Our Road Trips

9/9/2014

We took the weekend off...the trip to the Tetons and getting in at 10 at night 2 nights in a row wore us both out. So we spent the weekend being mostly lazy, watching some football and BBQing dinner 2 nights at the camper. We did go for a short ride Saturday, but we just needed a short break.

Yesterday, we had an 815 appointment in Pocatello to get a recall item done on the car...replace the ignition. It took about 2 hours, so we walked next door and had a good breakfast. Not long after we got back, our car was ready. They had even washed it...nice.

We headed south on I-15 to another of the Scenic Drives in a book Barb found. At McCammon, we headed east on US 30 again, been following it now & then since Portland, Oregon. It was an amazing road in its day, following both the Columbia River and the Oregon Trail for much of it. Reminds me of what RT 66 was through Oklahoma, New Mexico, etc. Lots of cool stuff to see & do and the roadside is littered with Historic locations with signs to tell what you are looking at. Out here, the signage talks mostly about the emigrants and their 2000 mile journey from Missouri to Oregon, 10 miles a day at 2 miles an hour looking at the east side of a set of west bound oxen...must have been an amazing time. Makes motor home travel seem pretty fancy...well, it is. At Soda Springs, we did some exploring. The name of the town comes from a spring that tasted like "soda", they added flavoring to make root beer, orange, grape, etc. Must have been a real treat after crossing Wyoming. There is also a geyser that went off while we were there...different.

We moved south following US 30 to Montpelier and then along Bear Lake into Utah. I went through this area on a motor cycle back in 2005, spent the night in Montpelier. I spent the evening with a group fixing a broken fuel pump in a restored 1956 Olds 88 in the parking lot of the hotel...fun memory. There was some ugly clouds moving in, so we decided to head back. So we re-traced our path to Pocatello, then to American Falls, stopped for some groceries and went back to the camper for dinner while watching some football...2 games on Monday Night. And we did get back before dark too...something new. We had a time with the wind blowing out the grill, but the BBQ chicken was good anyway. And with the time zone change, both football games were over before bedtime :)

We are going for a short drive this afternoon, then we are off to Utah for 8 days tomorrow. We will have been in Idaho for 29 nights, 21 before our Alaska Adventure, now 8 here. It is an amazingly diverse place. Next time you have a chance, give it a look, you may be surprised.

Steve & Barb Larson