View of the hay barn at Taylor Wilderness Research Station - 1985 and 2019

In the historical photograph, Ray Arnold, with flight service Arnold Aviation, takes off from the airstrip at Taylor Wilderness Research Station. Ray, who delivered the mail to the research station for decades, is remarkably flying out west to east, opposite of the normal flight path from this particular airstrip.

The hay barn seen in both photographs was built during the tenure of managers Jim and Holly Akenson. Advocates of what they might call “the old ways” or “old Idaho”, Jim and Holly Akenson prioritized giving student interns the opportunities to immerse themselves in the living history of the Taylor Wilderness Research Station. They focused on the 65-acre Taylor Wilderness Research Station, cultivating within student interns and visitors a sense of place and a historical relationship with the landscape and former homestead. Jim and Holly Akenson drove mule teams, rode pack trains throughout the backcountry, taught student interns how to cut hay, reconstruct cabins, use old-fashioned mowing machines, drive wagons, and raise barns. Because of their efforts, many students and visitors left Taylor Wilderness Research Station with a strong connection to the human efforts and history on the land.

Location: Taylor Wilderness Research Station Big Creek Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness, ID

Latitude & Longitude: 45.1025, -114.8514