenge (see this page).

The stone work on the bridge is beautiful. It's one of the most beautiful bridges I've seen in Idaho's backcountry.

It was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s. The U.S. Forest Service says that Lithuanian stone masons worked on the project and "applied their expertise to this marvelous work of art."

It is a work of art. If you ever drive the Magruder Road across Idaho from Elk City to Darby, Mont., it's worth stopping and admiring it.

Seeing the waters of Deep Creek flow into the Selway River framed by the bridge, well, it's one of the highlights of the drive.

Pete Zimowsky: 377-6445