Today we are on the road early because this is a driving day of approximately 500 miles as we head to Jerome, Idaho. Also, we will be losing an hour as we head eastward.
Leaving our campground.
On our way from the campground the road took us through the Klamath Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, which consists of 40,000 acres of wet meadows and open water wetlands. In the background is the Cascade Mountain Range.
It was a long stretch of road where we didn’t see many vehicles in either direction.
Driving along without traffic!
The following montage of photos are sites along our drive.
Malheur River
Along Christmas Valley Road
Sagebrush along the road
South Beede Reservoir
Snake River
On our way to Jerome, Idaho
It was a long day of riding in the RV. We were glad to get checked in around dinnertime and just relaxing at our campsite.
This morning we were up early and on the road by 7:30 AM to head to Spokane, Washington. Our route took us into Montana, state number 9!
In Montana we passed over the Continental Divide which runs through the Bitterroot Mountain Range.
Continental Divide in Montana
We also passed the town of Lima, Montana which has a population of a little over 200. It is named after an early settler whose home was in Lima, Ohio.
Lima, Montana
The Clark Canyon Reservoir in Dillan, Montana is also the site of Camp Fortunate. In 1805, Lewis and Clark set up camp and also met the Shoshoni tribe. The leader of the tribe was Sacajawea’s brother and she recognized him when they met and that helped Lewis and Clark to be accepted as coming in peace.
Clark Canyon Reservoir
Along Interstate 90 in Montana we saw many canola fields. It is a popular rotational crop with wheat and barley. When you see these fields the yellow is vibrant!
Canola Fields
Technology can be such a wonderful thing! Our son did a FaceTime call so we could talk to and see our granddaughter! We loved it!
FaceTime with Erin and Ryan
When we left Montana and we’re back in the panhandle section of Idaho we crossed into the Pacific time zone. We still feel like we are on Eastern Standard time so the three hour difference is messing up our sleeping!
Entering Idaho
Murray Gold Fields
Area of the Murray Gold Fields
The Murray Gold Fields is where a permanent gold rush camp was established in 1884 and the town of Murray flourished for over ten years.
When we pulled off the highway for a rest stop, there were a lot of prairie dogs running around and in and out of their holes outside our RV. It was fun to watch them! We were able to get a picture of one of them.
Prairie Dog
By afternoon we crossed into the state of Washington, our tenth state!
Washington
We checked into our campground and noticed our hot water tank cover was missing. It had to have jarred loose as we were driving. Many of the highways were very bumpy and rough. Dave called the RV manufacturer and they are sending a new one to where we will be staying in Oregon. They told us how long it would take to get shipped and we figured Elkton, Oregon is where we will be camping with friends! In the meantime there wasn’t a cover.
On our way to our Spokane KOA we saw a wine cellar. It was calling our names to stop by for a tasting. So after setting up camp, we hopped in the car and drove to the Latah’s Creek Wine Cellar. It was a great way to end the day tasting Washington wines. One could also tour the adjoining winemaking facilities but that was not open when we were there for our tastings.
Our first stop today was a visit to Tire Discounters in Provo to get our tire fixed. It turned out that the tire had a bad valve stem. Thank goodness it didn’t take too long to be repaired. Once it was attached to the RV we were off to our next campground in Idaho Falls, Idaho.
On our way we saw individuals paragliding. It was beautiful to watch them.
Paragliding
When we stopped for gas Dave noticed that one of the bottom storage bins where he kept his toolbox was not locked. When he used his tools to put the tire back on the spot for the spare he put his tools away but forgot to lock the bin. It was a misfortune but easily fixed. We’ll stop at a hardware store and replace those tools.
Idaho- state number 8!
Mid-morning we crossed into Idaho which is our eighth state. So far we’ve traveled 2300 miles and that doesn’t include the miles on the Prius. There were a lot of potato fields along our route. A lot of the crops had irrigation systems and we saw a lot of water being used. It’s been hot and dry so the fields of crops need water!
Irrigation System
Irrigation of the potato fields.
Once we checked into our campground and set up we drove through Arco which was the first city lighted by nuclear power and its population is under a thousand. This town was along US Route 20.
Arco Baptist Community Church (US National Register of Historic Places)
This historic route is the longest U.S. highway in the country at 3,365 miles! It begins in Boston, MA and ends at Newport, Oregon along the Pacific Ocean.
US Route 20
We didn’t see much traffic along Route 20.
Along Route 20 is the EBR-1 (Experimental Breeder Reactor-1) museum. Unfortunately we couldn’t stop and visit because it is temporarily closed due to COVID. It is where the world’s first nuclear power plant generated electricity in 1951! It became a National Historic Landmark in 1966. The EBR-1 was built at the National Reactor Testing Station and was followed by what is now called the INL(Idaho National Laboratory)! It was eerie driving along this route and seeing the signs for the INL everywhere and wondering what they were doing in all of these buildings! We then got on the INL.gov website and saw that they are involved in many programs, such as nuclear energy, energy and the environment, national and homeland security. Their website mentions that their isolated site is good for their programs.
The eerie clouds over the sign for EBR-1!
Radioactive Waste disposal!
A small part of INL land!
A visit to Craters of the Moon National Monument is filled with lava flows and cinder cones. We hiked around the area. It was 95Ëš and a full sun was beating down on us as we hiked the black surfaces. We were melting quickly and drinking a lot of water!
We met with the Park Ranger to get a free permit to explore the caves which were former lava tubes. The questions we had to answer were to make sure that we don’t spread any diseases that would harm the bats particularly white-nose syndrome. It is a fungus that is deadly to bats.
The landscape is filled with hardened lava from lava flows. The lava found here came up out of fissures in the earth and sometimes spewed out of vents. The monument is a dormant area and geologists believe the area will become active in the next 1,000 years!
Inferno Cone
One of the trails we hiked.
One of the trails
Lava tube
Dwarf Buckwheat
Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve
After dinner we walked along the River Walk in Idaho Falls which follows the Snake River. The walk consists of the falls and 14 miles of river bank. We walked several miles along the path. Idaho Falls is named after the falls in the heart of the city.
