Across The Fruited Plain: 7-16-2020 American Falls, Idaho

If you read the comments at the end of the last blog, you saw that our friend, Jim, met one of the Idaho Hermits, Buckskin Bill. So of the 3 Hermits, two of them met up with my friends, what are the odds?

We tasted the cheese we bought in Salmon, “local sheep cheese.” It is called Aged Carmen Carrano, “Our signature ‘Mandego-style’ Alpine Artisan Sheep Cheese with a perfectly balanced and distinctively rich buttery and nutty flavor.” Ingredients: Raw sheep milk, etc. It was made at the Mountain Valley Farmstead in Carmen, ID. The taste was very sharp and it’s kind of crumbly, a bit like extra sharp cheddar or parmesan. A few slices with a cocktail are the perfect touch. It's great crumbled on a salad.

Devil's Orchard

On 7-14, we stopped at Craters of the Moon National Monument, just a quick 100 miles down the road. It is a massive lava field that was created by fissures and rifts in the earth’s surface that coughed up lava, not like you would imagine flowing down from the top of a volcano. This stuff oozed out of cracks, dey ain’t no volcano! The fields cover thousands of acres and looks like, well, the moon. It all began 15,000 years ago but there has been activity as recently as 2,000 years ago, Jesus’ birthday. Much of the rock and pulverized rock is iron pyrite (fool’s gold) and the land sparkles. We hiked Devil’s Orchard, a field of nasty lava rock and cinders that is slowly beginning to show signs of vegetation.Next, we tackled the Inferno Cone. It is a steep 300 foot rise to the top from where you can see miles and miles of lava fields and beyond. We made it to the top! The whole area is really pretty weird.

Oceans of lava rock in Devil's Orchard

Rob heading up Inferno Cone

We made it to the top!

This park, Willow Bay Resort, is situated on the edge of American Falls Reservoir. The original dam was formed by a natural lava flow but in 1923 and again in 1978, humans engineered a dam that created this 56,000 acre reservoir on the Snake River which obliterated the original town of American Falls.

We’re pretty sure we got the best spot in the park on the end overlooking the water and next to a natural preserve where wildflowers grow and birds visit. It is shady and sunny both, depending on the time of day. In the evening, campfire. In the morning, sunshine with a cup of coffee and Sudoku. (12 minutes on this one.)

Hi Roberto!

Today was kayaking day for Lindy. I paddled out as far as I could, then along the banks where I heard that there is a moose couple living. I didn’t see the meese (they might have gone to bed already) but there were big fish jumping (probably rainbow trout since salmon can’t get here from there), loons, ducks, great northern geese, white pelicans and cormorants. The water was as smooth as glass in the small breeze and sunshine. It’s always tranquilizing. Gotta look into a kayak!

I'm out there... if you look closely!

Walter DeLaMare's place of business
for 50 years, Union Pacific RR

Today, in the afternoon, Rob wanted to explore a bit in Pocatello where his Grampa worked at the Union Pacific RR and where his Mom grew up. The old offices of the Union Pacific, which are usually open to tourists, are closed for now, even with a mask. Rob really wanted to see if he could find his Grampa’s old office among the artifacts but that was not to be.

The Hotel Yellowstone across the street was built in 1915.

This was originally the hotel receoption
area, now a bar and lounge

It was easy to envision Grampa walking there for lunch or stopping by at the beautiful old bar in the evening with his buddies. There is an old elevator that deserves attention and ultimately, Mike envisions a uniformed and white-gloved elevator operator who will carry guests up to their floors. One small room, constructed of rich dark wood and the original chandeliers, is furnished with overstuffed chairs where my imagination says that old rich guys sat and smoked cigars and discussed the state of world affairs, finance, banks and such while the women retired to the sitting room nearby to sip tea. The building is in a transition phase now with struggling new imaginative owners and a challenging restoration enterprise.