Shelley, Potatoes & Register Rock
📍 Lava Hot Springs to Glenns Ferry, ID
Bye bye to Lava Hot Springs.
Things we found out about this place: it is a popular place in the summer for rafting down the Port Neuf River, mineral water is naturally heated underground, and despite its small size, hundreds of thousands of people visit every year.
Up early to take off to the next destination. I am getting used to it… Keith promised me coffee. We saw quite a few coffee houses downtown but only one was open at 0730! Crazy. So the barista got a good tip for opening early. ☕️
In Idaho the speed limit is a bit higher than we are used to… not that we would go that fast!
We passed this on the highway. If you look verrrry close, you can see the radioactive sign on the side. If you Google this image, you get:
“This is a Type-B cask specifically designed for the transportation of radioactive materials.”
Shelley, Idaho
I convinced Keith to take a small side trip to a place I have been wanting to check out since I moved back to WA. A lovely town on the Snake River, Shelley, Idaho.
Blackfoot & Potatoes
From there we headed to Blackfoot to go to the Potato Museum. Before it opened, we decided to get a few things from WalMart. As we were heading into town, we met this lovely gentleman. He pulled us over, welcomed us into town and cautioned us about going too fast.
Apparently, the speed limit is 25 MPH unless otherwise posted. We had slowed but apparently, not enough. SO, he did say he had a math teacher by the name of Mr. Cooke and I think that is why we just got a warning…
And we finally made it to the museum! Every out of town paying guest received a package of Idaho potato instant mashed potatoes.
We did get to see how McDonalds fries are made!
Below is a collection of the diseases potatoes can get which will quickly ruin a crop.
Driving through Blackfoot on our way to a historical marker, at 25 MPH, I saw these things from the passenger seat. On the left is an older potato holding area. I have no idea who she is or what she represents and the warehouse is just something that looks like it has been there a while.
Fort Hall
First historical stop was Fort Hall. This is part of the settlement the US government made with the Indians. One of the reservations. Fort Hall used to be a trading post for fur traders and Indians.
A lot of the historical markers we are seeing were erected by groups such as the Boy Scouts of America, noted at the bottom of the plaque on the right, Daughters of the American Republic and other groups fund raising and erecting them.
More ruts?? Yup. Keith hiked out and found the trail along the Snake River.
We got to see a lot of the Snake River as we drove toward Glenns Ferry and our next stop.
Register Rock
Register Rock. This was a good stop for the settlers. Green grass, water from the river, trees for firewood. We are standing in front of a slab of basalt. In the second picture you can see where the settlers had a little time on their hands and engraved their names and dates into the rock.
Below is an engraving of an Indian and a preacher carved by a seven year old on the trail. He was on his way to Portland where he settled with his parents. He became a sculptor and returned to this rock to sign his name, J.J. Hansen, under the Indian head.
After going off the highway to view a historical sign, we passed this going on at someone’s home… Two giant slip n slides! There was some sort of celebration going on and lots of cars. What fun this could be! Although, looking at the hill, I might’ve asked for a rope tow.
Once we were settled in our campsite, some of our party took these photos:
Around 9:30 a few of us drove to the Visitor’s Center for an astronomy talk. We ended the evening looking at the craters on the moon and Venus up close.
We have been writing little sayings on the back of our rigs. Here is the saying I chose:
“Go fast enough to get there, but slow enough to see.”
— Jimmy Buffett