Somewhere in Remote Central Idaho

I am stating the obvious when I say this, but both Andy and I are amazed at how different it is to visit somewhere as an adult as compared to when you are a kid.  It doesn’t change our minds that we want our kids to travel and experience as much as possible at every age, but we are realizing more and more that you truly don’t appreciate things as a kid.  Case in point, Belén’s repeated question as we drove across vast central Idaho towards Yellowstone, “Mommy, do they have toys at Yellowstone?”

“Um, ya honey but that’s not really the point.”

And then there were the things that Belén was impressed with. When we walked into a nice gas station I heard “Mommy, this is sure a nice place.” from the pint-sized intellect whose sweaty hand was holding my own.  Or, “Mommy, mommy, this soap smells like strawberries.”  Mountains and geysers and even bears are ho hum, but a decent gas station with strawberry-smelling soap, noteworthy.

To us adults on the other hand, even the un-destinations are impressive.  Our drive from Sun Valley to West Yellowstone covered one of the most remote areas in the lower 48 and I found myself wondering why more people don’t live out there.  It is beautiful in a very unique way and Anne, I definitely want to come visit sometime soon if the invitation has not expired!

From the pristine mountains surrounding the Wood River Valley to high desert around towns like Picabo and Carey to the seemingly out of place dried magma fields of Craters of the Moon created during volcanic explosions taking place long before humans inhabited the area, the terrain of the areas surrounding Highway 20 is as varied as the candies in a sweet shoppe.

After Craters of the Moon the collage continued with Arco, the first town in the world to be powered by nuclear power with its main drag living in the shadow of cliffs proudly spray painted with the years of each graduating class.

A few miles further down the road as we entered the area managed by the Idaho National Lab (INL), the remoteness was palpable.  We couldn’t help but wonder what the government is doing out there in the middle of nowhere at INL today.

Next we passed the Saint Antony sand dunes formed at the end of the last ice age when the shoreline sands of the Mud and Market Lakes dried out.  Then finally, after a few dozen “Daddy, where is Yellowstone?” “Mommy, are we there yet?” and screams from Weezy I relocated myself to the backseat between two car seats occupied with an impatient audience which I attempted to entertain as we drove through Idaho Falls, past Henry’s Lake and into the wooded area that would eventually turn into Yellowstone.

Driving through the middle of nowhere is much more interesting than I had anticipated….at least for the grown ups.

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Tagged as: arco, Carey, central idaho, Craters of the Moon, Henry's Lake, INL, Picabo, remote, wood river valley