IDAHO SUMMARY
Day 1 - We drove up Colorado, across Wyoming and into Idaho. Unfortunately we were apparently traveling one week too earlysinceas many touristy sites weren't opening until the following weekend. We stayed the night at the spectacular little town of Lava Hot Springs. At one time, a large portion of southern Idaho was covered by a massive lava flow.
Day 2 - Our first stop of the day was Blackfoot. We first had a fabulous breakfast at Martha's cafe (with its giant 18-foot woman) then headed over to the impressive Idaho Potato Museum. We learned more about spuds than we ever realized was possible... and then we shared a baked one slathered in butter. Next was Craters of the Moon National Park. The lava caves and some of the trails were closed but we were able to hike to the top of a giant cinder cone, as well as trek past a massive lava field with some buried trees. We stayed the next several nights at a friend's place in Caldwell.
Day 3 - First thing in the morning, we made our way to a small, local airport where we took a one-hour flight in a Cessna 172 with Silverhawk Aviation. Zach was our pilot but he allowed me to take over the controls briefly during the flight. Next we drove out to Owyhee Dam (just over the border in Oregon), passing by miles of hop farms. On our return, we hit the Sunnyslope Wine Trail. We had a couple taster flights (plus some incredibly delicious wine cocktails) at St. Chapelle, but the real hidden gem was Fujishin winery. Unbelievably friendly and absolutely scrumptious!
Day 4 - We set out to explore the Twin Falls area. On the way, we visited Three Island Crossing State Park, where pioneers following the Oregon Trail crossed the wide (and often deadly) Snake River in covered wagons. A bit further, we took in great views of Malad Gorge. In Twin Falls, we watched paragliders leap from atop the Perrine Memorial Bridge. Heart-stopping! We continued along the Snake River to Shoshone Falls, but unfortunately the water volume was extremely low. We took the Thousand Springs Drive on the way home, but all the falls along the way were also barely running. We made a brief stop at the Hagerman state fish hatchery then headed back to Caldwell, where we wandered the downtown and grabbed some pizza.
Day 5 - Today was spent in Boise. We visited St. John's Cathedral, the state capitol building, Freak Alley gallery (an outdoor graffiti art gallery), an Anne Frank memorial park and the city's greenbelt walk before grabbing some lunch (and a beer) downtown. We drove out to the Old Idaho Penitentiary and explored the old cell blocks. A large margarita accompanied our massive dinner at Mi Casa.
Day 6 - We decided to spend the day roaming the Caldwell area. After a lovely greenbelt walk, we planned to just briefly pop into the Our Memories Museum which covered the town's history, but Lita, one of the docents, was all too thrilled to give us a wonderful several hour tour! It was here I learned about the Idaho Spud, the state's own candy bar (which they still carried in stores and I was able to try later!). We hit two more wineries... Hat Ranch (with its wide assortment of hats scattered about outdoors) and Koenig Vineyards (where we had ice wine and climbed a tower for spectacular views)... then did a tasting of various brandies, gin, whisky and a huckleberry vodka at the Koenig distillery. At the Orchard House, we learned about "fry sauce" (mayonnaise and ketchup).
Day 7 - We had planned to make a few stops on our way down to Salt Lake City, but it kept raining all morning. Fortunately things had dried up enough so we could visit the state capitol and a bit of the town. After checking into our motel in Provo, we did a scenic drive up Provo Canyon to Bridal Veil Falls.
Day 8 - We started the long haul back to Boulder. In Grand Junction we had perfect timing as we stopped for lunch mere moments before a massive hail storm hit! We made our way over the gorgeous Rocky Mountains and arrived home in the evening.
