Sitting on the Dock of the Reservoir
The first night out we camped at Rye Patch State Reservoir in Nevada. It was a great stopover spot with the bonus feature of a nice place to swim and/or dabble one's toes.
Leaving California
And we're off! Driving on I-80 just east of the Nevada state line.
Rye Patch dock - further away
Rye Patch water spigot
Rye Patch Sky
The sky at Rye Patch was pretty awesome as the sun was going down.
Rye Patch dock
rye patch
campground in rye patch
A pretty spartan campsite on one hand...
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...but it had a nice view on the other.
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We stopped in at the California Trail Historic Interpretation Center, which is run by the BLM. It opened six weeks earlier and only about half of the exhibits were complete.
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Westward I Go Free
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Back to driving. Northern Nevada, north of Battle Mountain.
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Emma rather more enjoyed dressing up than her expression might suggest.
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We stayed at an entirely unmemorable KOA in Twin Falls, Idaho and stopped to see the Snake River Canyon.
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Who Does Meth Affect?
Meth signs were frequent sights in rural Idaho, Wyoming and Montana.
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One of the little gems of the trip was Massacre Rocks State Park in Idaho. Right on the Snake River, it was beautiful and nearly deserted.
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A short hike down from the campsite...
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...and we were in the Snake River.
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It was pretty hot, so the girls used the opportunity to cool down. Megan was very cast-conscientious.
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Snake River
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As did Megan.
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Massacre Rocks had a nice little dock where we watched the sunset.
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Bluffs along Snake River, Massacre Rocks State Park, Idaho.
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The light didn't last very long.
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Near Massacre Rocks was yet another rock, this one being Register Rock, upon which emigrants on the Oregon and California trails left their mark.
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Today we'd call it vandalism.
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Even the restaurants had cool art. Groovy town.
Skate or Die
We stopped for lunch in Idaho Falls as we drove to Grand Teton. Idaho Falls has a bunch of cool street benches.
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The actual falls in Idaho Falls seem to largely be man-made.
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Oh, the irony.
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The artificial nature of the falls had led to many waterplay areas, though. Bonus!
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Firstly, did these folks not see the "No Signs" sign? Secondly, what is going on with duckling #2? Thirdly, if you can only go to the left, how do you get into the $aving ¢enter?
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Driving across Idaho. Farms, farms and more farms, and every one of them irrigating all day long.
The Grand Tetons
We had a great view of a narrow slice of the Teton Range from our campsite.
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The Teton Range.
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This one was blowing bubbles.
