As we continued with our summer travels, we left Twin Falls and drove to Pocatello (pop 55,000) for a one week stay. Truthfully there wasn’t a lot to do in Pocatello, but we relaxed and killed time waiting for the weather to warm up at Yellowstone National Park. Pocatello is home to Idaho State University. 

Over the years on the road we have learned how to sniff out unique places. One day we drove an hour to Soda Springs to see their geyser. Soda Springs has approximately thirty mineral salt springs. Early trappers and pioneers called the area “Beer Springs” because of its natural soda water. They documented people drinking the soda water in large amounts while the Indians refused to taste it. Women used the water to make bread and documented it as being great light bread similar to yeast bread. 

Captive Geyser in Soda Springs is a carbon dioxide geyser controlled to erupt every hour on the hour. The town made the geyser into a tourist attraction with a viewing area. I was surprised to see on a weekday afternoon the small town geyser had attracted a small crowd.

The geyser is said to be the world’s only “captive” geyser. In 1937 some people in Soda Springs were trying to locate hot water for a community swimming pool. They drilled into the ground and unleashed the 100 foot geyser roaring like a dragon. They were surprised to say the least! For most of the night the town was enveloped in a mist of steam water running down Main Street and threatening to flood businesses.

Two weeks later the geyser was capped.

The Secretary of the Interior sent a telegram to Soda Springs asking the City to turn off the geyser because it was taking attention from the world famous Old Faithful geyser in Yellowstone. Today a timer on a valve permits the eruption of the 72 degrees water every hour on the hour throughout the year.

Also at the viewing area is a Ground Observer Corps Skywatch Post used from 1956-1959. It was manned due to concerns about the growing capabilities of the Soviet Union to launch surprise air attacks against the United States.

On the way home we were on a hunt for Oregon Trail wagon ruts. As many as 350,000 pioneers and tens of thousands of covered wagons traveled the Oregon Trail between 1840 and 1870. In certain areas of the west, wagon ruts are still visible and we had read they were visible in this area. We stopped and tried to see the ruts but it would take some imagination to see them.

We also did some geocaching. One place we stopped for a cache was at Sheep Rock which towers 1,200 feet above the Bear River. Sheep Rock was a prominent landmark described in many pioneer journals as they traveled west on the Oregon and California Trails. Sheep Rock received its name from the pioneers because of the sizable flock of bighorn mountain sheep which occupied the rocky ridge above the river throughout the year.

On June 17th we moved to Idaho Falls (pop 57,000) for a three night stay. Our travel day was cold, rainy and windy. When we left Pocatello around noon the temperature was 44 degrees with rain and 20 mph winds. When we arrived at Idaho Falls it was 43 degrees, raining and 20 mph winds. We were so glad to get set up and turn on the furnace! Meanwhile the Yellowstone National Park area was getting some late season snow.

We had a short time in Idaho Falls but we did want to see the falls. The Idaho Falls waterfalls are created by a diversion dam for a hydroelectric plant. The original dam was created in 1909. The dam today was constructed in 1982 as part of a hydroelectric power development project.

This plant, as well as three other hydroelectric plants help the city of Idaho Falls generate approximately 50% of its own electric power needs.

Along the falls is the Snake River Greenbelt with paved walking trails along beautifully landscaped areas where people can sit on benches and enjoy the beauty and sound of the falls.

Next up: Yellowstone National Park at last!! 

Leaving Utah, we headed northwest into Idaho. We had reservations for a week at a campground about ten miles south of Twin Falls. 

Twin Falls city, pop 45,000 is a lovely city with waterfalls, big and small in all directions. Twin Falls is the center of 500,000 acres of prime farmland irrigated by the waters of the Snake River. This area is referred to as “Magic Valley” because the early settlers seemed to magically transform the arid, largely uninhabitable land into a lush, agricultural paradise by irrigating their fields with water from the nearby Snake River. 

Twin Falls is also on the edge of the Snake River Canyon which was gouged out by the Great Bonneville Flood 15,000 years ago.

The city got its name from the two falls co-located on the Snake River that resulted from this flood. However the 1935 Twin Falls Dam and power plant, built to control the flow of water for irrigation and hydroelectric power, diverted the flow of the Snake River away from the southern falls. This left a single waterfall that plunges 200 feet into the Snake River from upstream lakes. So Twin Falls is no longer a twin falls. The power plant is capable of generating enough power to provide electricity for approximately 31,900 homes.

Five miles northeast of Twin Falls city is the much more impressive Shoshone Falls where the rushing white waters of the Snake River plunge more than 212 feet. It is called “the Niagara of the West” which is quite a stretch in our opinion. It is said to be one of the tallest waterfalls in the United States and is 46 feet higher than Niagara Falls. 

We stopped by the Visitors Center at the Perrine Bridge. 

The bridge, called the “Gateway to Twin Falls”, spans 1,500 feet and rises 486 feet above the Snake River Canyon. It is a popular bridge for parachute jumping.

In a nearby park is the Perrine Coulee Falls, which free falls nearly 200 FT. 

In 1974 Evel Knievel attempted to fly his sky cycle/rocket across the Snake River Canyon but was not successful because his parachute opened too soon. There was a memorial to Knievel for many years but the plaque was continually stolen so the memorial is no longer available. 

Another day we drove the 68 mile Thousand Springs Scenic Byway through farmland with natural springs, hot mineral springs and cascading waterfalls. 
We drove through Buhl, the “Trout Capital of the World” which produce a majority of the rainbow trout consumed in the United States.

Parts of the Byway had visible evidence of volcanic rock known in this part of Idaho. The area is known as “A Land Born of Fire and Water”.

We really enjoyed our visit to beautiful Twin Falls/Magic Valley. During the week the weather ranged from a high of 94 degrees one day followed by days with highs in the upper 40’s to low 50’s with strong winds.

Next up: Pocatello, Idaho as we work our way toward Yellowstone. 

We left Panguitch a day late due to high winds with gusts of 55+ mph forecast for the area. We had to drive back over the pass towards Salt Lake City and didn’t want to do that with extreme winds. 

Our next stop was in Provo, pop 119,000 about 45 miles south of Salt Lake City. We were once again treated to beautiful views of snow capped mountains. The first thing we noticed at the campground was all the green trees and grass. After being in southwest Arizona for so long, we had forgotten the sights and smells of green trees and freshly cut grass.

We also noticed tiny white seeds falling from the cottonwood trees. If it had been winter we would have thought it was snow flurries. After an especially windy day the ground was covered in cotton seeds that looked like snow. We learned that this shedding of the cottonwood seeds occurs in late spring and early fall. In the past Bill and I have both had allergies from the cottonwood trees in Arizona. Thankfully this time they didn’t bother us. 

During our time in Provo the weather was very chilly with nighttime lows in the 30’s.

Utah continued to be under a yellow advisory and we were still careful and wore masks when going to the grocery store. Other than grocery shopping we stayed away from stores and public areas. 

When we planned our summer travels last fall we planned to visit the Utah state capitol building in nearby Salt Lake City. When we were in Salt Lake City five years ago we drove by the outside of the capitol but didn’t take the time to tour the inside. Unfortunately, this time the building was closed to the public due to the pandemic.

We did manage to visit Bridal Veil Falls, a short drive from the campground. It was a beautiful drive with the snow capped mountains around us. The falls is a beautiful natural 607 foot tall double waterfall in Provo Canyon along the Provo River. In 1961, a tram was built, supposedly one of the steepest in the world which took visitors to the top of the falls. The tram was destroyed in an avalanche in 1996 and was never repaired. Such a shame as that would have really been fun to ride!

One afternoon we drove around the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo. Opened in 1877 and with a 634 acre campus, it is one of the largest church related private universities in the country. 

We saw the 112 foot Centennial Carillon Tower where 52 bells ring at intervals during the day. The university was closed and the campus empty due to the pandemic. 

Next door to our campground was an interesting area with antique gas station signs.

We even saw Elvis and Marilyn!

Next up: Brigham City, our last stop in Utah