Arco, Idaho
Monday, June 21, 2010
DAY 35-On the road at 8:35. Right away, a strap came off of the dolly. The term used for a Weigh Station out here when close to the state line is Port of Entry. That sounds of political correctness. In driving, Chuck was experiencing cross winds - very tough on the driver! We saw many dead deer on the side of the road-road kill. Cattle and horses were grazing. Idaho is very agriculteral. There have been countless fields planted and very few fences. There could be some oats, alfalfa, or potatoes. The sky was clear blue and the views were flatlands or pastures near the road and mountains in the distance (some snow-capped). Drove through Portage, ID. Stopped at rest area to check infamous straps and encountered an unusual sight. There was a helicopter on the ground close by. The helicopter flew up and hovered over a power line. He was helping someone on the power pole by bringing a ladder, then the worker on the power pole hung onto the outside skid and the pilot left the area with a man on the skid! My brother, who has a history on power poles said that these workers were independent and could be hired when the situation called for it. Scary! In Utah and Idaho, hay bale sizes were larger than standard and were predominantly rectangular. There were many agricultural staples seen (barns, tractors, irrigation, silos, etc.). The growing season is short here, so they do everything they can to take advantage of their short window.
"Make hay while the sun shines." We passed the Devil Creek Reservoir in a valley -
BEAUTIFUL with mountains in the background. Colors were lush greens (all shades). We also drove through Downey and Preston, Idaho. Yellow wildflowers were beautiful! It looks like a very comfortable place.
Just wait till winter! Mountains are green with hardly any vegetation except grasses on the ground. Went through Pocatello (Idaho State University). Saw sign for Shoshone-Bannock Tribal Museum. We saw our first Christmas tree farm. We crossed the
Blackfoot River before the town of Blackfoot where we left the Interstate. We even saw a sign for a Potato Museum! Wonder what they had in there. Now, there were some white clouds-stratus. The road was narrow, but it was a good road. We saw irrigation working at mid-day! Caught behind a slow tractor. About half the sky is white from horizontal streaky clouds. Arrived at
Arco Craters of the Moon at 1:20 pm. After settling, went to Craters of the Moon National Monument that I'd never heard of. It was formed by lava when volcanoes erupted about 15,000 years ago. The terrain, covering 1,100 acres was very unusual - dark brown/almost blackish. Some areas looked like coal covered the ground. It got it's name from it's appearance. Before the Lunar Landing in 1969, the astronauts even trained there. There were yellow wildflowers growing out of the lava and some of the gnarly pines were dead - very picturesque! Back at the campground, we had ice cream that night. In the town of
Arco, it's tradition to paint the high school graduation year on a mountain. The rules are that if the seniors get the first digit painted, they're safe. But if the juniors stop them, they can't continue. Seniors use an old tire to sit in while painting, rope held by other seniors.
Great tradition!
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