Caters of the Moon and Loaded Potatoes
Trip Start
Aug 19, 2010
1
7
8
Trip End
Sep 05, 2010
Arco, Idaho
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
We decided to camp in Arco, Idaho. The back roads between Jackson Hole and Arco were swamped with OWLS... Yes Owls, left and right dashing towards our car. Keep in mind, Kevin and I had never seen an owl (outside of a Zoo) in our entire lives, and now we were bombarded with at least 30 something owls dashing towards us from all sides. The owls seem to sit on the roadside looking for prey (mice, moles, etc.) Kevin and I would duck our heads in our car as we saw an owl heading towards our dashboard. (you may ask, why would we duck in our very own safe cherry red car)?
We stopped in Arco, Idaho to call it a night. The woman who worked at the KOA campground was extremely nice and invited us to the campground bonfire. She said in her Idohian accent, "We don't get many outsider here, welcome". We slept under the stars in the cold night wearing our matching gray walmart sweatshirts. Dorks!
Then, we packed up early the next morning to head to our next destination, San Fransisco! Not even 20 minutes into the road, we saw signs for "Craters of the Moon" National Park. We decided we had to check it out.
Craters of the Moon is the remains of a massive volcanic eruption that occurred hundreds of years ago. Because of the rough nature of the landscape left behind by the cooled lava, the people who first discovered it felt as though they were walking on the moon (hence the name).
The Lava rock spanned for literally hundreds of miles. Besides the moon like feeling you get, the cooled lava also created several underground caves. The national park allows people to crawl into and explore these caves! It's crazy!
These aren't nice smooth entry ways that any senior citizen can walk in and our of it. This is climbing over boulders, jumping down ledges, and cascading deep into the ground. It was terrifying and incredible at the same time.. We brought flashlights, but it was so dark they did little to help.
If you ever find yourself in Idaho, exploring the moon's caves is well worth the drive (and park entry is only $8)
As we got closer to Twin Falls and the rural surounding began to fade into a major shopping center, we stopped at Idaho Joe's to at last try an Idaho Potato. It was loaded with all of the heart clogging things we love to see in our food... Bacon, Cheese, Butter, Sour Cream.. In a word Amazing! I would have driven to Idaho just for the Potato. Notice I consistently write the word "Potato" with a capital P. This is because the Potato was so amazing it deserves to be represented the same way we wold represent a state capital or a persons name!
We finally got through Idaho and began our long descent into Nevada and eventually Eastern California. We intentionally didn't stop much in Nevada. Every exit came with it's own run down Casino, Hotel and $7 Steak deal.
We entered Eastern Cali at night and stopped in a Sacramento KOA campground around 10PM.
Comments
OWLS? Seriously? That is too funny...I had know idea that they actually exhisted anywhere in the country other that bird refuges & zoos. Whoooooooo would've thought (get it?!).
Will you please turn around & go back to Idaho and bring me home a loaded potato? That is my favorite food at the Big E every year.....YUM!