My motivation for writing this report is to inform and share. However sharing pictures is not my intention and I don’t plan to. If I have a chance within the next couple months and I feel like I want to I will share pictures.
My motivation for the trip was to get away from the hustle of regular life and be able to think and clear my head.
Landed in
Salt Lake City early afternoon on a rainy Tuesday.
Had a flight out of
Boise ID at 11:35 PM the next night.
Clark Planetarium in Salt Lake City – Free – Cost for Imax and Hanson Dome Theater.
The place was ok, some cool exhibits about outer space, teens into this stuff may find it cooler than adults.
Hansom Dome Theater – Live Night Sky Preview before the actual event. Watched Dark Universe
Would not go out of my way to but it was something to do.
https://www.saltlakecounty.gov/clark-planetarium/After that headed North East towards Bear Lake Byway, which really starts in Utah. Bear Lake is known as the “The Caribbean of the Rockies, really gorgeous drive from Salt Lake City to Bear Lake. Some mountains empty roads with clean fresh air. Original idea was to do a hike but by the time I got there is was getting dark, got great views of the lake but by that time it was dark, would have loved to spend more time in that region.
https://visitidaho.org/things-to-do/wildlife-parks-zoos/oregon-trail-bear-lake-scenic-bywayhttps://bearlake.org/8-beautiful-fall-hikes-in-the-bear-lake-valley-2/Distance from Salt Lake: 2 hour and 30 min.
Next Headed to
Pocatello, Idaho – on the way we saw a full moon and a partial eclipse – eclipsed by the clouds.
Also stopped by Geyser Park in Soda Springs – Only man-made active geyser in America. It was 9:00 PM on rainy night but I heard read about it before and it was perfect timing. I found myself 5 minutes away and I needed to check it out so I went. I was able to hear, feel and see the geyser but nothing much else, was cool but always best to go during the day. It shoots for 7 minutes on the hour every hour.
https://www.sodaspringsid.com/recreation/geyser_park/index.php Arriving in Pocatello, Idaho- Was supposed to stay at points hotel like the Courtyard Pocatello but by the time I got my act together and wanted to book all the good hotels were sold out, I met a very nice person by the front desk of one of the hotels and they recommended a few places including the Red Lion which was a huge property. Priceline price was better than the walk in price, though I did need to wait 15 minutes till it loaded in the system. For the price that hotel was good, don’t expect anything fancy, just expect a clean room with the basics. Pool floor in the hotel was peeling.
(
https://www.sonesta.com/red-lion-hotels/id/pocatello/red-lion-hotel-pocatello)
Rational for staying in Pocatello, Idaho was to ground myself somewhere but also to position myself to go to the Museum of Clean – which looked cool on the website but very much a museum meaning old cleaning gadgets like old vacuums, washing machines etc…. Very much kid oriented. I did not regret going but would I go again? No. Would I recommend someone else going , with kids? Yes, without kids no.
https://museumofclean.com/ 2 ways to get to
Boise (really Oregon- see later) from Pocatello.
I choose straight on the I -86 and decided to quickly get to the Thousand Island Scenic byways. Many stops along the way to view beautiful scenery and water falls.
Quick stop without going into the park but can view the falls:
Shoshone-Falls -
https://www.tfid.org/309/Shoshone-FallsThen: Box Canyon Springs: Gorgeous steep and rocky climb and then a 20-foot waterfall with a pool of water for swimming after. I found it online and it said “best park for solitude”. No pictures can really describe its beauty starting with the water is pure and clean, had the canyon all to myself, you can sit really close to the falls and the hike was good size not too long and not to short. With hiking and spending time sitting the whole thing took me a 1 hour 15 min. If going in the summer there is no shade some of the reviews said to be careful about that.
https://parksandrecreation.idaho.gov/parks/thousand-springs/box-canyon-springs/After that I stopped alongside the road a for a few scenic spots then past Boise and then towards Oregon, original plan was to stop by the Leslie Gulch but I ran out of time and had to settle for the Oregon I 84 Welcome Center – besides for an Oregon Trail exhibit, don’t expect it to be a good place.
https://myitchytravelfeet.com/leslie-gulch-eastern-oregon/Then found something sticking out of the ground – maybe it was this-
https://traveloregon.com/things-to-do/destinations/parks-forests-wildlife-areas/malheur-butte/.
Watched sunset nearby and headed by to Boise for my flight.
https://visitidaho.org/things-to-do/hiking-backpacking/thousand-springs-scenic-byway/As always to share my research others going to the same region:
Other Ideas for
Salt Lake City:
Copper Mine:
https://www.utah.com/things-to-do/attractions/rio-tinto-kennecott/Salt Flats:
https://www.visitutah.com/places-to-go/parks-outdoors/bonneville-salt-flatsAntelope Island State Park:
https://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/antelope-island/40 minutes North of Pocatello, Idaho- mentioned on the DDF already:
Potato Museum
https://www.idahopotatomuseum.com/2nd route from Pocatello to Boise ( Which I did not take):
I also think I missed the American Falls – Emerald Falls
https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/nature/idaho/emerald-waterfall-idCraters of Moon National Park
Shoshone Ice Caves
https://shoshoneicecaves.com/