Idaho Falls, Idaho

August 5 - 6, 2019:

It was a long drive east across Idaho farming country.  I made a couple of rest area stops. one for fuel and coffee and one for a lunch break.  I am again traveling along the route of the Oregon Trail and at the rest stop they have interpretive panels giving travelers’ journal entries while passing in the area.  You can also look over the fence and see authenticated Oregon Trail wagon ruts.  I have seem way too many of these trail ruts and usually they just look like any other old dirt trail, hard to feel the connection.  The Oregon Trail was definitely an epic journey with lots of things to wrong along the way.  It required quite a lot of money to get on the trail, you had to buy an expensive wagon, lots of provisions, a team of oxen and you needed money to buy stuff along the way, make repairs to the wagon, replace oxen. etc.  Really poor people couldn’t do this unless they just walked it with a pull cart which many did.  The payoff was pretty good however, with hard work you could get up to 640 acres of land almost free and if you were lucky enough to get a good parcel with water, you could live the American dream.

Those are the ruts

  

I make a lengthy stop in Blackfoot, Idaho to visit the Idaho Potato Museum which was interesting but I actually expected more.  The exhibits were good however and they have a cafe attached where you can get a real Idaho baked potato or french fries.  Yes, I did that.

https://idahopotatomuseum.com

Is it the world's biggest Potato ?

We had something similar, but larger.  I remember my job
was to pick off vines, rock and rotten potatoes

I never was allowed to skip school for the harvest

I do remember lifting those rough bags

Is that Marilyn Monroe with a potato bag mini skirt ?

The historic area of Blackfoot has several old buildings and murals which I toured after the museum.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackfoot,_Idaho

It looks good in this photo, but half those buildings were vacant

The Nusart Theater is looking real good

Beautiful murals inside the post office

Many of the building foundations were done this way
with decorative stones added to the mix, I liked it 

Potato harvest mural

Antique shop mural

It’s another 40 miles to Idaho Falls where you can't miss the falls as they are in the center of the downtown  The Snake River was dammed here many years ago to power generators for electrical power, but it’s a low dam which sort of blends into the existing rocks creating rapids and looks almost natural. The river drops considerably here with several waterfalls amongst the rapids and is impressive.   There are nicely developed parks on both sides of the river.

In 1864 a ferry crossing was established over the Snake River seven miles from the current town site. A bridge was then built at the current location and the town of Idaho Falls developed around it. The town was originally known as Eagles Nest for Eagles that nested in trees near the original ferry crossing.  The name was changed to Idaho Falls by developers who wanted to promote the availability of water.  It was a big lie as the climate here is very dry, farming was not successful until irrigation systems were developed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idaho_Falls,_Idaho

It's a long lateral series of rapids and falls

Also some sizable waterfalls

I add this to show the huge Mormon Tower in the distance

There is a beautiful Asian Garden in the Sportsman Park next to the Snake River Bridge and Falls built by volunteers.  It incorporates flowing water and landscaping and is a lovely shaded spot perfect for deep contemplation.  I spent a couple minutes doing just that.

 

The sound of the falling water is very tranquil

Looking down on the park from a bridge spanning the river

The historic Downtown area of Idaho Falls retains much of the old buildings and character of its past.  These are the areas I always go to, I could care less for there newer sections of town.

The old Paramount Theater has been restored and is now the Willard Arts Center

I love the I love Idaho mural

Very scenic rounded corner

The Snake Bite Restaurant

Another attractive hand mural

Liked the old sign

One of several artistic murals 

Happy is always good

Impressive eagle detail on this building

ARTitorium looks interesting

In the evening I walk around a few blocks running into the ghost tour people, every city now seems to have a ghost tour.  I ended up at Ford's Bar which looks to be an authentic old barroom with nice woodwork.  Inside a few locals were ranting about a former friend who had said derogatory things about them and the bar.  They seemed to be especially irate about them trashing their bar !  It was karaoke night and it was mostly horrible although they were doing good songs.  The huge barmaid with the flaming red hair (not natural) was requested to sing a song and she was incredible, beyond belief.  She should be singing professionally, maybe even could be a big star ?  There was a man who kept doing great songs but he was a poor singer, I really liked one song that he sang called "When the children cry" by a band I have never heard of called White Lion.

The Ford Bar

I find that the local Walmart is one that allows RV campers, likely to change soon, and I spend two nights there.  There is a large parking lot and I’m parked on the perimeter away from everyone, a nice quiet spot. I go do some shopping in the store.  When I come out there is an RV parked right next to me, about 2 feet away ?  Whats the deal, are they worried about security ?  So, I moved out in the middle of the parking lot.  

I visit the Museum of Idaho which was undergoing a change of exhibits so parts of the museum were closed.  My favorite exhibit was one telling stories of a few prominent and fascinating local people. They also had an impressive traveling exhibit on two floors called Archimedes; Science and Innovations.  It had incredible working scale models to illustrate how these innovations actually worked.  I probably missed a sign that explained how this exhibit came to be here in Idaho Falls.  It just seems out of place here.  They also had a lot about the town of Arco which was the first city to be nuclear powered.

Minnie Hitt had no formal training but became a very respected loan
officer in town during a trying period of economic depression   

"Dugout Dick" Zimmerman with his goat moved to the area in 1947 to get away from it all.
He lived in a hand dug cave and became a local legend. 

The Archimedes Science and innovation exhibit

I take a ride over to the nearby Mormon Temple, it is amazing.  They have a colossal monument built with colossal money, seems like it could be better spent. As a arrive many cars are pulling in, there is obviously something going on.  I am a little taken back by all the clean cut and nicely dressed people, the immaculate landscaped grounds and this towering white building.  I feel like we have been invaded by people from another world ?

Just too white and perfect ?

Quite a remarkable structure for Idaho Falls

My next stop is uncertain, it will be either Gardner, MO, Livingston, MO or Bozeman MO.  It all depends on how long it takes me to get down the road, how many stops I make and which route I take.