By Aubrey McKay 

Idaho is the 14th largest state, with 83,569 square miles of beautiful grasslands, coniferous forests, deserts, wetlands, lakes and rivers. To see the whole of Idaho would take months on horseback or foot, so one man took it upon himself to do it by car.  

In 2021, Ricky Loertscher’s family, from Ucon, went on a trip to Coeur d’Alene. Loertscher began mentoring a young man in Pierce, Idaho, who was attending the Idaho Youth ChalleNGe Academy. Loertscher was driving the infamously twisting, mountainous Highway 12 so often that he said, “I  stopped counting after 100 [trips].” Loertscher had lived in Idaho all his life and decided that he wanted  to see more of it. With a Toyota RAV4 as his constant companion, he set out to drive all the highways in Idaho. 

Currently, Loertscher has traveled 99.95% of the highways in Idaho in three-to-four-day stretches,  returning home to work and refuel in between trips. He missed Highway 4 up by Wallace, Idaho, and only  realized it once he’d marked his map. All he needs is the small, 6 mile stretch of road to have traveled  every highway in Idaho.  

“The most boring highway is out in Owyhee County [on Highway 31]. It’s desert. I looked for a tree.  Couldn’t even find a tree,” said Loertscher. 

Because of Idaho’s snowy winters and high altitude, he only travels during the summer. On his travels,  Loertscher has seen white sandy beaches, canyons, mountains, rivers and switchbacks. Sometimes the  roads had guardrails, sometimes not, even when there were sheer drop-offs awaiting a less attentive  driver. 

“I listened to a lot of books on CD, because I have a flip phone. For maps I used my map and I didn’t have a compass or anything. The way I found out if I was going north, south, east, or west is – when I got to a town and saw another sign, [I’d] see that I’m good, then I’d travel to the next town,” Loertscher said. 

In all those miles, he only had one flat tire and one issue with an oil change. To save money, he slept in  his car.  

His advice to anyone who wants to live out of their car is to make sure they have a good battery. He said  you’ll find “little knick-knacks” to making living in your car easier. As you encounter new problems, you’ll  think of new solutions, like finding fitting window covers and developing a better system for sleeping. His  two key pieces of advice are to have water with you and make sure you find a bathroom. 

Loertscher has had relatively good luck sleeping in his car. He was only kicked out of one Walmart parking lot in Colorado. Another time, a bunch of teenagers blared their music to wake him up, so he  drove away and parked somewhere else.  

“I like to find places that are more secluded or a campground. Sometimes I’d find a place that had a  shower,” Loertscher said. 

Loertscher will soon complete his goal by driving the final stretch of Highway 6 into Wallace, where he  will stop beside a sign that claims to be the center of the universe. 

Next on his list are all the state parks in Idaho. He’s already visited six out of thirty. 

“I think Idaho is a beautiful state,” Loertscher said. “I’ve driven all of it. You’ll see beauty no matter where you’re at,  including Owyhee County. It’s a different atmosphere, but it’s definitely a different uniqueness to it.”