I'm Your Huckleberry

I woke up in Idaho Falls with the Snake River right out the window.  The falls are nice and I stopped to take a look before today's drive through the Snake River Plain across southern Idaho.

Driving through the Snake River Plain is mostly flat and straight and not a lot of people live there.  We stopped in Arco, ID, population 995, for gas and that was one of the bigger towns we saw.  Arco claims to be the first town in America lit up by atomic power.  

Numbers on the side of a butte in Arco, ID.  Illuminati...

We also stopped in a town called Carey, population 604, which made me think of Jen Carey from LHS.  We stopped at a gasmart and and when my mother went in I asked her to get me the usual - a Snickers and a 3 Musketeers, my driving essentials.  

Carey, Idaho

Road warriors

 This is what it looks like to drive though the Snake River Plain.

Located in the Snake River Plain is the Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve.  The volcanic rock is impressively black, and so was the wind that made me want to stay in the car.  

A lot of southern Idaho looks scorched, whether it's black fields of lava or desperately dry desert-looking farm land.  Many rivers and reservoirs appeared on the GPS that no longer exist.

At Craters, we settled in for the next destination - Idaho City.  My mother requested that we go to Idaho City because one of our relatives made his way to Idaho City in the 1860s to prospect for gold.  My mother is big into genealogy.  I figured we could stop there before spending the night in Boise.  Since it was her special thing I put on music I knew she would like - my Irish Hit Parade playlist that I made for the trip to Ireland in February.  Before I knew it I was pounding the gear shifter to Flogging Molly's Float.  

Route 20 to Boise was long and mostly straight.  We turned off for Idaho City at the edge of Boise and headed north into the Bosie National Forest to find Idaho City in the foothills of the Sawtooth Mountains.  The Lucky Peak Lake area was nice and then as we followed the Ponderosa Pine Scenic Route along Mores Creek the roads twisted and kept me on my toes.

Idaho City seemed like it had changed very little since the 1860s, except that people back then were probably cleaner and dressed better.  We drove down Main street and Montgomery street and were scoping out places to have a meal.  Gold Mine was the obvious choice.  Jim Callahan told me I must have finger steaks while I was in Idaho, so I did.

Finger Steaks

After we ate I thought I should have ice cream from the Sarsaparilla Ice Cream Parlor.  After scanning the flavors I had to have Huckleberry Heaven because I'm in Huckleberry country.  The huckleberry is native to the northwest because it requires elevation and acidic mountain soil.  It is the state fruit of Idaho.  The ice cream was delicious, it tasted sweet and rich.

Downtown Idaho City

There was a lot of driving today, but there'll be more tomorrow, over 500 miles to Sea-Tac.  Idaho is a big state, bigger than all of New England combined, but with the population slightly more than New Hampshire.  I'm in Boise for the night and I'll be heading up the Oregon Trail in the morning.

Main street, Idaho City

Yellowstone and Teton

We left the Montana state capital at 827 am and it was 59 degrees and mostly cloudy.  Yellowstone seemed like a special place so I put on a special playlist to get my mind right.  Brian made me a playlist and the first song that came on was R.E.M.'s It's the End of the World as We Know It.  Maybe this was the end of the world as I knew it.  Maybe my life would now be divided into life before and after Yellowstone, you never know when a life-changing moment will happen, so you have to be open to it and let it happen.  

The next song that come on was by Delta Spirit and it seemed like the words weren't coming from the radio but from Bri himself because they were kind words, like I would hear from him, but in this moment it was like he was there with me wishing me well on my journey.

May the wind be always at your back,

And the sunshine warm upon your face

I struggled to get going this morning because I'm tired and sick, and I considered not showering since I wasn't trying to attract any mates or hide from any predators today.  But that all changed when I crossed the Missouri River, the Great Muddy River, I jolted to life with excitement and at that exact moment the lively opening of Ray LaMontagne's You Are the Best Thing blasted through the car  - I was awake now.  

The next exciting river crossing was the Yellowstone River as we approached Gardiner, MT, and the northern entrance to Yellowstone at the Roosevelt Arch.  The entrance is basically in Gardiner, so right before we got to it I pulled over abruptly into Cowboy's Lodge and Grill because I didn't want to enter the wilderness on an empty stomach - that's what a fool would do, Yellowstone can fit Rhode Island and Delaware, at the same time, so I needed to eat.  Plus, I wasn't ready to enter the hallowed ground just yet.  

I had an elk burger and there was an amazing bbq sauce on the table for the burger and fries.  If I said it was the best bbq sauce I've ever had you wouldn't believe me, so I won't say it.  I also picked up some helpful tips from the Cowboy manifesto on the table, like always drink upstream from the herd.  While we sat inside a heavy rain shower passed over.  This shower was 100% meant for me, to renew me before I entered Yellowstone and wash away any worries. 

Elk burger

Yellowstone River outside Gardiner, MT

With a full belly I was now ready to enter Yellowstone, so I proceeded to the Roosevelt Arch, which was constructed in 1903, and the cornerstone was laid down by Teddy Roosevelt himself.  I entered the park to Taylor Swift's song Holy Ground, obviously.  

Roosevelt Arch     

Wild and Out

I was excited because Yellowstone seemed like such an amazing place.  The geography, wildlife, and geothermal features make Yellowstone unique.  Yellowstone National Park is enormous, covering 3,468 square miles, mainly in Wyoming.  Going to Yellowstone I was hoping to see some American Bison, or buffalo, that would make the whole visit for me.  Most interesting, though, is that Yellowstone is a deadly sleeping giant - it's a supervolcano.  An eruption of Yellowstone would devastate life on earth.  It's unpredictable, so we can't worry about that, but that's really what makes Yellowstone unique.  

The first spot we came upon was Mammoth Hot Springs.  The magma risen to the crust creates hot springs and steam to rise from spots all over Yellowstone.  When we first saw Mammoth Hot Springs we were stunned.  Mammoth Hot Springs created a hill of limestone mineral deposits from the steam of the heated water below the surface and the colors - white, tan, orange - are dazzling.

Mammoth Hot Springs from upper terrace

We spent a bunch of time at Mammoth, so much so that I thought we'd get to Idaho Falls at like midnight.  Here's today's drive:

We tore ourselves away from Mammoth and what happened next totally blew my mind.  We saw buffalo!  Holy shit!!!  Here before us, an American icon, a window into a vanished world, just a stone's throw away.  I busted two u-turns and got in position to view the two that were grazing right off the side of the road.  My mother didn't get out of the car, but I jumped out! 

Then we saw a herd of buffalo off in the distance, so I got out my zoom lens.

Then we saw a big one up close.  It was epic.  One of the coolest things I've ever seen.  Seeing buffalo was legendary and everything else was just a bonus from here.  

There are seemingly unlimited places to pull over and stop, but the next official stop was the Old Faithful geyser.  I pulled into the Old Faithful lodge and switched the lenses on my camera while my mother went to check the next expected eruption at the ranger desk.  It was 311 and the next blast was expected at 345, so we casually made our way to the viewing area, where a crowd was gathering.

Pretty much right on schedule Old Faithful started spewing boiling water as high as 185 feet in the air.  I stood back to capture the whole scene, plus we were at 7300 feet and I could barely breathe, so I wasn't walking around looking for the perfect shot.  Clouds and rain were kind of a killer all day, but at least they kept it heat away.

  

It was cool, but it's a reminder that a huge amount of magma has broken through from the earth's mantle into the crust and is sitting just below Yellowstone.  Old Faithful won't be faithful forever, and when the big explosion comes life on earth could be severely reduced because there would be so much ash that the sun would be blocked out and we wouldn't be able to grow food in the frozen ground.  Maybe I was on to something the other day when I asked those Tinder babes about their post-apocalyptic skills.  I don't want to scare anyone, or maybe I do, because if you're afraid you can be controlled.  Ultimately, I look at it as another reminder that life is dangerous and short, and to live now.

Exiting Yellowstone I felt very satisfied.  You could spend weeks there exploring it, but I only had one day and I saw enough to make me happy.  A short distance from the southern boundary of Yellowstone is Grand Teton National Park and it doesn't have the wildlife or geothermal features of Yellowstone, but the views of the Teton range are most impressive.

Glaciers

We stopped in Jackson Hole for dinner and this little town was bustling.  I chose the Town Square Tavern and ate quickly because we still had nearly two hours to Idaho Falls.  The ride to Idaho Falls was beautiful but the sun was in my face blinding me, so it was a difficult drive.

The trip to Yellowstone was an exciting adventure and it was cool to see how dynamic and alive the earth is up there.