Heading back to Idaho! (9/4-9/14)

Our route from Bend, OR took us along a very curvy, flat route through a small town called John Day.  We had a two night stopover at Grant County Fairgrounds.  This was just a split up the 360 mile drive between Bend and Mountain Home, Idaho.  It was very smoky due to fires and so we did nothing touristy here. Did have a very good meal at  1188 Brewing Co., a local brew pub in downtown John Day, but then we moved on. 

Did I mention the cocktails were good too?

We continued on that curvy road until we hit interstate 84 into Mountain Home.  We arrived on the Monday of Labor Day so the office was closed when we arrived, but they had our packet out front and we pulled into site #60 for the next 8 nights.  We did not have any specific plans for this location, but this was a large "resort" property with a pool, hot tub and pickleball court so we figured we could keep ourselves entertained for a few days.

Sun setting on our first night of arrival. 

The weather was terrific during our stay so we did find some additional things to do in the area.  We drove to the Bruneau Dunes State Park.  Even the drive to the park was otherworldly in its landscape.  Before too long we arrived at the visitor center.  I think we may have been the only ones in the park.  We checked out the semi-primitive camping facilities and headed to the Small Lake hike trailhead.  It got a little warm as we explored the huge sand dune then trudged through sand around the lake.  It was worth the drive to see such a unique landscape. 

Twice at around 1am, our surge protector tripped and we lost power to Ruth.  Luckily, the overnight temperatures were moderate so we only needed one air conditioner.  It was an intermittent issue and our surge protector did its job to protect our electronics but it caused us a couple of sleepless nights which was unpleasant.

Boise, ID was only about an hour away from Mountain Home and my birthday was coming up,  so Mike arranged for a hotel in Boise for an overnight outing in "the city".  We locked Ruth up and put some clothes in a couple of bags and headed out.

On our way to Boise, we stopped for a tour at the World Center for Birds of Prey.  We enjoyed a little educational talk about an American Kestrel falcon and toured the rest of the facility and its really cool residents.  Very enjoyable stop.  We drove the rest of the way to Boise. 

This Harpy Eagle looks stuffed, but he was
a real live bird.

We walked to lunch at the Basque Market only a few blocks from the hotel.  We enjoyed some Spanish specialties and a nice glass of wine. On our way we enjoyed the vibe of the downtown area with a cool "pedestrian only" street lined with bars and restaurants.  It also happened to be Gay Pride weekend at the park near the capital so the city was alive! It felt good to see the vibrancy of society again, masks were required and everyone seemed to respect each other's boundaries. 

Oh, and we may have stopped for a milkshake
on the way home.

In the afternoon we headed to the Old Idaho Penitentiary tour.  We had not seen rain in several months, but on that afternoon it rained on us.  It actually added to the creepy ambiance of the prison.  The tour guide was very engaging and we learned a lot about the history of the prison that started welcoming inmates in 1872.

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We enjoyed a before dinner cocktail at La Mode and had Indian food for dinner.  I asked for medium spicy and it was way too hot.  Everything tasted very authentic though.  It was full day of fun.  Sleeping in a hotel room felt kinda weird, like we were cheating on Ruth. 

Boise has an incredible bicycle trail, Boise River Greenbelt Trail that spans 25 miles along the river and through town.  We rented e-bikes in order to explore the trail.  We happened upon a very large art festival about 15 minutes into our ride so we stopped and walked through it.  We then continued on the trail and enjoyed the scenery on the trail.  On our way back we enjoyed the sunshine and the river at  at Telaya Wine Company for a tasting and a couple of snacks from the food truck before we returned the bikes.  A lovely afternoon. 

We enjoyed the remainder of our stay at Mountain Home RV Resort playing some pickleball in the morning and riding our bikes around the park and cooling off in the pool in the warm afternoons. 

Next stop, the Grand Tetons National Park.