Upon leaving Portland my goal was to get home swiftly which meant lots of mileage and few stops each day. I pretty much flew nonstop from Portland past Boise and settled for the night in Twin Falls. The problem was that there were many temptations locally and I had only planned on a couple of them. Seems it was going to be another loooong but enjoyable day.
The Snake River cuts a canyon through southern Idaho as it winds its way to join the Columbia River. Great vistas, water falls, and impressive bridges abound in here where Evil Knievel made his failed attempt to jump the gorge. Here’s a nice sample of what can be seen right around Twin Falls:
My path continued north, not east. Though out of the way, I wanted to go see the lava fields of Craters of the Moon National Monument. En route I couldn’t help but be distracted. Having seen one japanese internment camp at Tule Lake I had to stop and see another which was being restored in Minidoka. While it’s shameful what we did to fellow americans, it’s good to remember our mistakes so we don’t repeat them. I found the site pretty spartan though enough remained to piece it together. Starting in August 1942 we kept 10,000 Japanese Americans in this concentration camp against their wills performing menial labor for over three years. In ten camps we kept 110,000 Americans.
Craters of the Moon speaks for itself.
Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve
Thousands of years of periodic eruptions created this field of lava similar to the moon’s surface. So similar that the Apollo 14 astronauts visited here in preparation for the lunar landing mission.
Before and after the lava fields were oddities such as towns named Arco and Richfield.
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