Idaho, An Enigma, Part 2

  Idaho is generally considered part of the Pacific Northwest along with Washington and Oregon, even though it does not have a coastline. However, of the three Pacific Northwest states, Idaho is regarded as the "poor cousin" by many people. That may be an apt description in some respects but I do not mean that to be derogatory. Idaho certainly receives less attention than  Oregon and Washington do and is less  known than the other two states. It does have less money than the other two states do, however.
  Idaho became a territory on July 4, 1863, during the Civil War. It became a state on July 3, 1890 after languishing as a territory for nearly three decades. Idaho served as a territory longer than most of the current states did.    
  What is now Idaho is basically what was left over after all of the other states and territories were carved out. The different parts of the state really have very little in common with each other. The southeast part is heavily Mormon. In fact, it is more heavily Mormon than most of Utah is. The south-central and southwest parts of Idaho are predominantly Protestant with a high percentage of Catholics, also. The northern part is a wide mixture of religions with no single religion dominating. This part of Idaho has alot in common with Washington and Oregon, especially Washington, and is definitely part of the Pacific Northwest.  The southeast identifies strongly with Utah and the northern part of the southeast identifies more with Montana. The southwest is harder to define. It has the bulk of the state's population, about 40%. The southwest part of Idaho borders Oregon on the west and Nevada on the south. I guess it most closely identifies with the eastern part of Oregon (the eastern part of Oregon has little in common with the western part of that state, which is well-populated and very rainy and lush. The western part is what people generally think of when they think of Oregon).
   All of these disparate parts of Idaho are separated by a nearly uninhabited and roadless expanse of mountains and thick forests in the central part of the state. In fact, there is only one highway connecting the northern and southern parts of the state. It is U.S. Highway 95 and this stretch of road was not completed until 1975! Before then, people from, say, Lewiston in northern Idaho, had to travel through parts of Washington and Oregon to get the Boise area. Now, when highway 95 is occasionally closed by winter weather or rockslides, people still have to take that same route, which could add five hours to a trip that is 264 miles on highway 95. However, that 264 miles cannot be driven in about 4 hours because highway 95 has alot of curves and steep grades. The shortest alternate route through Oregon and Washington is only about 50 miles longer than the highway 95 route, but it will likely be closed due to winter weather if highway 95 is. The shortest drive from southeast Idaho to northern Idaho still requires a drive through western Montana.