Day 7 - Heyburn, ID to John Day, OR

By -

Day 7 - Oct 14, 2014 Heyburn, ID to John Day, OR

625 miles, 3 National Parks and 2 States

Idaho and Oregon

 
There was a pretty interesting sunrise on our way out to City of Rocks.  It lit up the mountain side and enhanced their red colors.  We were thinking that this was gonna be another one of the special days.  But sadly as the day goes, it was not to be... 

 
Let's just say that the maps do not do very well to warn you that you have to go through 30 very rough miles of unpaved road to get here depending on the in route you take...  And the visitors center is not actually in City of Rocks but in town - completely unmarked.  We again spent quite a bit of time trying to find it.  This was a very frustrating way to start the day.  Although, the rock formations were interesting.
 

Old graffiti from western travelers on the Oregon Trail.   Looks to me like it was a younger guy being funny JV Attaboy :)  

Shannon would call Hagerman's a lake recreation area instead...  Ryan's take is that it is a conservation area.  Anyhow, the visitor's center was not open but they did at least leave the stamps outside. Didn't get to learn much about this area except that we are not much fans of Idaho National Parks to this point... This one again was unmarked with little detail and we saw nothing but rolling hills.  And again Pretty much there is no point to visit because the only info you will find is online.  Had we not found a maintenance man, we would have never found the visitor center miles away from the 'park'. 
 

We did find the Peter's Gulch and the Snake River to be far more exciting than the fossil beds.  Tons of birds of all sorts in and around the Snake River.  There was also a really large windmill farm in the upper plains past the park. 
 


 
 
Poor Idaho, being that we live in Hawaii, Volcanoes National Park has soooo much more to offer than Craters of the Moon.  We went in and watched the movie about the park, and at one point they showed a letter from a former Idaho senator begging to turn the land into a national park.  It really seemed quite pathetic to us after our experience with the Idaho parks.  But I have to say, I love potatoes! And we did see some pretty scenery, so we'll being going back to give Idaho another chance in July of 2015 on the motorcycle, so check back! 
 

 
 
Scenery did get prettier as we headed for Oregon




This has to be an Ohio native...Go Bucks!




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Gallup to Parumph, Wrap-up

By -
Image
Beautiful New Mexico sunrise The area that has no Cow Crossing signs...has cow's crossing! Window Rock, NM His truck was loaded down.  Unsure if he lives in it or sells out of it??   We made it back here...and it was actually opened!! Stage Coach We were able to walk around the whole ranch   The trading post is still open for business and operational. Lots of old shotguns. Interesting that Hubbel Trading Post has Dr Pepper but the Dr Pepper soda shop in OK does not!  We had an orange cream soda They sell the "famous Arbuckles" coffee...but do not offer some that they brew daily and charge $1.     In the barn Beautiful New Mexico landscape We saw this for miles...the two lines went parallel for quite a while...we determine it had to be airforce or someone doing some sort of practice. We rode 66 for a while today.  We are in search of moisture wicking sh...
Read more

Iceland Day 9 (Hraunfossar, Blue Lagoon, Reykjanesbaer Peninsula)

By -
Image
  This was Ryan's lucky day!  He stopped in to the 66 station for a cup of coffee...and scored a free coffee!  He's drank a lot less coffee than normal on this trip - a combination of the highway robbery for a cup of Joe and his being sick.  Typically these 8-10oz cups ran from $3.50-5. -Shannon Was I happy for that coffee! -Ryan We stopped for breakfast at a bakery in Grindavik and shared a chocolate covered cinnamon roll. Maybe they forget the year with how time moves? -Ryan The first hint of an accident we saw on the entire island.  -Ryan The lagoon is a very odd whitish-blue and almost iridescent with a strong sulfur smell.  This is a very expensive place and by far a tourist trap attached to a high-end hotel  I was happy to see it and move on with out leaving any money.  We did learn about a hot river that is free, and if we ever go back, we'll hike in there and do it freestyle! -Ryan The first ...
Read more

Day 7 - Flaming Gorge to Tetons

By -
Image
We left Nephi and thought Garmen was headed the same way I thought in my mind...well, we were wrong.  However, this little detour on Provo Canyon Road turned into quite a treat.  Lots of waterfalls, hills, mountains and twisties! Didn't stop here since it was only time for beakfast. Liked the name.   I just love all of the rolling colors. Throughout the area near the Flaming Gorge, there are these cool info signs with geological info and descriptions of their meanings or perhaps something that happened in this area in the Prehistoric Era.   One of the greatest byways in Utah!!  Rode it in the car last fall..had to loop back on the back...Glad we did - it was awesome!!!  (despite the rain and clouds) It was quite overcast and at times rainy while in the Gorge.  Sunlight definitely creates the difference in this magical area!   Our initial shot ...
Read more