14. Idaho

Rainy morning of Sept 2nd, drove 2 hours North to Sandpoint, ID, a tourist town on Pend Oreille Lake.  It was foggy and overcast, so walked around a bit, had lunch then drove 2 hours South to Coeur D'Alene which is also on a lake. Overcast and raining there, so spent 15 minutes walking around, then drove 1 hour South to Moscow, home of the University of Idaho, where I stayed overnight in the county fairgrounds RV park.

Sculpture at Pend Oreille Lake

Another overcast and rainy day, so walked around the university in the morning, then drove South to Lewiston, on the Snake River. Drove to the Nez Perce Indian visitor center on the outskirts of town, and walked around the old settlement there, then drove the 80 mile scenic route on the Snake River down to the tiny town of White Bird (near the Snake River Gorge) where I stayed.  Still did not do much sightseeing in Idaho due to the bad weather.

Nez Perce Heart of the Monster - Sacred Ground

Next day was also raining, so instead of going to the Snake River Gorge, I decided to drive 4 hours to Boise. Stayed there two nights, went to Rosh Hashanah services there, and drove around the city a bit, but didn't take any pictures.  After Boise, drove 3 hours Southeast on I-80 to Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument.  Only fossils to see were in the small visitor center. Spent an hour driving around the rest of the monument, then went to nearby Mallard Gorge State Park.

Old Oregon Trail near Hagerman Fossil Beds Monument

Mallard Gorge State Park.

Late afternoon, drove 2 hours to Crater Moons National Monument, and stayed in their campground.  Next morning, drove the loop, walked all the trails and did the visitor center. The place was nice but all the features looked similar, so I was happy to only spend a night and a morning there.

That afternoon, Sept 7th, drove 3 hours East over the Teton Pass, into Jackson Hole, WY, and the Grand Teton National Park.  Only spent 6 days and 5 nights in Idaho, but I felt that was enough.