Twin Fall to Idaho Falls
We had dinner last night at Jaker's, a great local spot. This morning after a good breakfast at the LaQuinta, taking the heavy king mattress off the bed and pulling the rest of the bed away from the wall to retrieve Tuna, we were off. First stop Shoshone Falls. The Snake River runs through Twin Falls and in the eastern side of town, accessed via country roads with lots of corn fields and other farming, sits the Shoshone Falls park. It's a lovely little park. As you drive down the curvy roads, you glimpse gorgeous views of the river. At the bottom of the road are the absolutely magnificent falls. The hydroelectric plant buildings and dam somewhat mar the sight but oh, how gorgeous anyway. There is a constant mist in the air and there was a rainbow on the falling water. If you are ever near Twin Falls, you must stop here.
There is only one major road from Twin Falls north across the Snake, so we backtracked and took route 93 north. In just a few minutes we were in countryside, with large ranches and fields under irrigation from the Snake River. This valley is called The Magic Valley. For a while we were behind a pickup truck with a cute dog in the back. Every time a car came from the opposite direction and thus by the pickup, the dog barked at it. That dog must have had a sore throat last night. A clever ranch sign caught our eye; see photo below.
At the little town of Shoshone, you can continue north to Sun Valley or go east on the Peaks to Craters Scenic Byway. We took the byway, miles and miles of wide open spaces. As we saw yesterday, today we encountered many more "game crossing" signs. Even though part of our drive was in the late afternoon, we didn't see any game. We learned that pronghorn and other game migrate between the mountains and the plains. We passed very few communities, ones with populations of 512, 413, and 76. Eventually we arrived at Craters of the Moon National Monument, a vast expanse of volcanic flow. Some parts are like black sand, some rough stones, some smooth ropes, and there are volcanic peaks as well. The last eruption was 2,000 years ago and further eruptions are expected. The monument has a nice little visitor center with very friendly rangers. There is a camping area, mostly suitable for RVs since not much grows on this ground. The rangers stay onsite and in the evening offer presentations including the night skies. Some of the astronauts trained here before going on the first trip to the moon, to give them a better idea of what to expect on that terrain. The area also has lots of lava caves but we were short on time and had Tuna along, so didn't explore. It was interesting to learn how many birds, reptiles, and mammals find nutrients from the lichen, pines, and sagebrush that grow in the volcanic ground. Some of the small mammals, who would otherwise be unable to handle the peaks of heat and cold during the summer and winter, have acclimated by going into hibernation during those times. It is quite a fascinating place.
We continued on the byway, often the only vehicle for miles, until the little town of Arco, whose original name was Root Hog. Arco was the first town in the world to be lit by atomic power, in 1955. It lasted just two hours but it worked. During the Cold War, southwest Idaho was a hotbed of nuclear study and experimentation; of course it was all secret. There is still an Idaho nuclear lab not far from Arco. The USS Hawkbill fast-attack submarine, also known as the Devil Ship due to its number of 666, was a nuclear propulsion sub. Since nuclear propulsion for submarines started near Arco, when the Hawkbill was decommissioned in 2000 the citizens of Arco asked for the "tall sail" from the sub. It took some help from a Congressman (yes, every now and then they do something good!) and many volunteers from the military who loved the idea. The sail was brought in two pieces via roadways and erected in a small park in town. Another interesting tidbit about Arco: In 1920, the high school class decided to paint their class number, "20", on the mountainside behind the town. That started a tradition, and all graduating classes since have done the same.
Leaving Arco and the Devil Ship behind, we continued southeast, just us and a couple of other vehicles and lots of open fields, sometimes some cattle in the fields, once in a while a farm house. The entire byway road surface was good, so traveling was smooth and easy, but being careful of the lure of monotony on the road. Eventually we made it to Idaho Falls, our stop for the night. We're staying at a Candlewood Suites right next to the Snake River, so lovely views outside - but chilling winds.
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