Then we went to the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center nearby in Baker City. This was a marvelous experience. The Center is designed so you can see the covered wagons and the experiences that the people went through on their migration west from Independence, Missouri. There were videos, hands on displays, and dioramas to make the experience complete. It was a very enjoyable experience. I left with new admiration for the hardiness and determination of those pioneers!
We said goodbye to Oregon and headed to southern Idaho. We went to Boise and visited the state capitol building there. It was a much larger building than we expected. It was huge! We didn't tour it, but drove through the downtown, historic area and admired the old buildings as well.
We went to the Old Idaho Penitentiary. What an interesting stop this was. The prison was built in 1872 and operated until 1973. There were several riots in the 70's and a couple of the buildings were burned down. But many of the buildings remain. The prison cells were dark and desperate looking. The original building housed four men in a small room with only a bucket for sanitary purposes. (The newer building had a toilet in the cell) We were able to see the solitary confinement cells which were only 3 foot x 9 foot, and the cells where they put the men who needed cooling off, called "Siberia". We also toured the gallows. It was a little creepy.
We went to the World Center for Birds of Prey. This was a remarkable place. We got to see California Condors, a Bald Eagle, a harpy eagle, and more, up close! They work with the San Diego Zoo in breeding the California Condors and other birds of Prey. It was a great place to visit.
We left Boise and headed to Twin Falls to see the Shoshone Falls. These waterfalls are the Niagara Falls of the west! They are on the Snake River right where Evil Knievel made his attempt to jump the river. But the falls were the reason we went there! The thunderous noise and the spray were just magnificent. And there was even a rainbow in the spray! They were so wonderful to see!
Our next stop was in Idaho Falls at the Museum of Idaho. There we saw dinosaurs! There were many hands on displays of the bones and the complete cast of Sue, the largest T-rex found to date. We enjoyed our visit there. We were able to find out through their local area display that the critters we have been seeing are marmots. We had guessed that this was what they were.
We also went to Reed's Dairy and got to pet some calves. That was fun! I had never seen a calf up close before. We enjoyed some freshly made ice cream while we watched some cows being milked.
Our next stop was the Idaho Potato Museum. This is housed in an old railroad depot in Blackfoot, Idaho. While we were getting out of the car, a train was coming by, and I was excited to wave hi to the engineer, who waved back at me. Outside the museum is a huge baked potato! Inside is everything you would ever want to know about potatoes, from growing them to cooking them!
Next, we went to Register Rock and looked at all the signatures carved into the rock from people on the Oregon Trail. It was amazing to see. There was even a rock where a boy drew pictures of an Indain and a preacher and signed his name. There was an information sign that said he made it to Portland, became a sculptor, and later returned to the same rock and carved his age of 7 years old at the time of carving.
Preacher man on the left, Indian Chief on the right
From there we headed to Lava Hot Springs. We forgot about it being Spring Break, and when we got there it was crowded with kids of all ages, so we didn't go in to the pools. Oh well!
Fascinating stuff and thanks for sharing! Happy Easter Patti & Rebekah!
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