Day 6 – Idaho

This morning we wanted to discover more of Jackson Hole and Teton Village since we didn’t have much time yesterday. We headed to Teton Village to catch the tram to the top of Rendezvous Mountain to take in the breathtaking views of the Grand Tetons. It was a frigid 40 degrees at the top, but it was fun to play in the snow, hike around the top a bit and experience the rush of being, “on top of the world” for a bit. The tram ride was a fun adventure, and a good stepping stone in getting Emma over her fear of heights. She did a great job, and we were both thankful that it was only glass sides and not a glass bottom!

We also decided for a bit more adventure to try the Alpine Slide in Jackson. It had rave reviews, but although it was fun…it isn’t something I would recommend to others. It was located at an extremely touristy resort (as is everything in Jackson) and though riding the ski lift was fun and the views from the top were incredible, the slide itself was mediocre in adventure and fun given the price. It was an experience that we have never had before though, so it still tipped the fun meter.

We then continued our adventure west, heading to Idaho Falls. It was a great stop off for a quick walk along the Snake River and seeing the man-made falls there. The girls really enjoyed running the path, and it was smooth, safe, beautiful path to run off a bit of energy from being in the car for 2 hours. Then, off to Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve.

This place was out of this world! I have never seen anything quite like it. With its lava flows, volcanic rock, and jagged terrain we had fun running to the top of Inferno Cone (which we thought might blow us off its top), hiking around Spatter Cones and climbing on the lava flows around Big Sink. We also happened to arrive on NASA community day where scientists were on hand to do demonstrations and the girls worked on becoming Lunar Rangers! J

Racing to the top of Inferno Cone.

Check out those wind speeds!

With all the volcanic rock, lava flows, craters, and indescribable wind...it really did feel like we could have been on the moon!

 From Craters of the Moon, we headed to Twin Falls to take in the Shoshone Falls. Known as the, “Niagara of the West,” they are actually taller than Niagara Falls, these waterfalls were stunning. It was awesome to feel the mist off of them and take in the beauty of the Snake River Canyon. Also, Mark was excited to tell the girls all about Evil Knievel as we got to see where he attempted to jump the canyon on his sky cycle in 1974. Twin Falls was a beautiful little city, driving over the majestic Perrine Bridge as you enter, and taking in the Perrine Falls on the way to Shoshone. With a quick stop-off for dinner (tried a Jack-in-the-Box for the first time – yummo) and it was back in the car to head to Boise.

Getting ready to drive over the Perrine Bridge!

We were just passing through Boise, but wanted to at least get off the highway to see a bit of the city since we were there. We stopped off at the old Train Depot to stretch our legs and get settled in for a long night of driving so we could cover some major ground while the girls got a little shut eye. We got to see “Big Mike” and learn how a steam loco-motor worked. We also toured around the gardens and played a game of tag to burn off some steam.

 With a quick change into PJ’s we were back on the road. Luckily, we crossed another time zone and added an extra hour to our day. I drove most of the way through Idaho and Oregon so that Mark could get a break from driving, but by 10:30, it was too dark, there was hardly any other traffic to light the way, and the roads were way to winding for my liking so I had to give up the wheel. We drove until about 1 and stopped off in Pendleton for gas, a quick sleep, and a shower. Fun fact... in Oregon it’s illegal to pump your own gas. Scary to find out at 1AM in a strange town when a creepy guy comes out and takes the nozzle out of your hand and tells you no. J We had no idea what he was doing, and he had no idea why we were creeped out by it.