Boise, Idaho

Well, this entry is being written from Boise. Tomorrow I will be in Portland to visit my son and daughter in law. The weather was mild enough today to have the top down for the entire day. The breeze was cool and the sky was clear and the road stretched out in front of me towards the horizon.

I left Porvo, Utah this morning headed west towards Salt Lake City. Most of my journey today was on the interstate hi-way, during the summer months these roads are always under construction and bottle necks are a plenty. It took quite a while to get out of Salt Lake, but once away from the city the traffic was minimal. The terrain was barren, lots of high hills but no trees. Just prairie grass. 

As I got close to Twin Falls, I decided to take a side tour to see the Snake River up close and personal. After all that is the reason one goes on a road trip, to make the schedule as one goes along. I took the exit for a small town called Rupert, I drove through the town looking for a way to get closer to the river. The very first rafting trip my children and I took was on Snake River. It was just a short two hour rafting trip, we enjoyed that so much that as a graduation present for my daughter Reina, we rafted the Colorado at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Now that is a rafting trip!

Well, today I wanted to see a different face of the river. I ended up at Walcott Lake, from there the ranger pointed me in the right direction. I found it meandering along through fertile farm land. I was able to drive along this pristine river. At one point I was able to go right to the bank of the river and put both my feet in. The water was clear and very cold. The river reminded me of the holy river Ganga in Haridwar, India.  I sat on the riverbank drank a cold Coke and ate fried potato wedges. The only time I allow myself to have junk food is on road trips. The rest of the time I am a model vegetarian!

I was able to share the moment with my daughter via phone, she called me as I sat on the riverbank. I marvel at the ingenuity of cell phones! I took pictures so I can show her when I get home where I was when we spoke. Sometimes it's really hard to be alone on the road, moments like today when you want to be able to turn to a loved one and marvel at the beauty before you. Other times-- I am fine about communing with nature by myself. After my brief sojourn, I drove along the river and headed back into town, from there I went onto Twin Falls  and took another detour towards the falls. Another spectacular image. An abundant amount of water rushing over large rock cliffs, falling with tremendous force.  So different than the dessert, arid landscape of yesterday. In only a day I have witnessed amazing variety. I am always dumbfounded by the beauty of this country.