Day Seven
April 28, 2016
Glenns Ferry, Idaho
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| MORNING IN GLENNS FERRY |
Glenns
Ferry is famous for the Oregon Trail River Crossing, where pioneers forded the
dangerous waters of the Snake River. In 1869 Gustavus “Gus” Glenn began a vital
ferry service. The town itself honors both Gus’s name and the service he
initiated for the emigrants. Although, I did hear by the by, that this route
was almost as deadly as the standard river crossing. Sometimes that ferry would
dump the occupants, and tragedy was always a heartbeat away no matter which
route was chosen.
Following
the advice given to us we had taken Hwy 30 to the little town of Hagerman,
which is situated in an area noted for its fossil beds and the Thousand Springs
of the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer. It was a glorious drive, the traffic was
almost non-existent and we really enjoyed the views. The area is noted for its
fossil beds, the Thousand Springs of the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer, the Snake
River and the Oregon Trail.
Our
first stop was at the Visitor Centre, where we enjoyed talking with the Parks
lady manning the desk. There were a number of fossils and a great deal of
history of the area, and I actually broke down and bought a very special
passport. A very cool little booklet where America's National Parks are all
presented with the Passport To Your National Parks program. This travelogue
includes color-coded maps, pre-visit information, illustrations and
photographs. It includes a list of every national park area in the United
States. Spaces allow you to collect the series of commemorative Passport stamps
issued each year. It’s quite neat. Sadly, what with parks being closed I
couldn’t get all of the cancellation stamps, but I did manage to get a few!
We
left the Visitor Centre armed with a small tour map of the area, rather like
LA’s ‘homes of the stars’ which led us off of the beaten path and into the
past. From an old unused bridge used to carry the first fossil findings and
expeditionary personnel back and forth, a viewpoint of the Snake River to a
special experience of the Oregon Trail.
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| CRYS STEPPING INTO HISTORY |
Following
that little detour we continued on our way down hwy 30, marvelling at the
number of waterfalls along the way, to another welcome experience, Miracle Hot
Springs, located in Buhl Idaho. The last private room was taken, so we ended up
getting a VIP room, where we soaked away the dust from our mini-hike and eased
muscles tensing up from sitting so long!
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| MIRACLE HOT SPRINGS |
Heading
North on Hwy 93 from Twin Falls brought us to a sign for Idaho’s ‘Mammoth Cave
& Shoshone Bird Museum.’ Taking the turn off the beaten track too us for a
short drive down a dirt road to a very reasonably priced and off-beat
attraction. An extremely fascinating museum collection of animals and artifacts
that deserved far more than the hour we had to give, three generations had been
collecting and garnering all of the treasures to be found here. Not content to stop at that, there was a cave - a lava tube! At present the
cave is a quarter mile long, and utterly fascinating! It is being excavated
continually, so don't stand by the measurement!
We
were handed old style lanterns and told to be careful as the top gets hot, then
set off on a self-guided tour of the depths. Placards were placed here and
there to inform us of different rock formations, and of course, an alert for
bats! It was another world and I would recommend stopping by if you are in the
neighbourhood!
We
took a different road back to the highway, which came out a little north of
where we had originally turned off. The sky was brewing up a storm, clouds dark
and heavy were moving in and a wind was picking up. It was fixing to be a
pretty crappy night. As big raindrops started dropping onto the windshield like
small water balloons we pulled off to take a look at the Shoshone Trading Post.
Filled with wonderful geological and Native delights, one could spend a few
hours looking through everything. Prices were actually very reasonable and a
number of items caught my eye. However, practicality and a budget kept me from
following the buyers impulse!
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| STONE PEOPLE |
Since
we’d come into the area Crys had been telling me about the Craters of the Moon
National Monument, as she’d been through there on a family trip when she was
younger. I was curious as to what I would be experiencing and my imagination
was going insane! I discovered that was with good reason!
The
Craters of the Moon National Monument is rather unsettling, to say the very
least. It reminded me of a Heinlein book cover; alien and unknown. In truth, it
is the remnants of volcanic eruption and flow. Lava rock, miles upon miles of
lava rock. Black, deep chocolate and russet, with very little greenery to break
it up. It is Nature is its rawest form; destruction and reformation. A wild
place to visit, reminding me that we have no control over the power of Nature,
and even though we can ‘borrow’ water, wind and land, it doesn’t belong to us
and it will do as it will.
Crys
happily went from formation to formation, enjoying the visuals. However, my
mind turned darker and looked at the other side of the coin. Molten lava,
hardened into rock complete with the textures of flowing and bubbling. What
would happen if this volcanic chain decided to blow again? I won’t be
forgetting the feeling of mild fear that this Monument instilled within me.
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| CRATERS OF THE MOON |
We
stopped to check out the offered camping, but it was honestly freezing and with
the nasty weather, we decided it’d be best to push on to find a hotel. It
wasn’t far to Arco, and while we looked into getting a camping spot there, once
again the site manager wasn’t to be found, so we checked into the Arco Inn Motel.
It didn’t look like much on the outside, but it
was amazing. The beds were comfortable, and the night clerk was phenomenal! She
went out of her way to ensure that a couple of chilled Canadians felt right at
home. This woman was almost worth stopping for, herself! There were plenty of
towels and sadly,
once again, while there was a microwave, there were NO microwaveable cups
and no in-room coffee. There was a huge pot brewed fresh in the morning,
though. I know what you are thinking, why hasn’t she stopped and picked up a
couple of microwaveable cups by now… well, slipped my mind whenever I was in a
store, to be honest. Not too mention I’m an optimist.
Arco was actually
quite the fascinating little place… on July 17, 1955 the lights of Arco were
successfully powered by atomic energy.
An experiment in the peaceful use of
atomic energy. The energy for the experiment was produced at the National
Reactor Testing Station in the Arco desert south east of the City.
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| ATOMIC ARCO |
