Our Road Trips

9/6/2014

We spent the last 2 days 'on the road', exploring eastern Idaho and western Wyoming. We drove almost 800 miles in the car the last 2 days and saw some amazing sights. Idaho is an amazing place.

Thursday morning, we headed west from our campsite, Idaho Falls our first stop. Shoshone Falls is the main attraction in the Snake River Gorge, besides the Snake River Gorge itself, which is just north of town. We were a little disappointed that the water going over the falls had been shut off for construction at the falls and power plant. But we went to see it anyway, just nowhere nearly as pretty as when I saw it in July, 2005. We moved on, lots of changes in town since 2005, including a huge new mall. We are headed north on ID 93, which crosses the Snake River Gorge one last time. We were several seconds late from getting a picture of a base jumper going off the bridge...crazy how close we were. I saw 2 of them and got pictures back in 2005, just missed that this time.

We headed north after stopping to clean the windshield, something that is necessary several times a day around the river. Just north of Shoshone is the Ice Cave I found so amazing back in 2005, so I need Barb to see it. We waited about 20 minutes for the tour to start and we were the only 2 on the tour. So, for about 45 minutes, we are escorted to the end of a cave 100' feet below the desert that has 20' of ice on the bottom year round. The guide told us it never gets above freezing, even when it is over 100 degrees F on the surface. In the winter, when it is cold on the surface, it is actually warmer in the cave and in the Spring, the melting snow makes it quite pretty, as the water seeping through the volcanic rock on the surface freezes as it enters the cave and forms icicles, etc. Interesting tour.

We continued up the Sawtooth Scenic Byway (ID 75), a 115 mile ride through the Boulder Mountains which passes through Ketchum, Sun Valley & Hailey and ends in Stanley, often listed as the coldest location in the Lower 48. We pass the valley where the Salmon River starts and drive up and over the Galena Summit, the highest point in Idaho. It is a beautiful ride with lots of stopping places for pictures. The ride over Galena Summit has a new place to stop that over looks the valley below...a nicely designed & maintained stop dedicated to those who preserved the area. Pretty ride.

At Stanley, we do a little sightseeing and decide to stop for lunch. We pick the Bridge Street Grill, which overlooks the Salmon River, which has gone from 6' wide to 30'. It is a really nice view from the back deck on a very pretty afternoon. We enjoy our lunch and a conversation with a couple from Washington State seated at the next table, who are touring Idaho on their Harleys. We have a lot in common, especially our love of the area. They tell us about a place in Driggs, ID where you can sit at an airport, look at the west side of the Tetons and watch planes take off & land while having a nice lunch. Since the Idaho side of the Tetons are on our agenda, we make a note of this advice (more on this later). Their parents spent 15 years doing what we are doing (touring the US in a motor home) so they were interested in our travels, especially our just completed adventure to Alaska. We had a nice talk. It is pretty amazing how these things happen at the most unexpected times.

We take the Salmon River Scenic Byway out of Stanley, a 161 mile ride that actually ends at the Montana line. We ride it as far as Challis, as it is getting late in the afternoon, so we turn south on US 93, which is also the Peaks to Craters Scenic Byway, a 140 mile jaunt to Craters of the Moon National Monument. We turn east towards Idaho Falls at Arco, as it is getting dark and there is no joy in hitting animals in the dark on an unfamiliar road. We don't arrive in Idaho Falls until almost 10 pm the way it is. But is was an unbelievable day through miles of some of the prettiest scenery.

Steve & Barb Larson