We drove from Mountain Home AFB to the Snake River RV Park in Idaho Falls on Wednesday. This was a drive of about four hours along the Snake River. We had no problem getting into the RV park and the people were friendly. There were a ton of things to do in Idaho Falls.

First thing we did on Wednesday afternoon was to go downtown and hike on their river-walk. There is a long dam in the center of town that follows the river and creates a long waterfall. It is very pretty with water flowing over rocks and through trees. The river-walk has been well landscaped with flowers and plants. A beautiful walk. We met two older local guys and they were fun to talk to. They recommended seeing Mesa Falls, which we traveled to on Saturday.

On Thursday, while Lisa worked in the RV, I went for a bike ride. I rode along the the river-walk and then went into town. I happened upon a bicycle shop and they gave me directions on a ride route through the country. It was about 26 miles and beautiful with open, flowing fields of grain and potatoes. Many homes along the way were beautifully maintained. A super ride. On the way back, I rode along the Snake River and found a nice little boat ramp where Lisa and I went fishing the next day.

On Friday, after Lisa got done working, we decided to go to a local reservoir, Ririe Reservoir, to kayak. The lake is long an fairly narrow. There were ski boats on the lake and the wind was up a little, so we aborted the kayaking trip. We drove back to Idaho Falls and went fishing at the place I had found the previous day. No luck, but relaxing and pretty.

On Saturday, we decided to drive west to Craters of the Moon, a huge volcanic park and lava flow. On the way, we drove near the Idaho Nuclear Research Institute. This is large, sprawling complex where nuclear reactors were made for submarines and aircraft carriers. There are also nuclear waste storage facilities out there. It is incredibly interesting to study as we drove by. We then came to the small town of Arco, which was the first town to ever be powered by nuclear energy. Interesting! Not too much there; mostly agriculture now. Craters of the Moon is a National Monument with cinder cones, splatter cones, and extensive flows of lava. We were able to hike through the desolate area and learn a little about the are. Oregon Trail passes to the north of the flows and was challenging to cross. There is an RV campground there too, but too desolate for Lisa and me.

On Sunday, we took the drive to Ashton, Idaho with the tandem for a day of sightseeing and tandem riding. In Ashton, there is a drive-in food stand on Highway 89 with a large rootbeer mug as a display. That is where we turned to take the Mesa Falls Scenic Bypass. We also came back to this drive-in for lunch and the start of our tandem ride. The drive to Lower and Upper Mesa Falls was spectacular. Rolling farm land turning into mountains following the Falls River. The Lower Falls is spectacular, but it is viewed from an overlook about a mile away. We then drove to the Upper Falls where you can walk right up to the edge of the falls and see the water going over. Gorgeous!! With the Sun behind us, a fantastic rainbow was made by the mist of the falls. (See the photos) We then drove to Harriman State Park and hiked among the flowers and gently flowing waters of Henrys Fork of the Snake River. Spring fed in several places, it was incredibly scenic. Several fly-fisherman there and a perfect place for it. We then drove south on Highway 89 to the drive-in at Ashton to begin our tandem ride. Rode to the west out of town and then south to the town of Chester, Idaho. After we rode back to town, we went to the drive in for self-serve ice cream and then decided to go fish for a while on the Henrys Fork of the Snake River at a place called "Verne's Bridge." We did not catch anything, but we had fun standing in the water and getting cooled off. The water was clear and running pretty fast. Drove home after that; pretty tired, but thrilled with the great day.

On Monday, we drove south through Pocatello, Idaho to the town of Lava. In this town are located Lava Hot Springs. These are lava heated hot springs that have been used to heat the water of a beautiful set of pools. You can go relax in the hot mineral water and then have lunch in the town around the pools. They have also built a large water park in this town and people travel from Pocatello to play in the park. There is also a stream that flows through the town and you can rent tubes and float the river. It is pretty fast and equals some of the rides at the water park. People rent tubes in town and are then "trucked" on trailers to the entry point adjacent to the hot springs. The river ride is only about a mile, but looks like fun. On the way home, we stopped in Pocatello and went to the Costco there.

On Tuesday, we decided to take another drive to explore the area of the Teton Valley to the west of the Tetons near the town of Driggs. It was about an hour away. Another beautiful drive and when we came over a hill, we could look down into the entire Teton Valley area with the Tetons in the far distance; awesome so I took some drone shots. We drove to Driggs and went to the information center there. They recommended going up to the Grand Targhee Ski Resort and take the quad lift to the summit. The ski slopes are used for downhill mountain bicycles during the summer. You can rent bikes and go up the lift to ride down. Great fun. We rode up for views of the Tetons from the west side. Lisa was a good sport. She is very fearful of heights, and struggles on the lifts. She did it though and I was proud of her. It was a perfect day with clear, blue skies and no wind. White puffy clouds were all about and the photos were the best they could be. (See the photos) This was a great decision to come to Driggs. After we descended to the valley floor, we drove the rest of the scenic byway to join Highway 26 for the trip back to Idaho Falls. This was a great decision to drive to Driggs for the views.

On Wednesday, we departed early for Jackson Hole, Wyoming via Highway 26 to the south.