Today we were happy to leave the mosquitoes behind and head for someplace else. We had no idea where that would be, but knew we could figure something out while on the road. We headed towards Idaho and decided on finding a place to camp near Twin Falls.
Along the way, we stopped at a free dump station (woohooo!) and emptied our tanks. One drawback to camping in National Parks and Forests is that many of them don’t have dump stations. I gotta tell ya’ - unloading 3 days worth of, uh…waste, does a lot for your gas mileage. ;P
While we were there, we got to witness the Blue Angels practicing for an air show the following weekend. Bill has seen the Blue Angels in San Francisco, but I’ve never seen them in person. They did a couple flybys and some crazy stunts. It was pretty cool and best of all, it was FREE with no crowds. Ah, the fun times that can be had at an RV dump station. :)
As we traveled on, we took route 26 out of Wyoming and into Idaho. This is a beautiful stretch of road.
We stopped a few times along the American Falls Reservoir & Dam and Bill humored me while I photographed ospreys flying back and forth to their nests.
The wind gusts made the twisty road a little challenging, but the speed limit was reasonable and I managed well enough. Since Bill was navigator for the day, he picked Massacre Rocks State Park for us to spend the night. The drive to the park was interesting. As I mentioned, there was a fair amount of wind. We checked the weather and saw there was a warning for high winds in the area. Lovely. At times, the wind was blowing hard enough that it required a fair amount of one handed driving and one handed trailer braking to keep the trailer from wagging behind us. Of all the times for me to decide I’m driving the whole day… (rolling eyes).
The speed limits are insane around here. On Interstate 86, the speed limit is 75. I was having a hard time keeping it at 65. Finally, I had had enough so we jumped off on a side road (route 39) that paralleled the highway and had an easier time sticking to the 60 mph speed limit. Funny how that ginormous wind sail behind you tends to alter your comfort level when driving at high speeds in high winds.
We finally arrived at the park around 7pm. We were pretty much the only ones in the lower campground. SWEET! We were given the coveted camp host site which is at the end of the loop with no neighbors on 3 of the 4 sides.
Oh, and there are NO mosquitoes here. Even sweeter.
We set up – which took a whopping 15 minutes – and took the Boys for a little jaunt. Bill and I ventured out to explore the cliff trails and spent some time perching and enjoying the view.
As we sat and appreciated the beauty before us, we heard coyotes yip and howl in the distance. We looked at each other and giggled. We both said “I love it here” – and pretty much decided we’d be staying for a few days. There was an amazing breeze, the temperature was perfect, white pelicans were gliding on the air currents along the Snake River, and it was a completely peaceful place to be. Mom would have loved perching here.
Recognizing that there were cool hikes, mountain bike trails galore, kayak and canoe rentals, and dogs encouraged on all the trails, we knew we’d need quite a few days here. So let it be. ;)
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