Idaho

From Grand Teton National Park we headed west over Teton Pass (really scary.....a 10% grade). The Falcon handled the steep ascent and descent with no problem, and we made our way west into Idaho. We quickly left the mountains, and found ourselves in rolling farmlands. It certainly doesn't look like Texas! The fields of wheat, potatoes, alafalfa, beans, corn and who-knows-what-else, are planted on slopes that we would never farm in Central Texas. It's magnificent. Harvest was in progress, so we not only saw wheat fields like the ones below, but crops in all stages of harvest. (Have you ever seen a dumptruck full of Idaho potatoes?!)

Idaho also has its share of picturesque old buildings like this one, at the edge of a wheat field beside the road.

We're camped in Lake Walcott State Park, beside a lake formed by the Snake River. The terrain here is desert-like, with plenty of sagebrush. We were told they only get about 11 inches of rain each year. Crops are all irrigated, however, as the Snake River provides plenty of water. Our campground, on the banks of Walcott Lake, is a true oasis.....filled with giant willows, like the one below, and other large hardwoods. There is even a sign at our campsite notifying us that the sprinkler system will be on for an hour each day and apologizing for any inconvenience!

We had a lovely walk in the park Wednesday morning.....at least it was lovely until the Bagley Pack had its second "porcupine encounter" in less than a year! I think the porcupine, which probably didn't survive the encounter, still won. We did verify what the vet told us in January....that dogs don't really "learn their lesson" about porcupines, and will repeat the very unpleasant experience over and over. Each of our three dogs emerged with a face (and mouth) full of quills, although Lucky Dog didn't have as many as Feathers and Nickie They spent the day at the vet's getting de-quilled (an expensive proposition) and are recuperating as we speak.

(John and I dulled the financial pain with a glass of wine.)