Staying by the Snake

This morning, after breakfast at the hotel, we set off to find a place to camp for the weekend and through Monday in order to see the solar eclipse.  Since last night, I had been anxious about whether we would be able to find any where at all, spooked by comments made on Thursday.  One of the family members at Capriola's in Elko with whom we had a conversation wished us luck, indicating the expectations were for people standing shoulder to shoulder in Idaho.  At the visitor's center in Twin Lakes, when I mentioned that we had no reservations but planned to find a campsite in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest, the volunteer said, "Well, good luck with that!"

Well, we did have good luck.  There are dozens of undeveloped, primitive camping spots along the graded dirt roads running through the forest and few people scouting for them.  We checked out a few  (and talked to some friendly Canadians from Calgary) on Kelly Canyon Road.  Many were satisfactory, but since there did not seem to be a stampede of campers, we continued down the mountain to the Snake River where we found several nice spots right on the river bank.  After spending an hour or so driving along the river, we backtracked and staked our claim on one of the first spots we had found.  It is not big enough for an RV, and when we pull the car off the road into the entrance to the site, we block all other access, so we have a lovely, private place among some trees but still affording a view of the midday sky, so our view of the solar eclipse on Monday should be unobstructed (unless there are clouds!).  We set up our tent and put out our camp chairs, had a picnic lunch and then headed back into Idaho Falls (only a 45-minute drive into town along beautiful countryside) to recharge the Tesla, stop at the Ranger Station for hiking trail advice, and get a fishing license for Peter.

We had chatted with a few people who were riding ATV's along the forest roads.  They were all very friendly.  One of them was packing a very large sidearm; he probably puts in on in the morning when he's getting dressed for the day.  I mentioned this to the ranger when we stopped to get advice, and he said that outside the city limits in Idaho, and particularly in the forest, everyone is carrying "whatever the U.S. Constitution allows them to, which is pretty much anything."  Peter and I wondered to ourselves what the Mormon perspective is on the right to bear arms, since there is an LDS church in every community in southern Idaho, it seems, and a gleaming white temple in every city.

As the Tesla was charging, we walked along the city's greenbelt again and crossed over into the historic downtown area to find a fly fishing shop recommended to us.  Peter got a three day license, and we had a nice chat about fishing spots and British television (the store owner's favorite type of TV).  Then we stopped a local bakery shop where Peter had a scone and (iced) tea and I had a sparkling water and muffin.  The clerk, yet another friendly person, mused about how the area seems to be a little bit overboard about the eclipse.  On the counter were bags of coffee labeled "Eclipse Brew" with the date and place.  She wondered what they were going to do with all the merchandise after August 21.

Sculptures along the greenbelt, with the LDS temple in the background

It was a good thing we walked a little further than we had yestered along the greenbelt because we discovered that we actually hadn't seen the falls for which the city is named; all we had seen yesterday the last tiny section.  Idaho Falls does not run from one bank to the other along the Snake River; it actually runs perpendicular to the shore for some distance in about the middle of the river, so that on river left the water is smooth and flowing not only down but across toward the other bank, and along the right bank the water is frothing from the short but dramatic drop.

Idaho Falls on the Snake River

As we drove out of the city, we passed a parade of antique cars and trucks, the beginning of a three program of festivities in Idaho Falls.  We think we will drink into town tomorrow afternoon for the 27th Annual Great Duck Race on the Snake, a Rotary-sponsored fundraiser that sounds like a lot of fun.  Who knows?  Maybe we will even win the grand prize:  a brand new Ford F150.  It would provide good balance to the Tesla, maybe?

We ate dinner at our campsite and watched the color of the bluffs change from tan and brown to sienna and orange before heading back to Rexford to spend the night in the hotel (since we had already booked two nights and it was too late to cancel).  We have gotten ourselves organized (and clean from the Idaho dust) and are ready for more adventures and fun tomorrow.

I probably won't post for a few days, since there is not Internet in the forest!

Peter at our campsite on the Snake River

View from our campsite