We had a quiet, comfortable night's sleep, then the alarm went off at 5:45am and it was still dark! We need to remember that when heading West the sun rises later until we change time zones again. So a slower start to the day than we planned but we could see it was going to be a beautiful one.
Our cozy cabin at the Nordic Inn
We rolled out of the tidy town of Alpine along the Snake River Valley - just spectacular and a lovely winding road. We did hit some fog along the river valley but as the sun got higher it cleared. Somewhere along the way we crossed into Idaho.
We reached the town of Idaho Falls in time for coffee and breakfast sandwiches at a lovely bakery. Then we rejoined our old favorite - Route 20. As on our travels though Iowa and Nebraska, this route delivers us West on a good fast road with minimal traffic and, for the most part, beautiful scenery.
We were getting glimpses of the Sawtooth mountains in the distance but were struck, once again, by the vast emptiness of this land. Miles of sagebrush with a few cattle here and there, this struck us as a parched land. All of a sudden the landscape was interrupted and we found ourselves at the Craters of the Moon National Park. After spending some time at the informative Visitor Center we followed the Park loop through this other worldly landscape:
The area consiste of fields of black lava flows formed when the local "hot spot" erupted 2,000 years ago. Molten lava flowed through various craters and solidified into these amazing formations.
Above: Mini volcano
Lava formations
This is a giant mound - the tiny dots near the apex are people!
After a picnic lunch in the park we returned to Rte 20 and continued towards our destination for the night. Once again we had empty roads and amazing views as we sped towards the Sawtooth Mountains. We stopped at Ketchum for the night and are now ensconced at the Best Western Tyrolean Lodge which has a wonderful Austrian flair. Plus we got upgraded to a famile suite so we are happy campers tonight!
Trip Mileage: 225miles
Moving time: 4:14
Moving Av: 53mph
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