Hello folks,
It was a sunny but cool morning in Idaho Falls when I left at 8:30. By the time I got to my first stop 42.3 miles northeast it had pretty much clouded over as I expected it would from the forecast. My first stop was Monkey Rock Falls. This is a popular swimming place for Idahoans. The name �Monkey Rock� comes from all the crazy people who jump off it into the pool below. I wonder why there were no jumpers this morning. Maybe it was because it was only 49 degrees.
It was 30.2 miles to my next stop. I got several nice views of the Grand Tetons during the drive. Below is a picture of the Tetons in Wyoming from across a farmer's field in Idaho. By this time the skies were completely overcast.
From Ashton, Idaho, the Mesa Falls Scenic Byway heads northeast into the lush landscape of the Targhee National Forest. It�s a loop that runs for nearly thirty impressive miles all the way to the Island Park area. This byway includes two of the most spectacular waterfalls in the West � lower and upper Mesa Falls. Below is Lower Mesa Falls.
My pictures of the Lower Falls stink, but here is one more anyway.
At Upper Mesa Falls, a thunderous curtain of water � as tall as a 10-story building � pours over remnants of an ancient volcanic super-eruption that spewed ash over much of the current US. Upper and Lower Mesa Falls are the last prominent waterfalls on the Snake River to resist human control.
The picture below is looking down on the boardwalk area next to the falls.
After the waterfalls it was about 120 miles to Bozeman, Montana where I am spending the night. I had plans to drive to the top of Sawtell Peak and to visit Big Sky Montana. But I skipped both of those because it was a gloomy ugly day and mainly because I felt like crap. I was hacking up a lung all night long. Every time I inhale it's agony.
My route up to Bozeman took me through West Yellowstone and Gallatin Canyon. I should have taken the parking pass off the dashboard before taking the picture above. It was a very scenic drive. I managed to get through the drive without any rain. I filled the car with gas when I got to town. $2.79 a gallon, Yahoo!! After paying up to $5.49 a gallon in California this was welcome relief. I'm staying at the Hampton Inn in Bozeman. I no sooner got the bags into the hotel and it started to rain. So I timed that just right.
I'm going to get me some dinner from Applebee's and then go to bed. I hope my cold is better tomorrow. I have a nearly 400 mile drive tomorrow. Thank god it's all in Montana so I can drive 90 miles per hour and it should only take about five hours.
Until Friday,
Tim
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