Meredith Landino had recommended two stops in Idaho. The first was in the small town of Victor, ID (Glen, why did you have to note that it is a small town? Every town in this part of Idaho is small!) for milkshakes.
Everyone really enjoyed the milkshakes. While the local speciality is Huckleberry, I went with my personal fav, raspberry. The Emporium is a small town country store with knickknacks, t-shirts, and the best milkshakes!
We had great views of the Tetons and huge farms as we rolled through eastern Idaho. Most of my passengers sleptWe detoured off the main route for Meredith's other suggestion, Mesa Falls.
I had never heard of it before, and figured it was a cute set of small falls in the woods. Man, was I ever wrong. Mesa Falls are two huge roaring waterfalls on the Henry's Fork of the Snake River just a mile apart. They are in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest, and are the last untamed falls on the Snake.
The Upper Falls are more impressive, and you get right up to the Falls on a well-maintained long boardwalk. The good news is, we stopped at the Lower Falls first, so we were first amazed by that before being blown away by the Upper Falls. The Upper Falls is ten stories high, and much, much wider than I had imagined.
They both carve through stunning canyons, and it is a pleasant walk along the boardwalk. There were not many people there on a Thursday in August. After marveling at the falls, the canyons, and the surrounding wildflowers, we piled back into the car and headed for West Yellowstone. Our original plan for lunch was the Running Bear Pancake House, but it's only open from 6 am to 2 pm, and it was 2:30 (ALL of our lunches this week seemed to be anywhere from 2:30-4pm!
Instead we stopped a hole in the wall and enjoyed a good, but inexpensive, lunch consisting primarily of various makes of burgers and fries.
Back on the road again, up to Big Sky, which is anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour plus from West Yellowstone, depending on whom you believe. The only drama came when I passed a slow Ford, whose occupants then gestured wildly at me, sped up, and followed quite closely for 20 miles or so until I stopped in the suburbs of Big Sky for gas.
Do I sometimes drive aggressively? Yes -- especially so in Jackson. In this case, I actually did not ride their tail, and then waited to pass at an appropriate time. I don't mind people being mad at me when I deserve it (Lord knows I do at times), but still can't figure out why they were upset. Perhaps it's because I was passing them and the truck in front of them, but they had not moved up to pass the truck, so I figured they weren't making that move. Of course, after I passed them/the truck, the Ford vehicle zoomed past the truck and right onto my back bumper.
The least they could have done was thank me for causing them to drive faster! It's tough being underappreciated!
We arrived in Big Sky, which, tbh, is much more beautiful than I expected. After the Exxon, we hit Roxy's Market to get some food for grilling on Saturday night, and some more wine. It turns out we made the right decision, because once we saw how beautiful our rental house was, I made the command decision to stay in for dinner that night (Thursday). It had been a long day in the car, and this way we could relax, watch the Olympics (which, of course, consists of swim and a bunch of other contests that don't matter as much) using the wifi.
I fell in love with Big Sky from the get-go. It's not as packed as Jackson (which I also love -- I'm easy that way when I travel), but staying in, grilling, watching Olympics, and using the hot tub was the right way to go.
Our house concierge, Sarah Odom, also deserves a shout-out -- like Meredith Landino in Jackson -- Sarah was patient with us, gave great advice on what to do in the area, and didn't bat an eye when we asked for more info or changed plans (such as cancelling dinner!). We looked forward to our day in Yellowstone Park.
Instead we stopped a hole in the wall and enjoyed a good, but inexpensive, lunch consisting primarily of various makes of burgers and fries.
Back on the road again, up to Big Sky, which is anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour plus from West Yellowstone, depending on whom you believe. The only drama came when I passed a slow Ford, whose occupants then gestured wildly at me, sped up, and followed quite closely for 20 miles or so until I stopped in the suburbs of Big Sky for gas.
Do I sometimes drive aggressively? Yes -- especially so in Jackson. In this case, I actually did not ride their tail, and then waited to pass at an appropriate time. I don't mind people being mad at me when I deserve it (Lord knows I do at times), but still can't figure out why they were upset. Perhaps it's because I was passing them and the truck in front of them, but they had not moved up to pass the truck, so I figured they weren't making that move. Of course, after I passed them/the truck, the Ford vehicle zoomed past the truck and right onto my back bumper.
The least they could have done was thank me for causing them to drive faster! It's tough being underappreciated!
We arrived in Big Sky, which, tbh, is much more beautiful than I expected. After the Exxon, we hit Roxy's Market to get some food for grilling on Saturday night, and some more wine. It turns out we made the right decision, because once we saw how beautiful our rental house was, I made the command decision to stay in for dinner that night (Thursday). It had been a long day in the car, and this way we could relax, watch the Olympics (which, of course, consists of swim and a bunch of other contests that don't matter as much) using the wifi.
I fell in love with Big Sky from the get-go. It's not as packed as Jackson (which I also love -- I'm easy that way when I travel), but staying in, grilling, watching Olympics, and using the hot tub was the right way to go.
Our house concierge, Sarah Odom, also deserves a shout-out -- like Meredith Landino in Jackson -- Sarah was patient with us, gave great advice on what to do in the area, and didn't bat an eye when we asked for more info or changed plans (such as cancelling dinner!). We looked forward to our day in Yellowstone Park.
Cliffs below the Lower Mesa Falls
The Lower Falls of the Henry's
Fork of the Snake River
There's a LOT of power here.
High above the Lower Falls
The ten story Upper Falls
Stunning views of Mesa Falls
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